Fresh Pet Food Brand Companies Pull China’s Meat Giants Into the Industry in 2026 as Jinluo Starts a 200,000-Tonne Plant
Executive Summary. Jiemian News reported in late September 2026 that Jinluo subsidiary Chong’ai Jia has started a 200,000-tonne-per-year pet food plant in Linyi, Shandong, with planned investment of RMB 546-660 million, as Wens, Shuanghui, Delis and Sunner also move into China’s pet food industry. Fresh-meat claims are the stated logic, because processors can certify provenance at a cost feed plants cannot match.
Key Facts
- Company
- Jinluo Group / Chong’ai Jia Pet Food (Shandong)
- Country
- China
- Industry
- Meat processing and pet food manufacturing
- Category
- Pet food capacity investment
- Event
- Start of a 200,000-tonne-per-year pet food plant
- Date
- 2026-07 (project launch); reported 2026-09
- Location
- Linyi, Shandong, China
- Source
- Jiemian News
What Happened
Chinese meat processors are building pet food capacity at industrial scale, according to a report by Jiemian News circulated in late September 2026. The anchor project: Chong’ai Jia Pet Food (Shandong), a Jinluo Group subsidiary, has started a 200,000-tonne-per-year pet food project in Linyi, Shandong province, the city where Jinluo is headquartered. Industry-affiliated coverage tied to the report dates the formal launch to early July 2026, with planned investment of RMB 546-660 million on a 62,000-square-metre site, developed through Linyi Shansong Pharmaceutical, a company held under Jinluo’s ecological-agriculture arm.
Jinluo is not moving alone. The Jiemian report counts four more meat-industry names already inside pet food: Wens Foodstuff took control of Qingdao Shuang’an Biological through its investment arm in February 2026; Shuanghui Development led a nine-figure-yuan B-plus funding round in Zhongyu Pet Food in September 2025; Delis signed a freeze-dried pet food partnership with Haifusheng and Sanhe in August 2025; and Sunner teamed with Shanghai Fubei on a production project in Fujian that began in January 2024.
Background
The business logic starts on the fresh-meat shelf. Jiemian reports that fresh meat content has become a leading selling point on Chinese cat and dog food packaging, with brands advertising fresh chicken and duck percentages and claims such as zero meat meal, zero grain and zero bone powder. Those labels are easier for a meat processor to certify than for a conventional feed plant, because the raw material is the meat company’s core business.
The push also reflects pressure at home. Shuanghui’s revenue declined for three consecutive years through 2025 and its meat-products revenue shrank alongside it, while Delis posted large losses in 2023 and 2024 before returning to profit in 2025. Pig-processing capacity utilization in China has fallen below 50%, according to figures cited in the coverage. Pet food, growing at mid-single digits with premium sub-segments growing faster, is the adjacent industry where slaughter-scale protein supply turns into shelf value.
Industry Context
The market they are entering has cooled from sprint to marathon. The 2026 China Pet Industry White Paper put the urban dog-and-cat consumption market at RMB 312.6 billion in 2025, up 4.1%, with pet food taking 53.7% of spending, and Euromonitor projects a 9.64% compound annual growth rate for Chinese pet food between 2025 and 2028. Against that, competition in staple food has turned into a price fight among the incumbent listed makers, whose first-half 2026 results showed revenue growth alongside steep profit declines.
Claims are the new battleground. As fresh-meat positioning spreads, the grain free vs grain dog food debate has moved from owner forums onto mass-market packaging, and meat processors believe vertical integration lets them prove claims like zero meat meal at a cost premium players cannot match. Whether shoppers pay for that proof, or treat it as table stakes, will decide how much of the RMB 546-660 million Jinluo investment earns premium margins.
Market & Business Impact
A 200,000-tonne plant is a statement of scale. For comparison, it approaches the annual output of some of China’s largest listed pet food producers in a single site, and it arrives from a group whose core business already slaughters 20 million pigs and 200 million chickens a year. If Chong’ai Jia runs that capacity for both own brands and OEM contracts, Shandong’s export-oriented pet food belt gains a supplier with unmatched raw-material depth, sharpening the cost curve for staple and treat lines alike.
For incumbent pet food makers, meat-industry entry compresses margins from the input side and adds marketing-heavy competitors on the brand side at the same time. For retailers and distributors, more supply means sharper shelf pricing in staple categories through 2027, particularly in fresh-positioned lines where the new entrants hold a credibility advantage.
