On December 23rd, Nestlé announced it is investing in New Ruipeng Group (NRP Group), a Chinese pet healthcare company. The investment amount and company valuation remained undisclosed. Through the cooperation, Nestlé will strengthen its Footprint in China.
“Both companies will work together to strengthen collaboration in the field of basic nutrition and healthcare science to provide lifelong healthcare, nutrition, and health solutions for tens of millions of pets in China,” said Peng Yonghe, chairman of New Ruipeng Group.
The New Ruipeng Group, formerly known as Ruipeng Group, was founded by Peng Yonghe in 1998. Starting as a pet hospital, the company expanded to a franchise of 10 pet hospitals by 2009. In 2012, it opened its first branch hospital in Guangzhou.
In August 2018, New Ruipeng received investment from Hillhouse Capital. Since then, the company has also received investment from many well-known enterprises before Nestlé joined as a shareholder, such as Hosen Capital, Waterdrop Capital, Riverhead Capital, Tencent, Country Garden Venture Capital, Snow Lake Capital, and CICC.
According to the official website of New Ruipeng, it has more than 1,000 animal hospitals including Meilianzhonghe Veterinary Hospital, and Puppy Town Animal Hospital, which are distributed in more than 100 cities in China.
It has been over 20 years since Nestle entered the Chinese pet market, one of its main business areas, at the end of the last century. Several international brands, such as H&H, Nestlé, Cargill, ADM, and LeChat are bringing in pet food as their main importing products to expand their business in China. Many brands have rushed to seize the value pet market share in China.
