"We know absorbent"

Kocho is planning to introduce its Neo Loo Life range of pet potty products to the region. The range is composed of eight items, of which two - the Neo Sheet dog pad, its flagship product, and Neo Suna, its cat litter - will be introduced in Southeast Asia. Kocho was established in 1963 as a manufacturer of sanitary pads. It launched its line of cat litter in 1996 and started making and selling absorbent dog pads in 2005.
Apart from its home market, where Neo Sheet is a top-selling brand for dog pads, the company's products are also found in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia and Canada. In 2019, Kocho entered the US market, where it sells four-layered carbon-filled pet potty pads in two sizes - medium (8"x23") and large (23"x36").
"We are currently looking for partners, including distributors, pet speciality stores and so forth. I heard the Southeast Asian pet market is the fastest-growing region in the world," Kunihiko Watanabe, executive managing director of Kocho told Pet worldwide on the sidelines of PreConnect 2 by Pet Fair SEA, a virtual networking event and conference organised by VNU Asia Pacific.

Pet Fair SEA estimates Southeast Asia's pet market at 1.412 bn dollars as of last year, with growth projected to have been at 6.8 per cent annually from 2014 to 2020. Non-food pet products were seen to have expanded by 7.1 per cent annually between 2015 and 2020, outpacing the overall compound annual growth rate of the sector. Watanabe said Kocho's products will be positioned in the premium market - the fastest-growing category in Southeast Asia. "Our strengths are stable supply and high quality," he explained.
After having started in sanitary pad manufacturing, the company also ventured into making nappies. It now sells adult nappies along with its pet products. "We have the know-how and technologies of absorbent.  Based on the technologies, Neo Sheet was born. Now it is one of the most popular potty pads in Japan among dog owners. Our Neo Sheet could thus be our draw in Southeast Asia," he said. He also remarks that while dog pads may not yet be seen as must-haves by pet owners in the region, they could take off in the future. "We are not sure that these are considered necessities for now. But in the future, they could potentially be in demand by dog owners who have a dog at home and regard it as one of the family," he said.