The Dog Food Capital of China: A Story of Transformation in Nanhe County

As the saying goes, “Food is paramount for the people.” Isn’t the essence of living in this world striving and working hard for sustenance?

In our increasingly weary lives, some families choose to raise pets to alleviate the day’s fatigue, with dogs being the top choice. Some say that a dog is the only thing money can buy that will love you unconditionally.

This statement doesn’t come out of thin air. Nowadays, dogs live much better lives than before. They have specialized pet snacks and dedicated pet training classes.

However, in earlier times, dogs weren’t highly valued by their owners. So, how did pet snacks gradually emerge in the market?

Nanhe County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province

The loyalty of a dog to its owner largely depends on how the owner treats the dog. If the owner provides the dog with everything good and fun, the dog will surely reciprocate with sincerity.

Dogs cannot speak, perhaps to demonstrate that silent love can also be profound. The most direct way for an owner to show love to their dog is by buying them delicious food.

The dog food market is now flooded with various options, and there’s a place in China known as the “Hometown of Dog Food” – Nanhe County in Xingtai City, Hebei Province.

This county produces dog food that feeds 60% of the dogs in the entire country. The vast majority of dog food is manufactured here.

Nanhe County is located in the central part of the southern Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It boasts a beautiful environment, fresh air, and is a newly developed industrial base in Hebei.

Initially, the people of this area didn’t rely on dog food production for their livelihood. How did they discover this path?

In the 1990s, Nanhe County was still a small, underdeveloped rural area. Its primary source of income was selling animal feed.

Selling feed for just a few cents per pound was the main way for some families in Nanhe County to survive. Nanhe County had abundant grain resources, and its agricultural resources were much better than other regions, allowing them to be self-sufficient in feed production.

Therefore, in the 1990s, feed factories sprung up one after another in Nanhe County, and the entire industry almost reached saturation.

Pioneering New Business Ideas

It was at this time that a leader from Nanhe County attended a meeting in the city. There, the leaders saw dog owners buying packaged “pet food” in shopping malls.

This leader from Nanhe County recognized a huge business opportunity. After the meeting, he immediately returned to his village and shared this information with his fellow villagers.

He noticed that the prices of “pet food” were very high, more than ten times the price of the feed they were selling. He started discussing with the villagers the possibility of transitioning to selling pet food.

When this leader’s idea was proposed, it was initially met with incomprehension from the villagers.

In that small county, people raised cats and dogs to catch mice and other pests. They were unaware that city dwellers treated their pets as family members.

Although the villagers had many doubts, the prospect of making money motivated them to venture into this industry. It was from this point that Nanhe County officially entered the “pet food” sector.

Nanhe County: The “Hometown of Dog Food”

Being ordinary farmers, they didn’t set the prices of their pet food very high. They produced the highest quality products and entered the market with the lowest prices.

The highly cost-effective dog food quickly gained popularity among consumers. Their strategy of seizing market share proved effective.

Because Nanhe County had abundant natural resources, they could produce dog food themselves without needing to collaborate with other manufacturers. They simply produced the food and sold it in the market. In no time, dog food from Nanhe County became widely known.

Once the villagers received tangible financial returns, they wanted to start developing new products. In addition to traditional kibble, new baked foods and fresh meat options also appeared in the market.

Nanhe County’s reputation spread far and wide, and even dog lovers from abroad began purchasing dog food from there.

Within a few years, the number of employees in Nanhe County exceeded 100,000, and the annual dog food production reached 1.1 million tons. They achieved their own breakthrough.

Conclusion

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that 60% of the dog food in the country now comes from this county. Their high-quality, low-priced dog food has received widespread praise.

Nanhe was originally a poor rural area. Through their own steady efforts, step by step, they gained a leading position in the dog food market.