Geline Salac

Pets are blessed on October 4, 2023, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, during a ceremony at the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Manila, Quezon City. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Pets are blessed

Raine Musñgi

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178243220829020231004-pet-blessing-mt-carmel-MT-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Pets are blessed on October 4, 2023, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, during a ceremony at the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Manila, Quezon City. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA — At a time when consumer brands are spending heavily on influencers, celebrity endorsers and viral content, Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 honoree Kharl Christian Yeung is making a different bet.The Amico Innovations co-founder believes the future of pet care in the Philippines will not be won by whoever dominates social media feeds, but by whoever earns trust, delivers quality and makes products accessible to a growing generation of Filipino &quot;fur parents.&quot;&quot;We&#x27;re not gonna pour our resources on mostly endorsements. It&#x27;s gonna be all on the product,&quot; Yeung said during an interview on ANC&#x27;s Market Edge. His strategy comes as the Philippine pet care industry undergoes a transformation driven by a simple but powerful shift in consumer behavior.&quot;The shift is gearing towards pets as family,&quot; Yeung said. That belief is creating what entrepreneurs increasingly describe as the country&#x27;s emerging &quot;fur parent economy&quot;—a fast-growing market built on the idea that pets are no longer merely companions but family members deserving of the same care, nutrition and healthcare as humans.<div>THE BUSINESS OF LOVE</div>The Philippines is already among Asia&#x27;s largest pet-owning markets.Industry estimates indicate that around 64 percent of Filipino households own at least one pet, while approximately 78 percent of pet owners have dogs and 50 percent have cats. The country&#x27;s dog population alone is estimated at roughly 18 million animals, creating a large and increasingly sophisticated consumer market for pet-related products and services.For Yeung, the emotional bond between owners and pets explains why the sector continues to grow despite inflation and economic uncertainty.&quot;If prices increase, you don&#x27;t not feed your family, right?&quot; he said.&quot;Family is always the priority. Our dogs, our cats, our other pets—they&#x27;re also part of the family.&quot; The sentiment reflects a broader global trend. Across major markets, spending on pets has remained resilient despite rising costs of living, with owners increasingly prioritizing pet wellness, nutrition and preventive healthcare.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/avPQ_l31f0Q?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div><div>THE MYTH OF THE GREAT PRODUCT</div>Yet Yeung says many entrepreneurs misunderstand what it takes to succeed in growing markets.One of the biggest startup myths, he argues, is that solving a real problem automatically leads to business success.&quot;The biggest myth, which I also believed, is if you have a genuine problem you&#x27;re solving and you give the solution to that, your startup will thrive.&quot; Reality, however, is often harsher.&quot;We truly believe we have one of the best products out there for the price point that we give it. But no one else is going to recognize that.&quot; The challenge, he said, is not merely building a good product but convincing consumers to notice it in an increasingly crowded marketplace.&quot;Standing out is harder than we think.&quot; <div>WHY ACCESSIBILITY MAY MATTER MORE THAN INFLUENCERS</div>While Yeung acknowledges the power of social media, he believes many founders overestimate the role of influencers and underestimate the importance of distribution.&quot;In the short term, it&#x27;s really virality. So who has the most viral product wins.&quot; But he argues that long-term growth comes from accessibility and customer experience.For Amico, that means expanding beyond online channels and becoming part of consumers&#x27; everyday routines.The company currently sells through major e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada, while expanding its retail footprint through Landers, Hay Day and South Supermarket.&quot;We need to make it easy for them to access it as well,&quot; Yeung said.&quot;Be part of their daily lives when they&#x27;re going to their vets, pet shops, or even just going to the groceries.&quot; In other words, consumers cannot repeatedly buy products they cannot easily find.&quot;What we see here is that virality pushes people to buy, but the actual product pushes people to not just stay, but share it with the other people around them.&quot;<div>A RAPIDLY EXPANDING MARKET</div>The strategy is unfolding within a pet care industry that continues to attract growing consumer spending.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178243226392420250818-aspin-paws-at-exhibit-MD-7.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) launches an art exhibit in Mandaluyong City on August 18, 2025, featuring ASPINS (Asong Pinoy) from the PAWS Shelter, illustrated by Japanese pet portrait artist Hiro Ichikawa. The exhibit, held in celebration of National Aspin Day, runs until August 24, with all proceeds from artwork sales directly supporting PAWS’ rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming programs.  Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</div>According to IMARC Group, the Philippine pet food market reached approximately US$605.4 million in 2025 and is projected to continue expanding over the coming years as consumers increasingly seek premium and science-based nutrition products.Yeung believes that trend is only the beginning.&quot;What we&#x27;re also seeing is consumers, fur parents, being more technical on what they want, what they need,&quot; he said. Before, many consumers relied primarily on marketing claims. Today, he says, pet owners are paying closer attention to ingredients, nutritional value and product quality.&quot;It&#x27;s not the most expensive product, but what&#x27;s actually good for their pets.&quot; <div>FROM PET FOOD TO PET LONGEVITY</div>For Yeung, food is merely the entry point into a much larger opportunity.&quot;It starts with nutrition and then healthcare for us,&quot; he said.&quot;Eventually, it&#x27;s going to head towards what we do as humans—biohacking, genetics, optimizing for longevity.&quot; He envisions a future where pet care increasingly mirrors human healthcare, encompassing preventive wellness, diagnostics, personalized nutrition and lifespan optimization.The opportunity, he says, stems from the same emotional bond driving today&#x27;s pet economy.&quot;We do whatever we can for the people we love—or the pets we love in this case.&quot; <div>PHILIPPINES ON GLOBAL STARTUP RADAR</div>Yeung&#x27;s views carry additional weight after his inclusion in the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 Class of 2026.The annual list recognizes 300 entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers across Asia-Pacific, selected from nearly 4,000 nominations.For Yeung, the recognition is about more than personal achievement.&quot;We&#x27;re now in the radar,&quot; he said, referring to increasing international attention on Filipino startups. &quot;It&#x27;s a very good opportunity not just for us, but for every aspiring entrepreneur startup out there.&quot; For years, Philippine startup conversations largely revolved around fintech, e-commerce and digital platforms. Yeung believes emerging sectors such as pet care could become the next frontier, attracting investor attention.<div>MORE THAN A CONSUMER TREND</div>Ultimately, Yeung sees the rise of the fur parent economy as something deeper than a business opportunity.It is a reflection of changing lifestyles, changing family structures and changing definitions of care.Millions of Filipinos now view a dog waiting by the door, a rescued cat sleeping at the foot of the bed, or a beloved pet recovering from illness not as an expense, but as family.That emotional connection is reshaping consumer spending, creating new industries and opening opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to understand what modern pet owners value most.And for Yeung, the lesson applies not only to pet care but to business itself.Virality may win attention. Accessibility may win the sale. But trust and quality are what keep customers coming back.

The country has an emerging "fur parent economy"—a fast-growing market built on the idea that pets are no longer merely companions but family members deserving of the same care, nutrition and healthcare as humans.

The country has an emerging "fur parent economy"—a fast-growing market built on the idea that pets are no longer merely companions but family members deserving of the same care, nutrition and healthcare as humans.

Forbes honoree bets on 'fur parent economy'

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Forbes honoree bets on 'fur parent economy'

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 26, 2026 08:15 AM PHT

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