Local manufacturers launch brands for pets

LG Household & Home Care’s O’s Sirius brand of pet care products. [LG HOUSEHOLD & HOME CARE]

In the ever-growing pet supplies market, local conglomerates are competing with new grooming and care brands that target pet owners who want to treat their animal companions with high-quality products.

LG Household & Health Care, the nation’s leading cosmetics and household products manufacturer, launched the pet grooming brand O’s Sirius on Sunday.

The brand’s products include shampoo, conditioner, mist and deodorizer, and will be offered in two lines - Alpha and Beta - to cater respectively to short-haired and long-haired breeds. Each line will come in fruity and floral scents.

The company said its research team has excluded harmful ingredients such as sulfate, artificial pigment and parabens, and added nature-friendly elements such as shea butter, jojoba oil and sunflower seeds for use on sensitive skin.

The brand’s mist product can be sprayed directly on pets’ skin as a moisturizer and to prevent hair tangling. The deodorizer spray is recommended for pet beds and toys to eliminate odors.

“The population of pet owners is continuously increasing in Korea, so we decided to launch O’s Sirius to provide more options for those seeking diverse products for their pets,” an LG Household & Health Care spokesperson said.

“We are planning to expand the lineup under the brand on the back of our technology and recipes that we have developed over the years.”

Until now, grooming products for pets available on the market were mostly made by small and midsize companies. Many pet owners relied on imported brands such as Australian skin care brand Aesop and Italian brand Santa Maria Novella for pet shampoos and conditioners. Pet owners oftentimes have to purchase items directly from overseas platforms.

Big domestic companies are now getting in on the pet supplies market, which has been continuously growing and is said to have reached 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) last year, according to NongHyup Economic Research Institute.

Aekyung Group, another household and personal products manufacturer, in April launched Whistle, a shampoo brand for pets co-developed with Irion, a leading animal hospital in Korea.

BY JIN EUN-SOO, SUNG HWA-SUN [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]