Traditional Chinese medicine pet brand thrives in pandemic

Globally, health concerns have been foremost in 2020. These preoccupations may have encouraged a greater awareness of dogs, cats and other animals’ wellness. This accelerated an existing trend toward pet foods, treats and supplements formulated with health in mind. In Hong Kong, one traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) supplement producer adapted a century-old business to include pet health products.

“During this pandemic, we've seen a lot of customers draw their attention to wellness,” Vivian Tang, founder of Hong Kong-based dog and cat supplement brand ProVet, wrote in an email. “As families and their pets remain housebound, it's now more important than ever to stay healthy. Our supplements, like Respiratory Health for Dogs, or our Wall-Broken Ganoderma Lucidum Spores, a famed immune-boosting TCM product have been extremely popular.

More about TCM pet supplement maker 

In early December, ProVet invited local celebrities to help raise funds by selling calendars for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal’s Cat Colony Care Programme and commemorate the organization’s 20^th anniversary. However, that anniversary pales in comparison to ProVet’s longevity.

“Our parent company, Wai Yuen Tong, was been founded during the Qing Dynasty, and this year marks our 123-year-anniversary,” Vivian Tang, founder of ProVet wrote in an email.

In August, Wai Yuen Tong introduced herbal supplements for pets under the brand ProVet. ProVet products include capsule-based supplements marketed to address issues related to respiratory health, liver and kidney health, immune system, bones and joints, critical illnesses, appetite management and anti-aging. The supplements use plants and fungi found in TCM, such as longan fruits, shiitake and lingzhi mushrooms and cordyceps fungi.

“My vision for ProVet was to revitalize and harness the heritage of TCM, bringing it to much younger pet owners and consumers,” Tang wrote. “We were confident that TCM was beneficial for humans- our Cordyceps Cs-4 for example was very popular among our main human consumers. We wanted to replicate that for pets. What makes ProVet different is our specially curated formulas that serve every health need- from anti aging to bones and joints relief.

“Disrupting the market is what ProVet aims to do: we've been incredibly successful in our top-tier pet supplements, which have been formulated by our team of 3 professional vets who have over 11 years of veterinary experience in Chinese medicine. Our customers appreciate our formulas being tailor-made according to specific health needs and ages, coupled with our expertise and all-natural, herbal supplements.”

“Whilst TCM use with pets can be traced back to more than 10,000 years ago, most of today's market is dominated by Western pet supplements. We pride ourselves on Chinese medicine, which focuses on the balance of one’s inner body to strengthen health and cure illnesses.”