Godrej Consumer Eyes Rs 500 Crore Revenue In Five Years With Pet Food Foray

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. has forayed into the burgeoning Rs 5,000-crore pet food market with the launch of brand — Ninja. This dog food brand, housed under its subsidiary Godrej Pet Care, has made its debut in Tamil Nadu before expanding nationwide. Over the next five years, the company aims to generate revenue of Rs 500 crore from this venture.

"Pet care is an emerging sunrise category for us, and Godrej Ninja is the first brand launch under the Godrej Pet Care umbrella, offering healthy dog food at an accessible price point," said Robert Menzies, chief executive officer, Godrej Pet Care. "Moreover, Tamil Nadu is a key market for pet food, with approximately 2–3 million pet parent households so we are thrilled to be launching here as a first step towards nationwide expansion.”

India's pet food market is set to grow at a 15% CAGR over the next decade, according to Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Starting at a price of Rs 20 for a 100-gm pack, Ninja will compete with established brands such as Pedigree, Whiskas and Drools. Increased pet adoption after the Covid-19 pandemic prompted packaged consumer goods majors like Nestle India Ltd., through its Purina brand, and Emami Ltd., with its investment in Cannis Lupus, to also enter the sector.

Analysts have given a thumbs up to this move. "We see this as a positive development for GCPL as pet care business is likely to explode in India over next 5–10 years," said Abneesh Roy, executive director (Research) at Nuvama Institutional Equities. "In terms of pricing — based on our analysis Ninja is cheaper. In adult dog food, GCPL is 9% cheaper than Nestle’s Purina and 20% cheaper than market leader Pedigree. In the puppy range, GCPL is 32% cheaper than Purina and 19% cheaper than Pedigree."

GCPL will invest Rs 500 crore in the venture over the next five years. Part of this investment will be spent towards setting up a manufacturing plant in Nashik, which will have a capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of pet food annually, the CEO said.

India boasts the world’s fifth-largest pet population, with over 31 million dogs. Despite rising pet ownership in India, penetration of packaged pet food remains low. Currently, 10% of Indians own a pet, and among them, just 10% feed packaged food, that too only 40% of the time, Menzies said.

"Calorie conversion in India is just 4%. China, which was remarkably like India 15 years ago, has close to 20% pet ownership with a calorie conversion of 25%," he said, adding that Ninja is uniquely positioned to disrupt the Indian pet food. "Developed basis a deep understanding of pet dogs’ preferences, Ninja delivers optimal palatability, digestibility, and adaptability to local conditions — ensuring nutrition that suits their needs. It has been extensively tested with dogs across a wide range of breeds."