I. Market background: the pain points of traditional cat litter and the rise of new consumption trends
Around 2020, the domestic pet market ushered in explosive growth, but the cat litter market has long been dominated by bentonite cat litter. Although this type of product is cheap, it has pain points such as large dust, difficult to degrade, and clogging the toilet, and the young pet-raising population has an increasingly strong demand for “environmental protection”, “convenience” and “health”. At the same time, tofu cat litter, which focuses on natural materials, has begun to enter the consumer’s field of vision, but the quality of products on the market is uneven and lacks the leadership of head brands.
II. Brand positioning: Focus on the tofu cat litter track to create differentiated competitiveness
The “Fat Cat” team keenly captured this market opportunity and was officially established in 2021, positioning the brand as a “high-end natural tofu cat litter expert”. The core target group is young pet-raising families aged 25-35 in first- and second-tier cities. They pay attention to the quality of pet life and are willing to pay a premium for healthy and environmentally friendly pet products.
Product strategy: Build product barriers with “natural + functional”
Raw material innovation: Use food-grade pea fiber + corn starch, reject industrial adhesives, pass SGS safety testing, can be directly flushed into the toilet, and solve the disposal problem of traditional cat litter.
Function upgrade: Develop “triple deodorization technology” (plant activated carbon + probiotics + tea polyphenols), and the actual ammonia removal rate within 24 hours is 92%; the particle hardness is increased to 8.5N, the clumps are tight and not easy to disperse, and the amount is 30% less than traditional cat litter.
Scenario segmentation: Launch multiple specifications of products (2.5kg portable, 6kg family, 10kg bulk), covering different scenarios such as renters, multi-cat families, and hoarding consumers.
III. Marketing strategy: accurately reach the target group and build a global growth model
(I) Content marketing: use “pain point resonance + scenario-based content” to open up cognition
Short video platform: released the “10 most annoying things about raising cats” series of short plays on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, showing the disadvantages of traditional cat litter with exaggerated performance, and ending with the fat cat product solution. The highest number of views of a single video exceeded 5 million times, and comments such as “finally found a cat litter that does not raise dust” in the comment area formed a natural spread.
KOL layered cooperation:
Head blogger: cooperate with “Laoyang’s Cat”, a blogger with tens of millions of fans in the pet field, to conduct evaluations, and strengthen product professionalism through professional laboratory data comparison (such as dust volume detection, clumping speed test).
Waist and tail experts: recruit 500 “fat cat experience officers”, provide free products in exchange for real usage feedback, and use the authenticity of amateurs to penetrate the sinking market. The related topic #会呼吸的猫沙# has been read more than 200 million times on Xiaohongshu.
(II) Cross-border collaboration: Leverage the opportunity to break the circle and reach the general pet population
Cooperation with environmental protection brands: On Earth Day in 2022, we jointly launched the “Natural Pet Raising and Green Life” limited edition gift box with “Blueair”, which contains tofu cat litter + air purifier coupons, conveying the concept of “pet raising can also be zero burden”. The gift box was sold out in 3 days after it went online, driving the brand search volume to increase by 180%.
Pet exhibition linkage: Participated in the Asian Pet Show for two consecutive years, set up an interactive area of ​​”degradable cat litter garden”, where the audience can pour the used cat litter into the degradation device by hand, and intuitively feel the environmental protection characteristics of the product. During the exhibition, more than 2,000 potential dealer information was collected.
(III) Private domain operation: Create a “pet raising community + membership system” to enhance repurchase
Enterprise WeChat community: Users can scan the code to join the group to receive a 10 yuan repurchase coupon, and the group regularly shares “Scientific Litter Guide” and “Cat Health Knowledge”, and set up “Customer Service Q&A Day” to solve usage problems. Data shows that the monthly repurchase rate of community users is 45%, 28 percentage points higher than that of ordinary users.
Member points system: 1 point for every 1 yuan spent, points can be exchanged for peripheral products such as cat cans and cat scratching boards, or participate in the “old for new” activity (10 empty bags for 1 bag of new cat litter). More than 5 million points have been consumed in the first half of the year, and the amount of empty bags recycled is equivalent to reducing 12 tons of plastic waste.
4. Channel expansion: online and offline linkage to build an omni-channel sales network
Online platform:
Tmall flagship store: optimize search keywords (such as “flushable cat litter” and “low dust cat litter”), and accurately guide traffic through direct train + super recommendation. The sales volume on Double 11 in 2022 exceeded 8 million yuan, ranking TOP3 in the cat litter category.
Pet vertical platform: settle in “Boqi.com” and “E Pet Mall”, participate in the platform’s “Pet Essential List” and “New Product Trial” and other special activities to reach the core pet population.
Offline channels:
Pet chain stores: Cooperate with chain brands such as “Rui Peng Pet” and “Chong Yisheng” to set up “Natural Cat Litter Experience Area” in stores, provide free trial packs, and increase the conversion rate of entering the store by 25%.
Boutique supermarkets: Enter high-end supermarkets such as Ole’ and Hema, form scene linkage with imported pet food, and attract high-end customers.
V. Achievements and inspirations: Sales exceeded 100 million in three years, redefining industry standards
Market performance: From the establishment of the brand in 2021 to 2024, the annual compound growth rate reached 150%, and the sales in 2024 exceeded 120 million yuan, occupying 18% of the domestic tofu cat litter market, becoming the first brand in the category.
Industry impact: Promote the formulation of the group standard of “Plant-based Cat Litter for Pets”, and jointly establish the “Natural Cat Litter Industry Alliance” with upstream and downstream companies to promote the standardized development of the industry.
Core inspiration
Accurately capture segmented needs: Find blue oceans in the red ocean, focus on the unmet pain points of traditional categories, and define new tracks with innovative products.
Content marketing scenario: avoid hard advertising indoctrination, and let consumers recognize the brand value through real scene restoration and emotional resonance.
Monetization of environmental attributes: convert selling points such as “degradable” and “natural materials” into user-perceivable benefits (such as convenient disposal and health protection) rather than staying at the conceptual level.
Omni-channel experience closed loop: solve cognition and purchase online, strengthen experience and trust offline, and improve retention and repurchase in private domains to form a positive cycle of marketing links.

The case of Fat Cat proves that even in the fiercely competitive pet products market, as long as the user needs can be accurately grasped, the product strength is the foundation, and innovative marketing strategies are combined, unicorn brands can be born in the subdivided fields. With the deepening of the “her economy” and “pet anthropomorphism” trends, the differentiated competition in the pet industry in the future will rely more on in-depth insights into the “human-pet lifestyle”.