390In 2024, an unexpected phenomenon appeared on the Amazon US pet supplies chart:
An automatic feeder with a camera topped the Amazon BS list at TOP1, selling more than 9,000 units per month!
Someone commented in the review section: “Since I bought it, my cat has learned to eat buffet style...”
Selected positive reviews for Petlibro on Amazon
The brand of this feeder is called Petlibro, a homegrown Shenzhen brand.
In the past five years, it has grown from a small company to a best-seller in more than 40 countries worldwide, even making American pet owners willing to spend $200 on a “cat bowl that can video call.”
Behind this is a group of Chinese entrepreneurs who have precisely grasped the pet economy. While humans are hustling in 996, pets are comfortably “lying flat” at home!
Image source: Petlibro
Ø The comeback of a group of “poop scoopers”
The story of Petlibro starts with the troubles of a few “poop scoopers.”
In 2019, in Shenzhen Lemulo Technology Co., Ltd., a few young people who kept cats were worried: When on business trips, there was no one to feed the cats, and ordinary feeders either jammed or the food would go moldy directly.
They found that there were simply no reliable smart pet products on the market; the cheap ones were of questionable quality, and the imported ones were ridiculously expensive.
“Let’s make it ourselves!” This idea was immediately agreed upon. The core team members came from the veteran cross-border seller Zebao and were well-versed in cross-border e-commerce, but this time they didn’t just want to do “OEM business”—they wanted to create their own brand.
Zebao Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. Image source: Internet
They started with the simplest feeder, but the goal was clear, they had to become the “Apple” of the pet track.
Before the first-generation product even hit the market, the team did two “serious” things: first, they took apart all the feeders on the market and found that 90% of the jamming problems were due to the design of the food outlet; second, they spent three months visiting pet stores, observing cats’ eating habits.
This kind of “relentless” spirit later became the synonym for the Petlibro brand.
Image source: Internet
Ø Five years of deep cultivation, becoming a global hit
Petlibro’s growth history is a typical microcosm of Chinese brands maturing through trial and error.
When they first started in 2019, the team, armed with cross-border e-commerce experience from their former company Zebao, confidently launched a basic feeder.
But the first batch of goods ran into trouble as soon as it arrived in the US. Many buyers complained about jamming, poor sealing, and cat food clumping and molding in humid areas.
These negative reviews forced the team to redesign from scratch, iterating more than a dozen versions of just the food outlet structure.
Image source: Internet
After several setbacks, Petlibro received investment from Sequoia Capital and individual investors in 2021, finally allowing them to invest heavily in R&D.
The newly launched feeder was equipped with Wi-Fi and an HD camera. The mobile app not only allows remote feeding but also records the owner’s voice.
Some users posted videos showing themselves calling their cats to eat via the app while on business trips, and their cats responded “meow meow” to the camera. This video racked up millions of views on TikTok! It directly pushed the product into the top ten of Amazon’s pet category.
By 2024, Petlibro ushered in its highlight moment: the upgraded feeder with a camera soared to TOP1 on the Amazon BS list, with monthly sales exceeding 9,000 units and a total of 9,900 reviews.
No one could have imagined that a small brand tossed together by a few “poop scoopers” five years ago could now sweep through more than 40 countries with a “smart cat bowl.”
Image source: Amazon
Ø The fierce competition of the pet track
Petlibro’s popularity is inseparable from a “golden rule”: “The pet economy is booming, and smart products are the most competitive track within it.”
According to Euromonitor International, the global pet supplies market reached $47.768 billion in 2022, with the US pet supplies market ranking first at $23.004 billion, accounting for 48.33% of the global market share.
In other words, Americans are more willing to spend money on pets than on kids.
Image source: Euromonitor International
More importantly, the faster the pace of life, the greater the demand for smart pet products.
A report from Grand View Research shows that the global smart pet supplies market was $2.74 billion in 2020 and is expected to exceed $10 billion by 2028.
Products like smart feeders and water dispensers have almost become “standard equipment for working people with pets”.
To put it bluntly, this generation of young people can live rough lives themselves, but they want to give their pets the best.
Image source: Internet
Ø All-out online offensive
At the same time, Petlibro skillfully uses overseas social media platforms such as TikTok to precisely target the needs of pet owners, providing strong momentum for the brand’s rapid rise in overseas markets.
As of now, Petlibro’s TikTok account has 178,900 followers and 361,700 likes, with the highest video views exceeding 435,000, showing considerable potential.
Image source: TikTok
On TikTok, Petlibro has accurately captured its target group: pet owners.
For example, the aforementioned video with over 435,000 views shows a scene of a pet playing with water, directly introducing the use of the automatic water dispenser.
The video is short and concise, only 20 seconds, but enough to catch pet owners’ attention and stimulate their desire to buy.
Image source: TikTok
Reportedly, through these videos, Petlibro’s sales in TikTok’s US shop have now approached $500,000.
Image source: Echotik
In addition, building an independent site is also one of the keys to the brand’s success.
Petlibro’s official website is designed simply, allowing users to quickly find product information. The pages are rich in content, including HD images, product features, specifications, etc.
They even use 3D display technology so consumers can view the product from different angles. This design enhances the shopping experience and gives customers more confidence to buy.
Petlibro independent site
As for traffic, Petlibro’s independent site has performed well in recent years, reaching 48.4K visits, with 17.5K coming from organic search.
It’s especially worth mentioning that brand traffic accounts for 68.2%, indicating significant effort and achievement in brand building.
Image source: Internet
Ø The next arena: the pet “metaverse”
Today’s Petlibro is no longer limited to feeders.
With the explosion of the smart pet supplies market, they are exploring more possibilities, such as using AI technology to analyze pet behavior and even developing products that can monitor pet health.
Image source: Internet
But challenges have also followed. As the market heats up, more and more players are entering the track. However, the Petlibro team remains calm.
A staff member once wrote: “Back then, we made over a hundred adjustments to solve the jamming problem. Now it’s a tech competition? What we fear least is competition.”
Perhaps this is the confidence of Chinese manufacturing! Going global has never been about luck, but about solid “relentlessness.”
Next time you see a kitten meowing at a feeder on TikTok, it might just be Chinese intelligence quietly changing the world!
