Pet care and food industry in India
Untapped potential and a sector that is showing a lot of positive growth globally.
I always wanted to start my blogging journey over Your Story but was not finding the right topic to initiate this journey. But then, yesterday playing with my furry baby (people call them dogs), I got my topic. Being a parent of 3 dogs and always being around many other pets in my life, I have always tried to explore how this sector has been doing. They are real stress buster and also teach you a lot about life in their own way. With my startup, Envision Ecommerce, we have helped many startup's in e-commerce sector to have their own e-commerce store. Pet care industry has seen an enormous growth in last couple of years. This still is one sector which is still untapped and has lot of potential in India. Statistics prove that we are still to grow in this sector.
According to a recently published research document, TechSci Research Report, "India Pet Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019”, the Indian pet food market is projected to surpass USD270 Million by 2019. Another study Eurometer International said the Indian pet-care market, at Rs 1,394 crore, has more than doubled from Rs 538 crore in 2011. The growth between 2014 and 2015 itself was about 26% which is expected to grow at similar pace.
The major reason for this growth of Indian Pet Industry has been the urbanization, the infrastructure changes, awareness that Pet's can be part of the family, increase in the feeling of pet humanization and sensitization which has helped the rapid growth of pet industry in last few years. Another reason has been the media's positive portrayal of pets which has helped changed public perception in mass. Strange fact (at least most of the Indian's will say its funny), There is Dog License Fee in different part of world, in China you have to pay $42 annually (interestingly it was $285 at some time), Germany has Dog Tax, in Netherlands you have to pay based on the number of dogs (Just imagine, i have 3).
Let me share some more interesting facts from one of the most Mature Market globally which is USA. USA Spent around $60 billion on pets in 2015, more than one-third was spent on food for their household companions. Veterinary care ranked second, while only about 3.5 percent of spending went to purchases of animals. In 2016, the total spent was $62.75 billion. Below chart shows the steady growth over the period of time. Economist estimates that spending on U.S. pet products is growing 50 percent faster than the overall retail sector. Some reports forecast sales for dog and cat food in 2016 is $102.89 million.
On 18th April, PetSmart acuired Chewy.com for $3.35 billion in one of the largest e-commerce acquisition ever made. Chewy has been one of the fastest growing e-commerce site on the planet whit over $900 million in revenue in 2016 which was it's fifth year in operation. This clearly shows the potential this industry has. India is still coming up to age.
According to multiple research and reports, Indian pet Industry currently has a Valuation of over ₹2,500 crore and it is still not tapped. In 2017, Mars International India Pvt Ltd dominates the market with 70% market share. The company understands the market very well and offers its low-cost products under Pedigree and Whiskas brand and premium quality products under Royal Can in brand. In addition to this, Mars has also been expanding to smaller cities to increase its brand presence. This is followed by brands such as PetSetGo, Drools, Bharat International Pet Foods, Agro Food Industries Pvt. Ltd, Gitwako Farms (I) Pvt. Ltd., and IB Group. Company like Nestle (we all know for Maggie), is also in plans to launch its Pet products in India with its brand Purina.
There are different Expo too that now have come up for all the Pet Parents and lovers.India International Pet Trade Fair and Petex India being some of them. There are many websites now available from where you can purchase Pet Products. I also know some Pet Service center and Hostels. Dog's and Cat's are still the most popular pets followed by Birds and Fish.
The rise of Pet's and Pet's parents is a motivating factor for many who want to explore this as a Business. There are many startups already in this area that are trying to tap this untapped market. With more urbanization that is happening in India, this Market is for sure here to grow and sustain. Being a Pet lover myself, I can practically see new products and services rolling out every fortnight.
This is a high time for a perfect Pet Food and Service Business. I, Being a Startup Consultant and a Pet lover will certainly love to talk more with people whom this post interests.
