An Era with More 'Gaemocha' than Strollers... Paint Companies and Funeral Service Providers Also Enter the 'Pet' Business

Pet Ownership Households Up 65% in 10 Years
Paint Industry Launches Pet-Certified Paint
Funeral Service Company Caring for Pets' Final Journey Like Humans

As the number of ‘Petfam (Pet+Family)’ households who consider their pets as family members rapidly increases, companies unrelated to pets are actively entering the pet business.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as of 2022, there were 6.02 million households raising pets, a 65% increase compared to 2012, ten years earlier. A survey also showed that sales of pet strollers, called ‘gaemochas,’ have surpassed those of baby strollers. Based on the total sales of strollers and baby strollers on Gmarket from the first to third quarter of last year set at 100, pet stroller sales accounted for 57%, while baby strollers accounted for 43%.

As the pet business grows rapidly, the paint industry has recently started releasing pet-certified products. Noroo Paint recently launched four products certified by IGSC (International Green Sustainability Certification). The pet product certification system evaluates whether a product is suitable for pets and their owners and grants certification by checking for specific harmful substances to enhance pet convenience and safety. Noroo Paint consulted with Dr. Seol Chae-hyun, a veterinary behavior modification specialist, during the certification process to develop its certified product lineup.

Image of Noru Paint's 'Soon&Soo All Cover' product, certified by animal behavior correction veterinarian Seol Chaehyun and pet product certification. (Photo by Noru Paint)

The certified products do not differ significantly in function from the company’s existing eco-friendly products. Nevertheless, the reason for obtaining pet product certification is to target the Petfam demographic. It is easier to appeal to Petfam households by emphasizing certification from pet-related organizations rather than just highlighting reduced harmfulness.

Noroo Paint plans to release pet-exclusive products in the future. Currently in the development stage, they are researching ways to significantly reduce harmfulness so that pets can safely lick or ingest the products, and to enable easy cleaning when pet waste is involved.

Before Noroo Paint, Samhwa Paint Industrial introduced pet-certified products and saw positive results targeting Petfam households. In 2020, Samhwa became the first in the industry to obtain ‘pet product certification’ from the Korea Kennel Federation for 24 architectural paints, including 14 interior and 10 exterior products. These products recorded an average annual sales growth of 8.3% until last year after their launch.

The increase in households choosing pet-friendly products when renovating their homes, as well as the rise in pet cafes and play facilities, contributed to this trend.

'Petsbia' product introduced by Boram Group's manufacturing affiliate, Via Life Sciences. (Photo by Boram Group)

The funeral service industry has also entered the pet business, with pet funeral services being a representative example. As pets are considered family members, the number of people wanting to hold funerals for their pets at the same level as humans has greatly increased. Pet funeral services use pet funeral halls and provide human-like funeral procedures, including staff dressed in formal attire conducting the burial.

Boram Group, which operates Boram Funeral Services, launched ‘Sky Pet,’ a pet-exclusive funeral product, last year. When a pet dies, staff visit the home for transportation upon customer request, and Boram’s professional funeral directors perform the embalming and funeral. Additionally, they have launched the ‘Anpang Pet’ and ‘Petsvia’ brands, entering the pet food market and pet bio-jewelry business.

Freed Life also provides funeral services in partnership with 21 Grab Group, a pet funeral specialist company, since last year. Depending on the subscription plan, customers receive premium funeral robes, high-quality paulownia wood coffins, white porcelain urns, and luxury wrapping cloths.