S’pore bizs are cashing in on the contemporary pet meals increase

A whole S$150 million trade is being constructed round contemporary pet meals in Singapore

For many years, the reply to feeding your pet was easy: open a bag of kibble, scoop some right into a bowl, and that’s it—you had been completed.

Dry kibble has all the time dominated the worldwide pet meals market, and Singapore is not any exception. It’s low-cost to supply, straightforward to retailer, and closely marketed. For many pet homeowners, it has merely all the time been “the way in which.”

However more and more, pet homeowners are asking more durable questions. What precisely goes into these brown pellets? What’s their dietary worth? And why achieve this many pets, even on premium kibble, nonetheless undergo from persistent illnesses?

For a rising variety of Singapore pet homeowners, the reply has been to ditch the bag solely. They’re turning to contemporary pet meals—minimally processed, human-grade meals created from actual substances like sous vide hen and bone broth. It prices much more, however they’re keen to splurge.

To fulfill the demand, a brand new wave of native manufacturers has emerged, reshaping a market that, for many years, had remained largely unchanged.

Amongst them are PetCubes and BOM BOM: two Singapore-based contemporary pet meals firms which are each seeing market traction that their founders couldn’t have anticipated after they first began out.

Taking pet vitamin to a brand new stage

For Dr Francis Cabana, Director of Diet at PetCubes, the journey into pet meals started removed from home kitchens.

With a PhD in Animal Diet, his profession has spanned zoos and rescue centres around the globe, finally bringing him to Mandai, the place he labored with the Singapore Zoo. There, he started consulting for an area pet meals startup—PetCubes—which might later grow to be his full-time focus.

Based in 2013, PetCubes claims to be Singapore’s first contemporary pet meals firm, getting into the market at a time when the idea was nearly unprecedented.

“Again then, pet homeowners actually solely had two choices: extremely processed kibble or time-consuming dwelling cooking,” he shared. “We needed to bridge that hole with one thing that was each handy and biologically applicable.”

However being first got here with challenges. Early development was gradual, and convincing pet homeowners and even veterinarians required intensive training.

“Each dialog was a hard-fought battle,” he stated. “We had been basically educating the market from scratch.”

Over time, nevertheless, that persistence paid off. Immediately, PetCubes operates its personal ISO 22000 and HACCP-certified facility in Singapore and has expanded throughout Hong Kong and Malaysia. It has additionally achieved a milestone few contemporary pet meals manufacturers can declare: being stocked in veterinary clinics domestically.

Whereas PetCubes emerged from trade experience, BOM BOM was born out of a deeply private expertise.

Its founder and CEO, Jason Wang, didn’t got down to begin a enterprise. Actually, he was getting ready for retirement when his canine, Kyubi, started affected by a number of persistent well being points, from digestive issues to joint situations.

Pissed off by the dearth of clear solutions from typical remedies, Jason started researching pet vitamin himself.

“What began as a private journey shortly turned a a lot greater realisation,” he defined. “Lots of the points Kyubi confronted had been linked to food regimen, particularly, extremely processed kibble.”

Unable to discover a product that met his requirements, Jason started getting ready contemporary meals himself. The outcomes had been dramatic: inside weeks, Kyubi confirmed seen enhancements in his digestion, pores and skin, and power ranges, to the purpose the place associates started asking him to arrange meals for his or her pets as effectively.

Ultimately, the kitchen-based ardour venture he began in 2016 turned BOM BOM, formally established in 2017.

Immediately, the corporate serves round 10,000 clients in Singapore and operates a 5,000 sq ft SFA-licensed facility in Tiong Bahru. It additionally has a presence in South Korea, with a 9,000 sq ft manufacturing unit arrange in Seoul to cater to its clients there.

The enterprise’s development has been largely bootstrapped, increasing at over 30% CAGR over the previous decade, shared Jason.

What actually goes into the bowl

The shift in the direction of cooked pet meals is pushed largely by pet humanisation: the concept pets are members of the family deserving of the identical high quality of care and vitamin as people.

Whereas dry kibble nonetheless dominates resulting from comfort and affordability, its development has plateaued. In distinction, the contemporary and cooked pet meals section—nonetheless solely about 10–20% of the market, in response to Jason—is increasing quickly.