Companies & Brands Involved
Jinluo Group, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Linyi, operates 11 production bases and processes roughly 20 million pigs and 200 million chickens annually. Its subsidiary Chong’ai Jia Pet Food (Shandong) is building the 200,000-tonne plant. Wens Foodstuff, Shuanghui Development, Delis and Sunner are the other meat groups named in the report, entering through acquisitions, investment rounds and joint projects with pet food specialists including Qingdao Shuang’an, Zhongyu Pet Food, Haifusheng, Sanhe and Shanghai Fubei.
Data & Evidence
Figures as reported: Chong’ai Jia project capacity 200,000 tonnes per year; planned investment RMB 546-660 million; site area 62,000 square metres; formal launch in early July 2026 per industry-affiliated coverage of project filings. Market context from the 2026 China Pet Industry White Paper as cited by Jiemian: urban dog-and-cat consumption market RMB 312.6 billion in 2025, up 4.1%; pet food share 53.7%; Euromonitor CAGR forecast 9.64% for 2025-2028. Corporate context: Shuanghui revenue declined for three consecutive years to 2025; Delis lost money in 2023-2024 before a 2025 return to profit; China pig-processing capacity utilization below 50%. GPI notes it reviewed the Jiemian report via an industry aggregation service and could not open the original article page; figures are as reported therein.
What This Means for the Pet Industry
GPI’s judgment: this is a supply-side repricing event, not a novelty story. When slaughter-scale protein economics back pet food brands, the fresh-premium tier gets a cost floor under it, and the labels that survive will be the ones that turn provenance into a repeatable product line rather than a campaign. Watch two things in 2027: whether Chong’ai Jia sells capacity to third-party fresh pet food brand companies as well as its own labels, and whether the incumbent listed makers respond with their own meat-industry tie-ups instead of price cuts.
Key Takeaways
- Jinluo subsidiary Chong’ai Jia Pet Food has started a 200,000-tonne-per-year pet food project in Linyi, Shandong, with planned investment of RMB 546-660 million.
- Wens, Shuanghui, Delis and Sunner have each entered pet food since 2024 through acquisitions, funding rounds and joint projects, per Jiemian News.
- Fresh-meat content claims such as zero meat meal and zero grain are the stated commercial logic, because meat processors can certify provenance at lower cost.
- China’s urban pet market reached RMB 312.6 billion in 2025 with pet food at 53.7% of spending, while pig-processing capacity utilization sits below 50%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened?
Jiemian News reported that Jinluo’s pet food subsidiary Chong’ai Jia has started a 200,000-tonne-per-year pet food plant in Linyi, Shandong, and that several other Chinese meat groups have entered pet food since 2024.
How big is the Jinluo investment?
Project filings cited in industry coverage put planned investment at RMB 546-660 million on a 62,000-square-metre site, with the formal launch in early July 2026.
Which other meat companies are involved?
Wens Foodstuff took control of Qingdao Shuang’an in February 2026, Shuanghui led a B-plus round in Zhongyu Pet Food in September 2025, Delis formed a freeze-dried partnership in August 2025, and Sunner works with Shanghai Fubei.
Why are meat processors entering pet food?
Fresh-meat claims now sell pet food in China, and meat groups hold the raw material, slaughter capacity and provenance documentation that those claims require.
What does it mean for competition?
The entry adds low-cost, vertically integrated supply to a market where incumbent listed makers are already growing revenue faster than profit, tightening staple-food pricing into 2027.
Sources
- Primary — Jiemian News, A Group of Meat Sellers Charge Into the Pet Food Track (English translation of Chinese-language report), as carried at http://gzylhyzx.com/detail.html?newsId=48243807, September 2026
- Secondary — Dazhong-affiliated daily industry briefing (Hailiang Caijing), Cross-Sector Rush and Stalling Leaders: The Stock Competition of the “Fur Kid” Food Economy (English translation), http://gzylhyzx.com/detail.html?newsId=55893646, 2026-09
Related News & GPI Data
- Track China capacity projects in GPI’s news archive.
- Screen the manufacturers entering the market in company directory.
- See where Chinese producers sit in GPI rankings.
- Compare incumbent pet food makers on GPI Compare.
