LAS VEGAS, Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In August 2026, the World Pet Association (WPA) presented the 2026 WPA International Excellence Award to WANPY®, making it the first Chinese pet food brand to receive the honor.
As one of the most established and respected organizations in the global pet industry, the World Pet Association (WPA) is widely recognized for the standards it sets and the values it champions. Its reach extends across major markets worldwide through a broad network of industry partners. Each year, the WPA International Excellence Award recognizes brands that distinguish themselves in product quality, innovation, and meaningful contributions to the industry. Candidates are evaluated on product excellence, R&D capability, quality control systems and international market performance. WANPY®‘s selection within this framework represents a first for any Chinese pet food brand.
WANPY® won the WPA International Excellence Award
Global Expansion Backed by Quality as a Market Passport
Founded in 1998, with 29 years of global industry experience, WANPY® operates under the publicly listed Yantai China Pet Foods Co., Ltd., WANPY® today serves pet families across 77 countries and regions. It leads all Chinese pet food brands in export volume globally. Gaining access to even a single overseas market is a challenge for Chinese pet food manufacturers, given widely varying regulatory requirements; WANPY®‘s ability to establish a broad global footprint signals that its products have earned approval from regulatory authorities across multiple markets and meet internationally recognized standards.
WANPY®’s global footprint
To deliver consistent, dependable products amid varying global regulatory rules, supply chains and consumer demands, WANPY® operates 28 modern production hubs across China, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. All sites are backed by a full-chain quality assurance system spanning R&D, manufacturing, third-party testing and traceability. This is how WANPY® delivers on its brand promise of “Global Sharing, Same Quality,” ensuring that every product meets the same rigorous standards wherever it is sold.
WANPY® partnered with SGS, a leading global testing, inspection, and certification company, to establish the first globally aligned unified quality standard in China’s pet food industry. The standard integrates requirements from four major regulatory frameworks — China, the European Union, the United States, and Japan — covering 171 key indicators spanning ingredient safety, production processes, quality control, and testing protocols. Following on-site audits and product sampling by SGS, WANPY®‘s entire “XIAOJINDUN” product line met the requirements of the standard and received an “Excellent” rating.
R&D That Earns a Place on the Global Stage
Commenting on the award, Chenlong Hao, Director & Vice President of Yantai China Pet Foods and CEO of WANPY®, said, “Through our global R&D and innovation service center, WANPY® has built a collaborative R&D network that draws on research resources from China, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. To date, we have secured 399 national patents. Earlier this year, scientific findings related to our XIAOJINDUN line were published in a peer-reviewed top international SCI-indexed journal, a milestone that signals WANPY®‘s R&D is now part of the open, peer-reviewed scientific conversation.”
Michael Lou, WPA Chairman (left), and Hao Chenlong, CEO of WANPY® (right)
In addition to the WPA award, WANPY® earned a 2026 Pet Innovation Award, marking another industry first for a Chinese pet food brand. Together, these honors affirm WANPY®‘s ability to compete with the world’s leading names in the industry and earn recognition from respected international industry organizations.
Behind this international breakthrough lies WANPY®‘s capabilities in meeting and exceeding the world’s most stringent standards, supported by a global production footprint, end-to-end quality control, and cutting-edge R&D. At its core, however, is something more fundamental: the brand has always tied its sustained, deep investment in quality directly to what matters most to consumers. By building a world-class standards system, WANPY® turns complex, science-driven quality control into stable, reliable, and safe products that pet families around the world can trust.
Beyond a milestone for the WANPY® brand, the recognition also reflects a broader shift taking place across China’s pet food industry — a landmark value-chain upgrade for China’s pet food sector, where enterprises now prioritize science-driven R&D and proprietary standard formulation as their core competitive edges. By combining global manufacturing, rigorous quality systems, and scientific research, WANPY® provides a benchmark for Chinese companies seeking to expand internationally and illustrates the growing contribution Chinese brands are making to the global pet food industry.
