Global pet food majors are sniffing big growth in the category in India thanks to the rising adoption of furry companions during the pandemic and a shift from home-cooked to packaged food. Mars Petcare is ramping up its India production capacity to cater to the rising demand and is also expanding its portfolio here.

According to Kalpesh Parmar, General Manager, Mars Wrigley, India, the company is investing Rs 500 crore in India to augment its pet food capacity, with a capacity expansion of 65KT at its Hyderabad plant . “This has already started and will be done over the next 18 months,” he said.

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Parmar told BusinessLine, “In the last 24 months during the pandemic we saw a huge jump in pet adoption in the country and that showed in business growth over the past two years.

The investments will enhance the local manufacturing capacity of the company’s key brands, Pedigree and Whiskas. At the same time, the company has made available brands such as Sheba and Temptations through imports.

The pet foods category is currently pegged at about Rs 4,000 crore and is expected to double in the next 4-5 years. It is estimated that there are currently 30 million pets in India and pet adoption is growing by over 11 per cent year-on-year.

“We believe the consumer shift from giving their pets home-based food to packaged pet food will be one of the key growth drivers for this business,” Parmar said.

Customising to taste

“As the category matures, there will also be customised demand, depending on the breed. It will no longer be just about one or two SKUs. A lot of innovations will be introduced across our brands, including Royal Canin,” he added.

Recently, Nestle India also identified the pet foods business as a key growth engine. Nestle S.A’s wholly-owned subsidiary Purina Petcare India is in the process of being merged with Nestle India with effect from October 1. Purina Petcare India was established as a separate entity in 2018.

“Expansion to Tier-1 towns and e-commerce is playing a big role in the expansion of the pet care business in this country. And there is scope to unleash the business potential in smaller towns, using the heft and infrastructure of Nestlé India,” the company’s management said in an earnings call last month.

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