This Indian Pet Foods Startup Has Unicorn Ambitions

A startup with origins in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon is now armed with $60 million in funding from L Catterton—a private equity firm backed by LVMH, one of the world's most valuable conglomerates—and has its sight set on a unicorn valuation.Drools, a pet foods startup that raised its maiden funding round last month, has its origins within Chhattisgarh's IB Group—one of the country's largest poultry and livestock feed conglomerates. "We entered the pet industry back in 2010. In 2013-14, we started launching our brands," according to Chief Executive Officer Shashank Sinha.Drools broke even 5-6 years back, demerged from IB Foods and moved to Bengaluru about two years back as it set out on its own journey. It posted a revenue of about Rs 356 crore in FY22, with a profit of Rs 35.8 crore. But then, why head for a fundraise and pare equity?"In India, from an investment point of view, there's not many pet food brands that one can put their money in. We went for this kind of a fundraise because of the partner. If a partner like LVMH and L Catterton is putting money in, we get a stamp of approval on how the company is run. We wanted a partner that could bring credibility to the industry," Sinha said.With L Catterton on board, Sinha expects them to teach Drools on how to become a better governed company. "The kind of learnings and exposure from Sugar Cosmetics, Jio, and other pet food companies are important. What brought us here will not take us to Rs 1,000 crore or Rs 2,000 crore in revenues. We have aspirations to be a unicorn now. So, we want somebody we can take on that journey with us."They were looking for "... somebody who can make our global aspirations realistic and walk with us on a journey across 60-80 countries with five or 10 offices across the globe", he said.For FY23, Drools is set to report about Rs 500 crore top-line. And for the current fiscal, that number will surge to Rs 700-750 crore. "The moment we cross Rs 700 crore in revenue, we will be at a unicorn valuation," Sinha said.For the L Catterton round, Drools was valued at Rs 5,000 crore, he said.On the volume side, Drools holds about 38% share of the pet food market. However, on the value side, it stands at about 17%. "We are aspiring to be number one in volume in the next 12-18 months." The company is also looking at the premiumisation model to bridge the volume-value gap."My biggest battle is in India. I want to be the number one pet food brand in the country. So, our clear vision is to make Drools the first multinational pet food company from the Indian markets," Sinha said.

This Indian Pet Foods Startup Has Unicorn Ambitions

Drools broke even 5-6 years back, demerged from IB Foods and moved to Bengaluru as it set out on its own journey.

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