Stella & Chewy's (SC), the No.1 selling freeze-dried raw food brand in the US, officially announced today that it has become the exclusive offline distributor in mainland China: Shanghai Leta Technology Co., Ltd. (Leta). It is understood that by adopting a brand + agency business model upon entering China, SC aims to continuously build its brand in China, listen to the needs of consumers and the market, and better serve Chinese consumers. Eileen Hu, Head of Stella & Chewy's China, stated: "The Chinese market is a key overseas market for SC's strategic investment, and offline stores are the first point of contact and experience for consumers, making them very important to SC. We are delighted to partner with Leta to jointly build the offline market and provide healthy products and high-quality services to pet owners and their furry friends in China."
After fierce competition, he stood out.
SC Offline General Distributor: Shanghai Leta Technology Co., Ltd.
According to industry insiders, the competition for SC's offline distributorship was fierce, primarily due to the following reasons: 1. SC boasts excellent brand and product strength, especially in the freeze-dried food sector where its brand awareness and reputation are unmatched. Freeze-dried food is currently a rapidly growing trend in the pet industry. As a brand that has held the top position in the high-end, high-growth freeze-dried raw food category in the US market for five consecutive years*, SC's entry into the Chinese market, coupled with its existing foundation through purchasing agents and cross-border channels, naturally attracted numerous potential distributors. 2. SC's local brand team maintains close ties with its US headquarters, focusing on serving the Chinese business. This allows them to better tailor business development plans based on the needs and channel characteristics of Chinese consumers, continuously building the brand, optimizing product planning and supply management, and strengthening promotional management. 3. SC offers a diverse product range, including not only its flagship freeze-dried products but also freeze-dried coated and mixed dry food, wet food, and treats. Furthermore, SC's innovation team at headquarters continuously develops new products annually, demonstrating strong adaptability and expansion capabilities.
The head of Leta stated, "The core team members of Shanghai Leta Technology Co., Ltd. have over 8 years of experience serving offline pet stores. Their sales team network directly covers key provinces and cities across China, and they have practical experience with leading imported brands. The team also possesses extensive experience in offline store activities and channel empowerment. We highly value SC's brand philosophy and are optimistic about SC's development in the Chinese market. Our company will fully commit to working with Stella & Chewy's to deeply empower offline pet store clients and serve pet owners and their furry friends better."
SC continues to focus on brand building and developing a service-oriented team :
Serving consumers and empowering channels
As the head of SC China, Eileen Hu believes that strong product capabilities alone are insufficient for SC's success in the upcoming Chinese imported pet food market: "We need a deep understanding of the needs of local customers and consumers, and to tailor plans specifically for the Chinese market: 1. Through brand building and various online and offline marketing activities, we aim to convey the benefits and joys of raw food feeding to more pet owners and their furry friends. 2. We will build a consumer-centric team, focusing on the health of every pet and the shopping experience of pet owners, allowing them to enjoy SC products with ease, pleasure, and peace of mind. 3. We will create a virtuous cycle of win-win cooperation with channel partners, designing product combinations and online and offline promotional policies tailored to the positioning and operational characteristics of each channel, ensuring effective terminal management, and guaranteeing a long-term stable business environment for our channel partners."
Industry insiders say that since SC officially entered China at the end of 2021, its marketing activities have also started simultaneously. For example, it participated in the Pet Fair and the Asia Pet Fair with an independent brand booth, and carried out many offline pet-related, competition-related, and charity-related activities in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, which showed industry insiders SC's determination to make a strong push in the Chinese market.
“Building our brand in the Chinese market is crucial for SC. It helps B2B clients attract customers and drive sales, while also helping consumers understand the SC brand and choose SC products,” said Eileen Hu. “With the launch of our offline business, we will be launching the ‘SC Freeze-Dried Merry Christmas’ offline themed event this Christmas. This event will cover six cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuxi, and Dalian, specifically in landmark shopping malls such as Kerry Centre in Shanghai and the Christmas Inspiration Town in Wuxi. We welcome SC fans to come and explore the joy of raw food with us!”
Based on product strength + brand strength + innovation
SC freeze-drying quickly opens up the Chinese market
As an American pet brand that has focused on raw food feeding for 19 years, Stella & Chewy's is the number one freeze-dried raw food brand in the United States*. In November 2021, SC launched on Tmall Global and immediately received a good market response. Both its cat and dog staple food products have been listed on the sales and reputation charts of Tmall Global. The strength of the three major barriers behind it should not be underestimated.
First, SC freeze-dried products, validated in the US market for 19 years, possess core product strengths that create extremely high barriers to entry in the industry. SC freeze-dried products select premium meat sources from around the world, certified by the USDA; production takes place in its own 37,000-square-meter SQF-certified factory in Wisconsin, USA, where the entire freeze-drying equipment utilizes globally leading technology and is custom-designed for SC; the product R&D team comprises PhDs in animal nutrition and veterinarians, possessing strong R&D capabilities; and patented food safety technology ensures that safety test reports for each batch of products can be verified on the official website.
Secondly, SC boasts a differentiated high-end positioning and strong brand power. From the outset, SC has positioned itself as a high-end, joyful lifestyle for both humans and pets. SC's brand philosophy emphasizes the relationship between humans and pets, advocating a healthy and happy lifestyle, and focusing on public welfare and environmental protection. Its concepts are both cutting-edge and refreshing, resonating emotionally. Currently, SC is gradually upgrading its freeze-dried product series with environmentally friendly packaging materials. This is not a "gimmick" to attract environmental enthusiasts, but rather a long-term belief of the brand—that a better environment leads to a better quality of life for both humans and pets.
Third, its exceptional innovation capabilities enable it to expand its product range significantly, giving it strong market potential. After 19 years of development, SC has evolved from its original focus on frozen and freeze-dried pet food to become a full-category premium pet food brand encompassing frozen, freeze-dried, freeze-dried coated dry food, freeze-dried mixed dry food, baked food, wet food, and snacks. Its product range far surpasses other similar freeze-dried brands, and it continues to create new, high-end products that meet consumer demands every year.
*Data source: AC NIELSENIQ sales statistics for 100% freeze-dried raw pet food products for 52 consecutive weeks up to November 5, 2022.
