China’s prescription pet food welcomes a disruptor

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In January 2026, China’s animal health industry witnessed a major deal.

Hisun Animal Health and Zhongyu Pet Food announced that they will jointly invest to establish a joint venture company focused on the R&D, production, and sale of pet prescription food. The new company will have an initial registered capital of 50 million yuan, with a total planned investment exceeding 200 million yuan. Hisun Animal Health will hold a controlling 60% stake, while Zhongyu Pet Food will hold the remaining 40%.

This transaction has attracted significant attention in the capital market.

Backed by the 70-year pharmaceutical industry heritage of Hisun Pharmaceuticals, Hisun Animal Health is a major force, while Zhongyu Pet Food is an "invisible champion" in the industry, providing supply chain support behind more than 200 brands.

One company is a pharmaceutical giant seeking a second growth curve, the other is a manufacturing leader trying to break out from the red sea market. Their partnership is seen as a typical example of implementing the concept of "the same origin of medicine and food" in business.

The core logic of this cooperation lies in the structural changes in China’s pet market.

As the first generation of pets enter old age, market demand is shifting from simply being full and eating well to greater health needs. Prescription food, as a special category between medicine and ordinary food, combines both frequent consumption and high technological barriers.

However, this potentially 10-billion-yuan market has long suffered from supply imbalance, with foreign brands holding a monopoly and domestic brands facing a trust crisis.

Hisun offers a rigorous pharmaceutical research system, while Zhongyu provides mature food manufacturing processes. This “1+1” combination intends to break the existing market pattern. The two aim to redefine China’s local prescription pet food by blending “pharmaceutical standards” and “palatable taste”.

This is an attempt by Chinese companies to enter the high-end pet medical market segment.

The Rigid Demand of the Pet Market and the Mismatch in a 10-Billion-Yuan Blue Ocean

Data reveals that the prescription pet food market is on the eve of a boom.

The "2025 China Pet Industry White Paper" shows that Chinese pets are quickly entering an aging society. Senior dogs over 7 years old now account for 23% of all dogs, and the ratio of senior cats has reached 11%. This trend is irreversible, and with it comes a high incidence of chronic kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, and joint diseases.

For sick pets, the high protein content of regular pet food can be a burden—they require specific nutritional formulas to sustain life, making prescription food a necessity.

For example, a cat with chronic kidney disease (CKD) will have their condition worsened and life shortened by high quality high-protein food; what it needs is a prescription diet that is low in phosphorus, low in sodium, and features specially treated protein. A large dog with severe osteoarthritis doesn’t just need extra calcium, but rather a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, chondroitin, and a clinically-tested nutritional formula to help reduce inflammation.

Current market supply cannot keep up with this surging demand.

The domestic prescription pet food market is about 1–1.5 billion RMB, but the industry predicts its potential will surpass 10 billion in the coming years. The huge gap reflects extreme shortages on the supply side.

Consumers face an awkward situation.

On the one hand, Royal Canin dominates the shelves of pet hospitals; on the other, Hill’s Science Diet products are hard to import legally due to regulation. A lot of demand is pushed into the gray market filled with “parallel imports” and counterfeits.

Consumers urgently need a product that is easy to buy, has controllable quality, and is scientifically validated. The entry of Hisun and Zhongyu is aimed squarely at this huge market gap.

Lessons from Hill’s and the Royal Canin Fortress

The global prescription pet food market dates back to 1939.

That year, a young blind man named Morris Frank came to Dr. Mark Morris with his guide dog Buddy. Buddy was suffering from severe renal failure and at the time, given the medical conditions, this was almost certain death.

Dr. Morris believed that a high protein diet was burdening Buddy’s kidneys, so in his own kitchen, he developed a special low-salt, low-protein diet. After eating it, Buddy miraculously recovered and went on to serve Frank for many more years.

This kitchen invention later became the prototype for Hill’s k/d prescription food.

This story set the standards for the industry: prescription food must be based on pathological research and have clinical data support.

This kind of “evidence-based medicine” has been key to Hill’s global dominance.

In the Chinese market, Royal Canin has chosen a different path. Unlike regular consumer goods marketing, Royal Canin has no traditional marketing department; instead, they have a large team of technical specialists, many with veterinary backgrounds. They visit every animal hospital, not to sell products, but to lecture doctors about pathology, nutritional support, and case management.

Royal Canin, through deep and long-term “academic marketing,” has embedded its brand into veterinarians’ diagnostic logic. When a doctor diagnoses a cat with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), their first reaction is often to prescribe Royal Canin’s urinary prescription food—this reflex-like association is Royal Canin’s strongest moat.

Domestic manufacturers have tried and mostly failed to break through.

The core reason is the lack of convincing clinical data. Many products only add some functional ingredients but lack rigorous pathological model validation. Such “pseudo prescription diets” further fuel distrust among veterinarians.

Reconstructing the Business Logic of Medicine and Food Integration

The Hisun–Zhongyu partnership attempts to solve this deadlock.

Ji Wei, general manager of Hisun Animal Health, clarified the strategy at the launch: the joint venture will adopt the management standards of pharmaceutical clinical trials.

This means that every prescription food product reaching the market will undergo a process as rigorous as new drug development: monitoring through blood biochemistry and double-blind controlled tests to prove product effectiveness with data.

This is the area of expertise for pharmaceutical companies.

Zhongyu Pet Food will tackle the issue of palatability. Prescription food, due to the restrictions on protein, phosphorus, and sodium, usually tastes bad. Zhongyu’s founder An Zhongping stated that the joint venture will use enzymatic hydrolysis and flavor release technology to improve taste without adding attractants. Zhongyu’s accumulated expertise in food tech ensures sick pets can eat the products long-term.

The two companies are deeply bound on the capital level.

Hisun Animal Health contributes land, cash, and subsidiary equity for a 60% stake. Zhongyu Pet Food invests 20 million yuan in cash, with strict non-compete clauses in the agreement to secure Zhongyu’s key capacity and tech in prescription food.

Hisun fills its gap in industrial manufacturing, while Zhongyu gains a ticket to the medical-grade market.

The Battle of Standards and the Triumph of Long-Termism

The biggest challenge currently facing China’s prescription pet food industry is the lack of standards.

Without national standards, the market is chaotic. The Hisun–Zhongyu joint venture sees establishing standards as a core mission. They plan to use the two-year construction period (2026–2027) to build their factory and conduct massive clinical trials in parallel.

"Slow is fast."

Unlike rushing to make quick money via contract manufacturing, building their own plant and running clinical validations demands massive upfront investment—that’s the key to building a moat. Once a clinical-data-based evaluation system is established, latecomers will face high entry barriers.

Leveraging its pharmaceutical background, Hisun plans to partner with universities and research institutions to develop localized formulas for China’s most prevalent pet diseases, offering full-cycle management from drug therapy to nutritional support.

The market is waiting for a game-changer.

Perhaps when the factory opens in 2027, it will mark the beginning of a new pattern in China’s prescription pet food market.

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