Everybody Drools — L Catterton Invests in India’s Top Pet Food Company!
Everybody Drools — L Catterton Invests in India's Top Homegrown Pet Food Company!
MUMBAI [INDIA] — If you are a Pet lover, there is Good News for you from Drools — India’s Top Homegrown Pet Food Company.
L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, has announced that it has invested around $60 million in Drools Pet Food Private Limited — Drools — the top local pet food company in India.
L Catterton has a long history of expanding pet food businesses around the globe, and this is its first entry into the market 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.
On the strength of rising pet adoption as India gets more urbanized and family sizes become smaller, the pet food market is anticipated to grow by almost 20% annually over the next five years to reach over $1.2 billion in 2028. Pet owners are spending more on their pets due to macro trends like rising income levels and the humanization of pets, particularly on packaged food rather than preparing home-cooked meals.
Drools Gains from Pet Sector Tailwinds
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, including Drools Dog Food | Drools Puppy Food | Drools Cat Food | Drools Dog Food Adult | Drools Pet Food | Drools Kitten Food and Drools Cat Litter.
The company’s Bestselling Dog and Cat Food Brands, including Drools®, its flagship brand, Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum, offers a wide range of advantages that cater to the rapidly expanding needs of Indian pet owners.
Anjana Sasidharan, a partner in L Catterton Asia, 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, 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.”
“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 founder Fahim Sultan said: “Drools is dedicated to driving sustainable growth,” adding: “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,” Sultan said.
About Drools Pet Food
Drools Pet Food Private Limited (“Drools”) is India’s leading homegrown pet food company with a portfolio of brands such as Drools®, its flagship brand, as well as Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum.
Established by founder Fahim Sultan in 2010 with a focus on pets’ nutrition, health, and welfare, Drools was born to bridge a gap in the market and provide pets with a diet comprising clean ingredients with a wholesome and balanced nutritional profile.
Its initial line of dry food for dogs and cats has now expanded to include wet food, treats, and supplements produced in line with international quality standards.
The company today is one of the fastest-growing pet food companies in South Asia and has also established an international footprint over the past decade, since shipping its first consignment of dry food to Sri Lanka in 2012 and then to Nepal that same year. At present, its products are exported to over 20 countries.
About L Catterton
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.
L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate.
Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton’s team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio.
Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands.
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