Where is India's Premium Petcare Market Headed?

The petcare industry is booming in India. A Redseer report from last year said that pet ownership in India is growing at a rate of 4-5% right now. From 26 million in 2019, Indians had 32 million pets in 2024. At the same time, the pet care market is also growing by 18-20%.

It’s one thing to spend on your pets, but Indian pet parents don’t stop there. They’re also choosing to buy premium products for their pets too. Think: 10,000 rupees worth hypoallergenic beds, and costly organic, free-range chicken and duck pet food, air dried snacks and treats.

In the latest episode of The Signal Daily, we’ll hear from consumers and petcare professionals about this trend toward premiumisation in the petcare industry in India. Why are so many willing to shell out bank for their pooches? Will more pet owners across the country transition into being such quote “pawrents”?

The Core produces The Signal Daily. At The Signal Daily, we don’t do hot takes, instead we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends.

To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in. Thank you for listening!

The Core produces The Signal Daily. Find us wherever you get your favourite podcasts. To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in

NOTE: A machine transcribed this episode. A human has looked at this text but there might still be errors. Please refer to the audio above, if you need to clarify something. If you want to give us feedback, please write to us at [email protected].

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TRANSCRIPT

Kudrat (Host): Indians own more pets than ever before right now – India’s petcare industry is booming too. A 2024 report by the consulting company Redseer said that in 2019, 26 million Indian households had pets. That number ballooned in just five years; in 2024, 32 million households had pets. The report also said that in 2024, the petcare market in India was worth 3.2 billion dollars. And, it will keep growing at a rate of 18-20%. Petcare here, btw, means both pet products like shampoos, pet foods and snacks, as well as services, like pet boarding and grooming.

Today’s pet owners don’t see their pets as animals; rather, pets are family members. No one wants to skimp when it comes to family. Many pet parents today want to go the extra mile as well. Rather than buying basic products for their pets, they’re choosing to buy premium. Think–10,000 rupees worth hypoallergenic beds, and organic, free-range chicken and duck pet food, air dried snacks and treats. This trend isn’t just a Tier 1 city thing either – even people in smaller cities want to spend big bucks on their animal companions.

Kudrat (Host): I’m your host Kudrat Wadhwa and you’re listening to The Signal Daily. We don’t do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why of consumer trends.

In today’s episode, we’ll hear from consumers and petcare professionals about this trend toward premiumisation in the Indian petcare industry. Why are so many willing to shell out bank for their pooches? Will more pet owners across the country transition into being such quote “pawrents”?

Kudrat (Host): Before modern industry, most of us survived through subsistence agriculture. At that time, we had a very different, utility-oriented relationship with animals. A traditional household would have a couple of cows, buffaloes and goats and use them for their milk. If they had a dog or a cat, the animal remained outside the four walls where humans slept. The animal was also free to explore as it wished. This might sound like an ancient way of living, but the truth is that many rural Indians still live like this.

Fast forward to now – if you’re an urban resident in your 20s or 30s, you’ve probably witnessed a shift in people’s approach to pets in your lifetime too. I remember when I was growing up, there were only a couple families that had dogs in my Tier 3 city. The dog was either a German Shepherd or a Labrador called Tommy or Jimmy. The family usually kept the dog caged and tied up during the day but allowed it to walk around at night. The purpose of these dogs was to guard their owners’ homes.

But, in the past few years, that’s changed. Now, people don’t see pets as animals but as a part of their family. Today’s affluent, urban Indians also gravitate toward smaller, cuter dogs like Shih tzus and toy breeds. They allow their dogs to sleep in the same beds that they sleep in. They even take their pets on vacations with them, that’s a topic that The Signal Daily covered last month. I’ll link the episode in the description below.

These people are not pet owners but rather “pawrents”; yes, that’s a pun on paws and parents. Having a pet is one thing, but what explains the trend toward premiumisation in the Indian petcare industry?

Surinder: my name is Surinder and, uh, you know, I stay in Ang. I'm a real estate, uh, professional and, uh, my baby is, uh, his name is Goofy and he's a toy pool.

Surinder:  so for example, uh, for his coat, uh, since he's got, you know, curly, a curly coat and, you know, it requires a lot of, uh, grooming and lot of care.

I use, uh, there's a shampoo called Ile of Man. Ile of Man,

Kudrat VO (aside): It’s actually Isle of Dogs.

Surinder: that one shampoo, it, it's costly. It's on the higher side, definitely. But, uh, you know, that is, again, it's got the least amount of chemicals, I would say. Hmm. Um, still leaning towards the natural side.

 I think it's around 2000, like two to 3000. Okay. Two to 3000 or like, uh, yeah, I think it's, uh, 200 ml bottlers.

