Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

SHINE
Pet health expert Royal Canin has played a key role in empowering the pet industry chain in China, from the start of pets' life to their consumption and diagnosis and treatment.
SHINE

With an increasing number of people adopting pets, especially after getting attracted by their cute appearance, the speed and scale of the development of the pet industry chain now far exceed the imagination.

And, over the past three decades, pet health expert Royal Canin has played a crucial role in empowering the pet industry chain, from the start of pets' life to their consumption and diagnosis and treatment.

Committed to building a mutually beneficial and trustworthy industry ecosystem, Royal Canin has been continuously supporting breeders, pet store retail partners, and veterinarians by sharing high-quality resources for years.

The journey of Royal Canin China began in 1995, making it one of the first pet food enterprises to enter the Chinese market. Here, we follow Royal Canin to explore the entire life of pets and China’s pet industry chain.

The Starting Point of a Pet’s Life

The cattery and kennel are the first stations for pets from birth, crucial for their healthy growth throughout their lives.

In Shanghai's suburban Baoshan District, Jeff Shi, regional director of TICA (The International Cat Association) and Bengal breeder, operates a boutique family-style cattery. It is a single-variety champion-level boutique cattery registered with TICA, specializing in the breeding of purebred Bengals. It is the only cattery in the country with breeding cats that have won five TICA World Champion titles.

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

A Bengal leopard cat bred at the cattery in Baoshan District.

"(A) cat show is a bit like a beauty pageant, though the general principle of the show is to align with the breeding standards, to see who the pinnacle of their breed is," Shi explained. "This is complementary to the amount of effort, cost, and investment breeders put into shows."

Shi has maintained long-term cooperation with Royal Canin, which was his first sponsor as well.

"There is a saying in the industry — Royal Canin is the first food for kittens. Through many attempts and comparisons, I found that after using Royal Canin’s products, no kittens died due to food issues, meaning that their products are very safe."

Shi is the epitome of Royal Canin's efforts in supporting the growth of breeders.

Royal Canin has adhered to the concept of "tailored nutrition," providing customized nutritional support for dogs and cats during the breeding and juvenile periods, making its products the first food for pets.

In response to the different nutritional needs at different stages of the juvenile period, a variety of starter foods have been launched, which ensures that from the very first food after birth, pets can enjoy the protection brought by Royal Canin's specialized immune technology.

Adhering to the concept of mutual benefit, Royal Canin also attaches great importance to the long-term development of the breeding industry.

In 2019, Royal Canin China launched "PROactive," an initiative that helps professional breeders run their daily activities, sustainably and responsibly. Starting from optimizing the environment of the catteries and kennels, popularizing professional breeding knowledge, and providing tailored nutrition solutions, the campaign improves the development level and standardization of the domestic breeding industry, and enhances animal welfare.

So far, the project's certification footprint has covered more than 150 cities, benefiting more than 900 breeding catteries.

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

Royal Canin's "PROactive" program

How Pet Finds a Warm Home

The Super Bird Pet Palace at Bailian Youyicheng Mall in Yangpu District opened in late December. It features an 8,000-square-meter indoor and outdoor mega pet paradise, making it the largest one-stop pet experience store in Shanghai for scientific pet care. The main business covers pet product sales, pet grooming, pet boarding, and more.

It evolved from a single bird-focused brand to a super complex covering multiple pet categories, including cats, dogs, aquariums, and reptiles. The brand emphasizes innovation in experience and service, adopting an "experience + retail + service" model to provide consumers with high-quality interactive retail experiences.

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

The Super Bird Pet Palace at Bailian Youyicheng Mall in Yangpu District.

Unlike traditional pet stores, the pet palace is a real paradise for the animals. It has a very spacious environment with intelligent cabinets for pets.

"Our display and care for all live animals is transparent, and the place is clean and bright," said Li Zhixin, the operations manager. "Pet owners have different demands for service and experience and prefer professionalism, which is our advantage as our customer service is different from small pet shops."

Offline retail stores are an important channel for pet owners to purchase pets, pet food, and various pet supplies. Royal Canin closely cooperates with pet stores and provides products covering the entire life cycle of dogs and cats.

"The product line of the Royal Canin brand is very finely segmented, catering to the most specific needs of customers, including all the accompanying products for every aspect of the pets' lives, from clothing to food, shelter, and transportation, and all these products can be found in this particular area," said Li.