The contemporary pet food market in Singapore was estimated to have reached about S$150 million in 2025, pushed by rising pet possession and premiumisation tendencies.

Pet homeowners who’ve made the swap are noticing actual, tangible modifications of their pets’ well being.

Dr Francis notes that after simply three days on PetCubes, pets’ stools grow to be smaller, darker, and fewer odorous—a transparent signal their our bodies are absorbing actual vitamin as a substitute of passing artificial fillers.

PetCubes achieves these outcomes by means of its thoughtfully crafted menu, which options 12 single-protein choices starting from rabbit and venison to crocodile and even bugs.

Every meal is “gently cooked” at 75–80°C for a minimum of 45 minutes—a low-and-slow technique that eliminates pathogens whereas preserving delicate vitamins like nutritional vitamins, antioxidants, and proteins, which are sometimes destroyed through the high-heat extrusion course of used for kibble. The model additionally gives uncooked choices for pets that want an raw food regimen.

Alternatively, BOM BOM focuses on customised vitamin. Every meal is crafted on demand for particular person pets based mostly on age, breed, exercise stage, and particular well being situations.

Its sensible manufacturing unit rigorously checks portioning, fats content material, and ingredient high quality, whereas lab-tested produce and strict farm-to-bowl SOPs guarantee freshness and security.

This precision-led method means pets usually see measurable enhancements in digestion, power, coat well being, and even persistent situations—demonstrating the advantages of vitamin tailor-made to the person reasonably than a one-size-fits-all system.

Making an impression on the standard market

Because the class grows, so does competitors.

New contemporary, frozen, and freeze-dried manufacturers are getting into the market at an accelerating tempo, providing pet homeowners a wider vary of choices than ever earlier than. However maybe probably the most telling signal of disruption is how conventional gamers are responding.

Based on Dr Francis, main kibble manufacturers have begun adopting language like “raw-inspired” and “ancestral feeding”—a shift he sees as validation reasonably than competitors.

“When billion-dollar firms begin mimicking your messaging, it proves that the demand for much less processed, pure meals has really made an impression on the standard market,” he stated.

“The disruption is going on as a result of we’ve raised the bar on what a pet’s bowl ought to appear to be, and now the remainder of the trade is making an attempt to maintain tempo.”

Jason echoes the same sentiment however provides that the subsequent section of development should go deeper.

Proper now, there are not any constant requirements defining what “contemporary” really means. Consequently, manufacturers can label their merchandise as contemporary with out making certain they’re really nutrient-dense or biologically applicable.

“The trade wants to maneuver past utilizing contemporary as a advertising and marketing time period. We want clearer dietary requirements, larger transparency, and higher training on long-term well being outcomes.”

A market nonetheless discovering its ft

Whereas each PetCubes and BOM BOM see contemporary feeding as nonetheless being in its early phases, the alternatives for development are plain.

In Singapore, each manufacturers are actively increasing their presence to succeed in extra mainstream customers. PetCubes has strengthened its footprint in main retailers like Pet Lovers Centre, whereas persevering with to develop its on-line and subscription channels.

It has already seen hanging development. “We’ve grown our income by over 400%,” stated Dr Francis, including that the enterprise produces “tons of of 1000’s of contemporary meals” yearly.

BOM BOM, alternatively, is extending past its direct-to-consumer mannequin with selective retail partnerships and broader e-commerce availability, making certain pet homeowners can entry contemporary, personalised meals extra conveniently.

For each manufacturers, growth isn’t nearly gross sales—it’s about making science-backed or precision-led contemporary vitamin extensively accessible.

However challenges stay.

Recent meals comes with greater manufacturing prices, together with sourcing premium, human-grade substances. Chilly chain logistics are crucial to make sure meals stay protected and nutritious, however add complexity to distribution. Shelf lives are additionally shorter in comparison with conventional kibble, which requires cautious stock administration and might restrict mass adoption.

Moreover, the necessity for shopper training is ongoing. Many pet homeowners are nonetheless unfamiliar with contemporary feeding or hesitant to maneuver away from typical choices.

Nonetheless, if present tendencies are something to go by, the trajectory is obvious: the demand for contemporary pet meals is rising, and the market is ripe for development.

• Learn different articles we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: @trufflewhuffle through Instagram/ BOM BOM