Kudrat (Host): Surinder said he got Goofy last year, after his mom passed away. He described the process of getting Goofy as divine. He told The Signal Daily that he doesn’t see the extra money he spends on Goofy as a waste since he’s passionate about staying as close to natural and organic as possible. And, those products usually come at a premium.

That shift toward healthy products came during the pandemic, according to Binoy Sahi, Director of the India International Pet Trade Fair and of a petcare magazine called Creature Companion.

Binoy Sahi:  What happened is, uh, uh, people and we human being became more aware of all the health, healthy foods, healthy lifestyles and so on, and that also percolated down to pet parents, you see. And uh, the pet parents started looking for the products which are healthy, which are of the single ingredient, or if it's a multiple ingredient.

Then also some of them are traceable and all seem very good quality. Now when you talk about the healthy, you know, single ingredients, it's always the question, it comes with the premium, right? So, uh, feeding good products, uh. Pet, uh, pets also comes at cost. So you have good products, but they are at little higher price.

Kudrat (Host): Binoy also told The Signal Daily that this trend toward organic and natural products, which are more expensive, isn’t just a thing in big cities. Even pet parents living in smaller cities like to buy premium products for their pets. The only difference is that the stores that sell premium, like Heads Up For Tails, primarily have a presence in Tier 1 cities, for now at least.

So, pet parents in smaller cities look to e-commerce platforms like Amazon – the same Redseer report I mentioned earlier als said that more pet parents are turning to digital channels.

Binoy also told The Signal Daily that right now, cat food is a faster growing segment than dog food. Most Indians still have dogs as pets – about 89% have dogs while 9% have cats. A miniscule percentage of people have birds and reptiles too.

But, the number of cat parents is growing – that’s in part because cats are less work. They don’t require walks and don’t need regular baths either – many in India now want to “pawrent” cats too.

Kudrat (Host): In addition to buying natural, organic shampoos and grooming products, today’s pet parents also want to feed their pets better food. A few years ago, they saw kibble as a solid food option. Now, vets recommend against feeding packaged food to pets.

There’s some who take out the time to cook home-cooked meals. But let’s be honest, who has the time? Also, not everything humans eat is necessarily good for your pets.

So, companies like Canine India and Sara’s Wholesome Food are trying to fulfill that need. They’re also redefining what constitutes "treats" and "chews" for pets. On their website, you’ll find air-dried chicken feet, chicken neck, rabbit ears, anti-inflammation air-dried emu meat and insect protein. These cost hundreds of rupees for a small 50 or a 100 gram pack.

To someone without a pet, spending that kind of money on such exotic products might seem unreasonable. But, if I see my pet as a family member, why wouldn’t I want to buy the best for them?

The Signal Daily spoke to Shruti Arora to learn more. She’s a single mom who’s had a French Bulldog for four years.

Shruti:  for me. Uh, he is my baby. He's my, he, we did not get him for, uh, what you say, I, I didn't need a guard dog. Yeah. I needed a sibling for my child. So when Kabi was, uh, Kabi is my son. So when he was nine, I think we got Leo because he was very alone and all of that.

 And I'm a single parent, so both my boys, you know, they're everything for me and my young. This one, of course, a younger boy is more important because this one doesn't know how to talk, right?

Kudrat:  Shruti said that she buys premium primarily for her dog’s health.

Shruti:   So we realized much later, I think a year and a half later when we, when he got diagnosed of atopic dermatitis, that he was allergic to most of the foods.

 So you have to be very, very careful and all, all that you can trust is, I think brands like. Heads up for tales. Like that's one brand I can, um, vouch for when it comes to their clothing or their, um, you know, essentials, which is bedding and all of that.

Not that my kid sleeps in his bedding, he will sleep on my head if possible. So, but we've done everything which was say you want something, which is, uh. Which gives a friendly, like, you know, touch is important. So the fabrics that they use were mm-hmm, important. I mean, there were times wherein the clothes that I bought for him were more expensive than what I buy for myself.

 say with your child, you don't think, how much money are you spending for their wellbeing? Right. It's the same thing.

Kudrat (Host): Shruti also told The Signal Daily that sometimes it feels like her splurges on clothing for Leo are more for herself and less for her dog.

Shruti:   I want to dress him well, I want him to feel nice and I'm, it's, it's good to look at things which are bright colors and all of that, but yeah, these brands help.

Kudrat (from clip): Okay. Got it. So you said that it's more for you than for the pet. So what, what do you mean by that?

Shruti: See, it's me being happy. My pet is happy looking at me. You don't give him anything. He's fine. He sleeps in my bed. Yeah. He has three beds in the house. Yeah. Because I spent, it's mostly, we overcompensate for the time that we can't spend with them.

