This move into pet food production is far from a downgrade. In fact, some pet food standards surpass even those for human food as the animals' digestive systems, metabolic processes, and physiological structure are individually different.

　　Hu Zimeng, general manager of Jiangsu Weihong Pet Products Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu Province, east China, told Xinhua that their sales of pet snacks maintained an annual growth rate of over 10 percent in recent years.

　　This trend highlights the increasing demand for premium pet products and underscores the evolving view of pets as beloved members, especially pampered babies of the family.

　　Currently, the pet industry chain can be broadly categorized into three segments. The upstream segment primarily covers breeding and trading, while the midstream segment includes products such as pet food, supplies, toys, and apparel. The downstream segment is service-driven, encompassing pet grooming, boarding, photography, medical care, insurance, and funeral services, etc. The downstream services, in particular, are witnessing remarkable growth trends.

　　PETS' CONSUMPTION UPGRADE

　　As pet owners' emotional bonds with their pets deepen, the standards for pet care are steadily mounting, giving rise to a growing trend of refined and meticulous pet parenting.

　　Two years ago, Xu Ling, from the city of Nanjing, started paying attention to her dog's long-term health. In addition to an annual health check-up package and pet insurance, she also took online courses to learn how to keep her pet healthy, like how to feed it the right food and control its weight.

　　Services like single-furnace cremation, ashes storage, grooming after passing, custom memorabilia, and farewell ceremonies are now widely available. In the past six months alone, over 1,100 new pet funeral businesses have popped up, according to Tianyancha, a corporate information provider.