Over a year since the launch of the app Petmate, co-founder Romit Dalal takes a look at the Indian pet care industry and its growth.
In uncertain times like this pandemic, an app that helps, in any capacity, with your pet’s caretaking is a blessing. The pet care market in India is a huge, even though unorganized, treasure trove of possibilities. While the bigger players like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket have had a pet supplies section for a while now, when you see that even Swiggy & Dunzo are now featuring a pet care section in addition to various dedicated portals that are doing a great job – it shows you that the market is listening to consumer needs.
The apps and automated pet products are then – just the obvious next step, I would say! Technology has made ‘being a family with pets’ easier than it has ever been before. Every new trend in the global pet care industry seems to continually find demand in India and is being adapted to suit Indian pet family needs. An industry with market size of approximately $800 million (as per IIPTF) – stands testimony to this.
I would say the evolution of pet parents in India, as a demographic, has played the biggest role in growing demand for pet care services & products. Today, a pet parent wants and will get their pets the best of everything – nutritious food, eco-friendly & animal-friendly toys to clothes, the best trainers/groomers/walkers, and the list goes on. What is important to note is that pet parents are a network that is extremely interactive within itself. If a service or product is appreciated, their friends and family are sure to be told. Likewise is the case, if something is not up to the standards they want.
We, at Petmate, launched as an app that would help pet parents find playmates and friends in their neighbourhood for their pets. We soon recognized, through all the feedback and enquiries we received on social media and otherwise, that people were looking for more. Specifically, a platform that has all the requirements of a pet – from their baby stage till later on. This is precisely what drove us to revamp and relook at the app – make it a singular platform that allows pet parents to find best pet services & products near them, in addition to being an app to find furry friends and interact with other pet parents. We’re looking to have quality pet services of every variety listed with us – and all users have a chance to rate & review them – giving these businesses or individuals a chance to reach out to a bigger audience while also helping out the parents!
I am a part of the industry, but also a pet parent myself. So, it is heartening to see so many ‘petpreneurs’ taking flight in India. I hope we see many more innovations combining tech and expertise that make a pet’s life happier, healthier, and full of love.