Yeah. For both our kids and our Kids that can't talk to us.

 So yeah, so all, I mean, I was traveling to Bangalore for a week and I came home. All he needed was me, I think, my help at home. So see, I have a help at home because I have him at home. Yeah. Otherwise, my son's a grownup. I mean, I don't need, really, I don't need, so he's a very hands-on thing.

Like, you know, it's a child in the house who will always be a child, who will always be like a 2-year-old at home.

Kudrat (Host): Many of us lead busy, hectic lives, meaning we can’t always give our loved ones the attention they need. For Shruti, the alternative then, is to pamper her dog by buying him premium products.

Kudrat (Host): The premium petcare industry is only gonna increase. That’s because right now, India’s pet-per household ratio is still low, just 0.10. The US’s is 1.06 and Germany’s is 0.82. Moving forward, more Indians will keep pets. And, they’ll want to buy premium for their pets too.

Here’s Binoy from India International Pet Trade Fair talking about this:

Binoy:    But, uh, as the ecosystem is developing in India, that about the, you know, even the pet ownership is also increasing.

The, when people start having a pet at home, that part of the spend will also increase because they want pet at home, which is, uh, clean, which is, uh, you know, the, uh, has a, you know, good hygiene and health

Kudrat (Host): Since today’s pets aren’t pets but rather family members, as more people get pets, they’re also going to want premium services like organic shampoos, pet spa services and so on.

Binoy also told The Signal Daily that pet health trackers are also becoming popular. These gadgets record the pet’s heart rate and other health signs. Pet parents like them since this way, they can better manage the health of their pets and get preventative servies. They’re still expensive, for now – in the tune of 6-10,000 for one device. But, as they become more popular, Binoy says they’ll get cheaper too.

Kudrat (Host): While Indian pet parents like buying premium, the country’s petcare market hasn’t crossed into pure, non-utility, luxury yet. That fancy shampoo that Surinder talked about – well he saw clear results in his dog when he used that shampoo versus a generic one. His choice to buy premium makes rational sense too.

That’s not true for other, wealthier parts of the world. Here’s Abhishek Joshi – he runs a blog called dogwithblog.in — talking about what he saw in Dubai.

Abhishek:    So the one where I was invited as a blogger was little gyms. So it was little gyms by my second home in Dubai, run by an expat family. It opened in 2024 and they have over 1000 luxury suites. Okay. Only for pets. Wow. And, uh, most. So what is the suite like? So Luxury Suite would be like a five star accommodation in India.

Okay. But aside from it, they would also have a dedicated concierge, which is catering only to the dog or the cat. Mm. So during Ring a bell, they would come every time over there. They are trained in basic pet care facilities, even respiration, CPR kind of thing.

AJ:  And, uh, aside from it, I even saw that all of the high-end luxury markets, like in Dubai Mall, Uh, the gold collar. uh, friend of mine was telling me that they even had a pet tiger and that pet Tiger had a gold collar or diamond studded collar.

Kudrat: Abhishek said that one reason why pure luxury isn’t big among most pet parents in India right now is that unlike in Dubai, in India, there’s a real threat of theft and dognapping, especially of premium breeds. If they’re wearing a gold collar, that’ll only make the pet an even more inviting target.

Pure luxury for the sake of it isn’t big in India. But, Abhishek said that he even tells the people who contact him to avoid spending too much on things like clothes and premium spa services too.

Instead, he tells them to spend their extra cash on getting the stray dogs in their neighborhoods sterilized and vaccinated.

There’s a social service aspect to that act, yes – in India, there’s so many animals in need right in our vicinity. But, it’s not just service either, because sterilising and vaccinating strays is also good for you. It’ll reduce yours and your pet’s chances of catching diseases.

The pet population in India is only going to grow, as will the desire of pet parents to buy premium products for their pets. If you see your pet as your family member – as today’s pet parents do – it’s only natural for them to want to give their pets the best quality of food and get them cute outfits and take them to spas.

But, as Abhishek said, in a country like India, you’re better off choosing to spend your extra money on caring for the stray animals around you. Of course, it’s good to give your pets quality products. But, a pet doesn’t need several beds or even that much clothing. India is hot, and most pets are actually not very comfortable wearing costumes. You and your pet would be better off if you spend on sterilising and vaccinating the strays around you instead.

Kudrat (Host): That’s all for today. You just heard The Signal Daily. We don’t do hot takes. Instead, we’ll bring you deep dives into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ on consumer trends.

The Core produces The Signal Daily. Follow us wherever you get your favourite podcasts. To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in.

If you have feedback, we’d love to hear from you. Write to us @[email protected].

Thank you for listening.

Author:   Kudrat Wadhwa

Tags:  

petcare premiumisation Market