Homegrown pet food startup Drools Pet Food Pvt. raised about $60 million, or around Rs 490 crore, from global investment firm L Catterton.
The investment marks L Catterton's first foray into the pet food sector in India. Drools sells pet food under its namesake flagship brand, Drools, as well as others like Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum.
"Drools will leverage L Catterton's expertise in the sector to further strengthen its position as the largest domestic player in India's burgeoning pet food market," it said in a release on Tuesday.
India's market is expected to grow by approximately 20% annually over the next five years to reach over $1.2 billion in 2028 on the back of increasing pet adoption, L Catterton said.
"Macro trends, such as rising income levels and the increasing humanisation of pets, are also leading pet owners to spend more on their pets, especially on buying packaged food instead of preparing home-cooked meals."
Drools has nearly quadrupled its revenue over the past three years by building an omni-channel pan-India pet food business, it said.
“What truly differentiates Drools is its ability to manufacture high-quality products across the price ladder and make them available to pet parents via every relevant channel,” said Anjana Sasidharan, a partner at L Catterton Asia. "This is an exciting time to be entering the country's pet food market, which we believe is at an inflection point."
Drools founder Fahim Sultan, who set up the firm in 2010, said the investment will help strengthen its brands, hire more and leverage L Catterton's consumer insights and operating know-how. "India's developing pet market continues to mature across metros, as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, and we see many more years of secular growth ahead.”
Globally, L Catterton has invested in several brands in the pet food space such as Butternut Box, Canidae and Harringtons.
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