No matter if you’re happy or sad, if you’ve gained something or lost it, if you have achieved or failed, your pet has its unconditional and selfless love for you. They spend their entire lives with us and seek just a bit of attention and that’s only to make us happy. No wonder, you call yourselves parents and not owners.

With an increasing number of Indians adopting pets and caring for them, the pet care industry has gone on a swing. Every pet parent wants the best for their pets – be it foods or supplements, bedding or clothing, or any accessories.

Averaging an 18-20% annual growth rate, the booming pet care industry stays the course to (around INR 6,000 Cr) opportunity in the country by the end of fiscal 2027-28, according to research. As investors swarm in for the impressive growth potential, more than 500 pet care startups have come up in India over the last 15 years. Some of these are pet care product marketplaces, some are ecommerce platforms, some services platforms and a few direct-to-consumer ventures.

As per research, the surging startup ecosystem surrounding pet care in India has raised close to $130 Mn in funding, with Heads Up For Tails alone mopping up $50 Mn since its birth.

As biggies like Wiggles, Head Up For Tails, Drools and Benny’s Bowl lead the pet care D2C space, Inc42 takes you on a sortie around the top D2C brands.

(Note: We have listed Indian D2C pet care startups in alphabetical order. The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind and will be updated from time to time.)

Founded by Aashna Jain Gupta and Akshay Gupta in 2021, Benny’s Bowl is an omnichannel brand offering dog food across various categories, like fresh foods and treats. The startup also allows customers to shop in bulk quantities.

The startup claims to offer nutrient-balanced foods for dogs. Both Aashna and Akshay bring almost a decade of experience in the pet care industry. They also host Pet Fed, one of India’s largest pet carnivals.

It is backed by a host of investors like Ashish Hemrajani, Haresh Chawla, Rajesh Sawhney and Japan Angel Fund and has raised $300K till date.

Benny’s Bowl competes with the likes of Pedigree and Royal Canin brands.

Bengaluru-based Dogsee Chew took a unique approach to serve pet parents. The startup offers natural cheese treats for dogs, sourced from the Himalayas. These cheese treats come in three varieties – hard bars, puffed treats and training treats.

A brainchild of Bhupendra Khanal and Sneh Sharma, Dogsee Chew has raised $14 Mn across three funding rounds till date.

In 2022, the startup in its Series A funding round from Mankind Pharma and Sixth Sense Ventures.

Rashee Shah Kuchroo founded Doggie Dabbas in 2011 with the aim of offering a nutritious diet for pets. Its offerings include dog meals, cat treats, supplements and grooming accessories.

The brand specialises in providing frozen meals with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. It also offers curated meal plans for its customers to help their pets grow better.

The brand expanded its footprint and rose to fame back in 2019 when it set up its own manufacturing unit in Manesar and also launched its website to foster its online presence.

Founded in 2011 by Rana Atheya, DogSpot aims to cater to the needs of pet owners who are exploring dog meals made of natural and homemade ingredients. According to the pet care startup, the widespread use of kibble, which is a ground meal used in animal food, made dog meals harmful.

Atheya, who learned to prepare pet food at home from his veterinarian father, started DogSpot to serve chicken and rice meals with no added preservatives or chemicals. It claims to use ingredients which can be found in one’s kitchen such as pumpkin, carrot, coconut oil, turmeric extract and water.

The late . Backed by other notable investors like India Quotient and Ronnie Screwvala, the Delhi NCR-based startup has raised $1.94 Mn till date.

Founded in 2010 by Fahim Sultan, Drools has become a global player in the pet food industry. The pet food brand claims to offer meals which are made from rich ingredients sourced from trusted suppliers.

It offers various animal meals – both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options – for dogs and cats. It also offers a comprehensive prescription diet to pet parents for their canines. The brand has expanded its footprints to over 20 countries, including Australia, Israel and the UAE. The Bengaluru-based startup also has an offline presence with over 34,000 retail outlets globally.

