Pet mooncakes see rising demand ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival

(ECNS) -- With the Mid-Autumn Festival still more than three weeks away, mooncakes made especially for cats and dogs are already on sale in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, with some sellers expecting demand to rise by about 30 percent from last year, the Chengdu Commercial Daily reported Thursday.

Pet food shops began taking pre-orders in mid-August, weeks earlier than in previous years, as owners look to celebrate the holiday with their pets by buying treats shaped like paws, lions and rabbits.

Zhou Xitong, who runs the Beian Sisters Fresh Pet Food store, said she has already sold more than 300 gift boxes and expects to sell more than 600 — around 2,400 mooncakes — before the festival. A box of four sells for 68 yuan (about $9.60).

Unlike traditional mooncakes filled with lotus seed paste or salted egg yolk, the pet versions contain ingredients including chicken, duck, beef liver, rabbit, chicken heart, beef and salmon, along with pumpkin, sweet potato, yam and goat's milk powder.

Zhou said her shop began taking pre-orders early to give staff enough time to keep up with demand.

"In previous years, many pet owners only remembered at the last minute that they wanted to buy a mooncake for their cat or dog," she said. "From our experience, pre-orders and last-minute orders each account for about half of sales. Later on, it's not that there are no customers — it's that we don't have enough hands and simply can't make them fast enough."

Kang Xinyue, who handles online sales for GoFine, another fresh pet food maker, said the company opened pre-orders on Sept. 1 this year, compared with just a week before the festival last year. More than 10 orders came in on the morning the announcement was posted, she said. 

GoFine received nearly 100 orders last year and expects sales to grow by about 30 percent this year, Kang said.

Pet boarding services are also filling up ahead of the holiday, which this year falls close to the weeklong National Day holiday in early October.

An employee surnamed Zhou at Xingyunshu (Lucky Tree) Pet said the shop has already received five or six boarding reservations for the Mid-Autumn Festival, with about half of its kennel spaces booked. In previous years, he said, spaces are typically fully booked around 10 days before a holiday.

Behind the growing demand for festive treats is a broader shift in how Chinese people view and care for their pets.

Cao Juan, manager of a pet store in Chengdu's Jinniu district, said her customers range from people in their 20s to families in their 30s and 40s, as well as elderly residents. Younger owners, in particular, tend to treat their pets like children, she said.

"They treat their pets like children," Cao said. "Whatever children have, they want their pets to have, too."

The shop also sells fresh pet food and birthday cakes, including custom cakes decorated with a pet's face based on a photograph. Cao said an elaborate portrait cake can take several hours to make and may cost more than a cake for people, but customers are still willing to pay for it.

Zhou said more pet owners in Chengdu are making fresh food a regular part of their animals' diets. Some order treats or "afternoon tea" for their pets on weekends and have them delivered the same day.

Kang said people in their 60s are also a core group of customers. Many are retirees whose children live elsewhere, with pets providing them with companionship, she said.

"They also transfer the love they have for their children onto their pets," Kang said.

The mooncakes have also become increasingly popular as gifts. Kang said buyers are increasingly bringing boxes when visiting friends or relatives who own dogs. The company also received corporate orders for pet zongzi during this year's Dragon Boat Festival, with employers buying them as benefits for staff members who own pets.

Kang said the growing market reflects a changing relationship between people and their animals.

(By Helen Mo)