At a glance
- Client: A Taiwan-based pet food company
- Sector: Pet food / export
- Region: Philippines
- Service: Export feasibility study
The challenge
The client, a Taiwanese pet food company, wanted to know whether it could export to the Philippines. Which permits, registrations and labels are required, and who must hold them? How big and how competitive is the market, and where do current imports come from? How do Filipino pet owners choose and buy pet food, and which buyers should a newcomer target first? The answers had to add up to a clear feasibility view with practical next steps.
What we did
- Reviewed Philippine import rules for pet food: Bureau of Animal Industry licences, FDA veterinary review, customs procedures and labelling law.
- Sized the Philippine pet food market and import flows using Mordor Intelligence and Statista data, and profiled the five leading dog food suppliers.
- Analysed pet ownership, food-type preferences, spending and retail channels, then segmented target audiences and reviewed competitors' social media content.
Topics covered
- Philippine pet food permits, registration and labelling
- Market size, import origins and leading suppliers
- Pet ownership and buying behaviour
- Target segments and digital marketing channels
What we delivered
A written pet food market report for the Philippines (October 2024, about 46 pages) covering import regulation, market analysis, target audience and marketing, and a feasibility assessment with next steps.
Pet food market research for the Philippines
Written report · About 46 pages
- Importation laws and the agencies involved (BAI, FDA-CDRR, Bureau of Customs)
- Required permits: licence to operate, feed product registration, sanitary import clearance, veterinary certificate
- Labelling and packaging rules
- Market size, import origins and the five leading suppliers' share
- Consumer preferences, retail channels and target segments
- Feasibility assessment and next steps
What we found
- Exporting pet food to the Philippines is feasible if the importer holds a BAI licence to operate, registers each feed product, gets a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance before shipping, and labels to Philippine rules.
- A local importer or partner is needed, both to deal with the agencies and because several permits sit with the importer.
- Demand is shaped by the 'pets as family' trend, but 2023's missed growth target points to more price-sensitive buying. We recommended targeting health-conscious urban owners with a range of price points, and selling through marketplaces and influencers.
In numbers
- Philippine pet food market: forecast USD 292.2 million in 2024, rising to USD 681.3 million by 2029, a CAGR of 18.45% (Mordor Intelligence).
- Philippine imports of dog and cat food reached USD 206.8 million in 2023. Thailand supplied 44.6% (Statista, 2024).
- 83% of Filipino pet owners see their pets as family members (cited in report).
Key takeaway
In the Philippines the paperwork sits largely with the importer, so choosing the right local partner is the first step of market entry, not the last.