L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, announces that it has invested around $60 million in Drools Pet Food, the top local pet food company in India. This builds on the firm's longstanding track record of growing pet food businesses across the world and marks its first foray into the sector in India.
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. The 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 as the country becomes more urbanized and household sizes become smaller. Macro trends such as rising income levels and the increasing humanization of pets are also leading pet owners to spend more on their pets, especially on buying packaged food instead of preparing home-cooked meals.
Capitalizing on these secular tailwinds, Drools has almost quadrupled its revenue over the past three years by building an omni-channel pan-India pet food business. Its portfolio of dog and cat food brands such as Drools, its flagship brand, as well as Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek,and Kitty Yum provides a wide range of benefits, which address the growing demands of the fast-evolving Indian pet parent.
"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, be it online on Amazon or Flipkart, or offline in over 34,000 points of sale spanning specialty vet shops, veterinary clinics, and general trade stores," commented Anjana Sasidharan, a partner in L Catterton Asia. "Its focus on product quality has helped it become a brand that has gained a reputation for providing high protein content at value-for-money price points, cultivating a very loyal base of customers. This is an exciting time to be entering the country's pet food market, which we believe is at an inflection point, and we look forward to working closely with the Drools team to further scale its business."
"Drools is dedicated to driving sustainable growth," added Drools founder, Fahim Sultan. "We have built a strong foundation for the future by embracing responsible business practices while delivering high-quality pet food products, and believe that partnering with L Catterton will enable us to enhance our position in the market as we continue our journey towards positively impacting the pet food sector. L Catterton's expertise and ability to create value for companies in the sector is well known across the industry and will help us unlock a new phase of growth. We are keen to leverage its consumer insights, operating know-how, as well as commercial network to further strengthen our brands and recruit talent. 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."
L Catterton has significant experience building brands in the pet food space across the world. Current and past investments in the sector include Butternut Box, Canidae, Harringtons, Instinct, JustFoodForDogs, Lily's Kitchen, Old Mother Hubbard, Partner Pet, Petlove, Pure & Natural, Rachael Ray Nutrish, and Wagg.
