For Indian pet parents, feeding fresh, wholesome food has traditionally come with its own set of challenges. Home-prepared meals require time and planning, while fresh food often needs refrigeration and has a limited shelf life. Shelf-stable alternatives, meanwhile, may not always offer the kind of ingredient profile that today’s increasingly conscious pet parent is looking for.
Drools is addressing this gap with its new fresh food range in collaboration with Tetra Pak, bringing fresh, ready-to-serve meals to pets in innovative Tetra Recart cartons. The launch combines thoughtfully prepared recipes with packaging technology designed to preserve food quality, simplify storage, and make fresh feeding more accessible.
Bringing Home-Style Food to the Pet Bowl
The new Drools fresh food range includes four real-chicken variants: Chicken & Vegetables, Chicken & Turkey, Chicken & Pumpkin, and Chicken Biryani, available in 150 g and 350 g packs.
The range is built around human-grade ingredients and is designed to offer pets a wholesome and enjoyable meal experience. For instance, the Real Chicken & Veggies recipe features real chicken alongside vegetables and fruits, with the ingredients gently cooked in bone broth. The recipes are free from fillers, preservatives, corn, wheat, soy, and GMO ingredients, and are developed with pet nutritionists to meet dogs’ nutritional needs.
While the recipes are an important part of the offering, what truly sets this range apart is the technology used to package them.
What Tetra Pak Technology Brings to Fresh Food
Tetra Recart packaging combines specialised food processing with advanced carton packaging to preserve food safely for an extended period without refrigeration before opening. For pet parents, this brings several practical benefits.
Preservation without preservatives: One of the most significant benefits is that the food can achieve a long shelf life without relying on added preservatives. The processing and protective packaging help safeguard the product from microbial contamination and external exposure, allowing it to remain stable at room temperature while helping maintain ingredient quality.
Protection of food quality: The multi-layer structure of Tetra Recart cartons creates a protective barrier against external factors such as light and oxygen. This helps protect the food throughout its shelf life and maintain its intended quality until the pack is opened.
Gentle thermal processing: Controlled thermal treatment helps ensure food safety while helping retain the nutritional and sensory qualities of the ingredients. This allows the food to undergo the processing required for safe, long-term storage while helping preserve its intended taste, texture, and nutrient quality.
No refrigeration before opening: The thermal processing and sealed packaging allow unopened packs to be stored safely at room temperature. This removes one of the biggest practical challenges associated with fresh food—the need for cold storage—making the range convenient for travel and holidays
Lightweight and convenient: Compared with conventional rigid packaging formats, cartons are lightweight and easy to handle. The compact packs are convenient to store, stack, and carry, whether they are kept in the kitchen cupboard or packed for a trip with a pet.
Practical portion sizes: Available in 150 g and 350 g formats, the range offers flexibility based on a dog’s needs and feeding recommendations. Convenient pack sizes can also help minimise unnecessary food handling and wastage.
Making Fresh Feeding More Accessible
Fresh feeding has traditionally required pet parents to plan ahead—whether by preparing meals at home or arranging suitable cold storage for refrigerated products. Drools’ Tetra Pak range offers a more convenient option by combining ready-to-serve fresh food with packaging designed for easy everyday storage.
Unopened packs can be stored safely at room temperature, with refrigeration required only after opening. This makes it easier to keep meals on hand, manage available refrigerator space, and carry familiar food while travelling with a pet. The practical pack sizes also allow pet parents to serve the food according to their dog’s needs while reducing unnecessary handling.
As India’s pet care landscape evolves, this balance of nutrition and convenience is becoming increasingly relevant. Pet parents are paying closer attention to ingredients and food quality, but they also need feeding options that suit busy routines. By making fresh meals simpler to store, carry, and serve, the range helps make fresh feeding a more practical part of everyday pet care.
Where Food and Packaging Innovation Meet
The significance of the Drools Tetra Pak launch lies in bringing food and packaging innovation together. The focus is not merely on creating a fresh food product, but also on finding a processing and packaging solution that can protect it while addressing the practical challenges associated with fresh feeding.
By combining real-ingredient recipes with Tetra Recart technology, Drools is making fresh food easier to store, transport, and serve. For pet parents, it offers a practical way to introduce fresh meals into their dogs’ routines without the refrigeration and short shelf-life challenges traditionally associated with fresh feeding.
Ultimately, innovation in pet food is not only about what goes into the bowl; it is also about how that food reaches the bowl. With its new Tetra Pak range, Drools is bringing together food quality, preservation technology, and everyday convenience, giving Indian pet parents a simpler way to offer their dogs something fresh, wholesome, and special.