"Moreover, Royal Canin has many functional products, as well as products for controlling weight and obesity. These are all very professional aspects of pet growth that cannot be achieved without certain research and investment. This is also the reason why we decided to work with Royal Canin."

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

Royal Canin's tailored nutrition solutions cover the entire life cycle of pets.

When cats and dogs are taken home, their owners receive pet care booklets and manuals and the store ensures that the animals go home with the same products.

"Cats and dogs, especially when they are in a new environment, are prone to stress. They may have diarrhea, hide, and refuse to eat; therefore, they need the food they eat at home to be as close as possible to the environment in the pet store," Lin Silu, area sales manager of Royal Canin, explained.

In addition to tailored nutrition solutions, Royal Canin is also actively promoting the long-term development of offline retail through professional empowerment and industry communication platforms to enhance store competitiveness.

Its support covers grooming upgrades which helps stores provide a better service experience and build new standards for grooming service and pet care and empowering the whole chain of pet sales through professional operation solutions.

"During the opening of our stores, Royal Canin provided a lot of support, such as improving service quality, guiding washing and grooming formats, and providing guidance on the breeding process and nutritional ratios for all the small pets, especially newborns," said Li.

"It has also helped improve the professionalism of our stores so we can provide customers with a better consumption experience. That's why we willing choose Royal Canin, a professional platform that truly focuses on research and education centered around pets."

The Healing Power for Pet

"To the world you may be one person, but to your pet, you are the world!" Anyone stepping into AVC Veterinary Hospital in downtown Xuhui District will be impressed by the first sighting on the wall.

AVC, established in 2018, is a 600-square-meter comprehensive pet hospital. It was founded by Dr Hsiu Chia (Grace) Lin, an Australian vet with over 15 years of international clinical experience.

AVC is equipped with a full range of imported veterinary equipment and is a purpose-built facility following international first-class standards. It covers specialties such as oncology, dentistry, cardiology, traditional veterinary medicine, and rehabilitation therapy. It provides pet owners with a superior and comfortable medical environment and allows pets to receive treatment in an environment that can effectively alleviate their emotions.

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

Dr Hsiu Chia (Grace) Lin, founder of AVC Veterinary Hospital, examines a pet.

"The layout and every detail of the hospital evolves from the perspective of alleviating stress for the animal patients. We treat all of these 'patients' as our very own family members," said Lin.

The physiotherapy and rehabilitation rooms are like a gym for dogs.

"We use various treatment methods, including laser therapy, underwater treadmills, and traditional acupuncture and Chinese medicine, to provide a holistic approach rather than relying solely on a singular methodology such as Western medicine. We aim to make these little patients more comfortable without over-treating and causing more harm than good," she noted.

"Veterinarians play an important role in helping pet owners understand their responsibilities as parents. Our priority is to improve their quality of life and alleviate pain, making the experience of pet ownership a pleasant one."

Lin also helps educate other veterinarians under the Royal Canin nutrition education program.

Vet hospitals are an important part of the industry to safeguard the health of dogs and cats. As a pet health and nutrition brand founded by a veterinarian, Royal Canin is committed to promoting the scientific concept of "eating V-diet food when sick."

V-diet means prescription pet food. It provides veterinarians with diversified nutritional solutions and research which has developed a series of prescription foods that assist in veterinary clinical work, such as urinary tract, skin, digestive tract, weight management, mobility enhancement, and other health management formulas.

While providing diversified solutions, it also actively empowers more veterinarians and creates more value for building a trustworthy pet ecosystem by popularizing science-based pet-raising concepts, holding industry summits, and integrating high-quality resources.

Royal Canin: The guardian and healing power for pets

The RC Vet Summit has been hosted for seven consecutive years.

"Being a veterinarian is a life-long learning profession because while diseases are evolving, diagnostic and treatment technologies are also advancing," said Jack Xu, an area sales manager of Royal Canin Pet Professional.

"Doctors need to keep learning to keep up with an increasing number of complex diseases and to provide better treatment services for dogs and cats. In this regard, we have always been promoting the development of veterinarians' skills and their overall diagnostic level through various means.

"All these aim to help promote the development of the veterinary industry and to improve the living environment for pets in China."


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