Drools claims to have three operational production units and owns a warehouse facility spanning 8 Lakh square feet, offering 650 SKUs. Backed by the likes of L Catterton, an American private equity firm, the startup has raised close to $60 Mn so far.

Founded in 2008 by Rashi Narang, Heads Up For Tail is one of the earliest players in the pet care D2C landscape in India. It offers various pet meals from notable brands such as Farmina N&D, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Orijen and Acana.

Its offering caters to the needs of dogs, cats and other small animals. With online offerings, the startup also claims to have more than 90 retail outlets in more than 20 cities of India which includes Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Chandigarh and more. It also claims to have 68 pet spas which offer grooming services.

Backed by the likes of Verlinvest, Peak XV, W&C PetTech and some high net worth individuals, the startup has raised close to $50 Mn since its inception.

Aman Patial’s K9 Vitality provides probiotics and hip and joint supplements for dogs. The startup which was founded in 2019, has partnered with Innomalous, a Noida-based pet food manufacturer, for its products.

K9 Vitality was also a part of Inc42’s first cohort of D2CX.

The Thane-based startup offers products through its website. As of June 2024, K9 Vitality has recorded around INR 6.4 Lakh in monthly sales and stayed profitable.

Based in Mumbai, Luvin offers pet care products for cats and dogs, including food, treats and accessories. The startup offers separate food products for puppies and adult dogs based on the required nutritional value. It also offers a wide range of accessories for dogs and cats, including leashes, feeding bowls, towels and more.

Founded by Ipshit Bhattacharya in 2021, Luvin also runs a direct-selling affiliate programme for users to earn on every purchase made through their link.

The startup competes with the likes of Filomilo and Doggie Dabbas. With an undisclosed host of investors, Luvin has raised around $ 291K till date.

Founded by Nikita Tarun Agarwal, Nishita Agarwal and Pratik Kanath in 2019, Papa Pawsome offers a wide range of natural holistic wellness products for pets that include wet and dry shampoos, detanglers, itch creams and medicinal ointments for ticks, fleas and infections, paw and skin creams, spa kits and more. The startup claims that these products are made up of natural material.

Being a part of 100X.VC’s 7th cohort, the startup received funding in April 2022.

Papa Pawsome, which competes with the likes of Hoomenly and Maw & Paw, has raised a total of $650K till date.

It claims a user base of over 20,000, a 60% rise in repeat customers and an ARR of INR 4 Cr in FY23, including month-on-month revenue growth of 20%.

Founded in 2020 by Arpita Ganesh, Pawfectly Made aims to offer an alternative for kibble to all pet owners in India. The startup claims to offer pet meals which help animals to live a healthy and longer life, improve digestion, boost energy and relieve the animals from allergy attacks.

It offers a range of pet food from fish, lamb and chicken for a variety of breeds such as golden retriever, labrador, pug, rottweiler and Siberian husky. It also offers pet food for cats.

Back in 2022, in the Bengaluru-based startup.

PetChef’s vision is to provide nutrition-rich food to pet dogs. The startup claims to offer healthy pet foods like gravies, meals, bone broth and treats. PetChef also offers consultation. The customer can book an expert visit to their residence and later a meal plan is given to them. PetChef provides 10 meal packs as free trials.

Founded in 2024 by Nayan Shah, Akshay Patel and Nakul Ruparel, PetChef was recently backed by 100X.VC as a part of its 11th cohort.

The startup competes with the likes of Benny’s Bowl and DawgieBowl.

Founded in 2018 by Anushka Iyer, Rajh Iyer and Venkat Mahadevan, Wiggles is a pet care and wellness brand which offers food, supplements, pet care products such as natural oils, oral sprays for bad breath, shampoos and more.

It caters to the needs of cats and dogs alike and also offers wellness services for pets for their holistic wellbeing.

Backed by the likes of Anthill Ventures, Panthera Peak Capital and angel investors such as Varun Alagh of Mamaearth along with others, the startup has raised $6.5 Mn since its inception. The Pune-based in a cash and stock deal in 2023.

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