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V-Planet, the San Francisco-based dog food brand, has just entered the Chinese market. It has partnered with Hong Kong vegan pioneer Green Monday to launch its plant-based dog food range in its Shanghai Green Common stores. V-Planet has made significant inroads into Asia recently, with its China expansion marking its fifteenth international market.
V-Planet will soon be launching its products in China, where its plant-based kibble will be available at Green Common stores in Shanghai, including the two brand new locations that just opened up in the summer. The US vegan dog food brand, founded in 2005, makes its range using non-GMO ingredients like peas, oats, brown rice and potato protein.
The kibble comes in two sizes, mini for smaller dogs and a bigger version for medium-sized and large dogs. All of V-Planet’s products contain no corn, soy or wheat, and are nutritionally complete for pets.
V-Planet: challenging China’s pet food industry
Pet food is one of the world’s most polluting industries. Currently, commercial pet food is estimated to drive as much as a quarter of the environmental impact of factory farming.
And the number of pet owners in China is surging. Back in 2017, China had around 84 million pet dogs, and this figure is set to top 136 million by 2022. Green Common says that offering a plant-based alternative for pet food will give conscious consumers an additional choice that is healthier, more sustainable and ethical for their dogs.
The launch in China marks the fifteenth market for V-Planet, having entered Japan late last year. It boasts a presence in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Plant-based pet food trend
As the global plant-based and flexitarian population continues to grow, more pet owners are now looking for alternative pet food options. While the plant-based pet food sector is still small, the number of vegan pet offerings are now growing.
Other than V-Planet, other vegan pet food startups include UK brands Omni and The Pack, and US-based Wild Earth.
Some startups are even using cellular technology to create real animal protein pet food, such as Because Animals, which has created the world’s first cultivated pet food, a snack for cats containing cell-based mouse meat. Bond Pet Foods is also using cell-based tech to develop chicken meat protein for cats and dogs.
All images courtesy of V-Planet / Green Monday.
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