India’s leading company Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) is preparing to enter India’s rapidly growing pet animal food market. People associated with it said that the company will offer its products at half the prices compared to major companies like Nestle, Mars, Godrej Consumer Products and Emami. An official said that Reliance has told distributors and trade channels that it is keeping the price of its brand Veggies 20-50 per cent lower than existing companies, which is similar to its strategy in the cola sector.
Focus on these cities
Reliance Retail’s consumer products arm is using the strategy of its previous entry into Campa Cola to challenge existing players in the pet care space, which has grown due to the wave of rising pet ownership and premiumisation. According to an official quoted above, the pet foods will be made available at general trade and semi-urban shops in Tier-II centres. However, there is no official statement from RCPL yet. The special thing is that at present the pet food market of the country is said to be worth more than Rs 31 thousand crores.
Goods will be available across the country by 2027
The company sells its brands across all its categories, including cold drinks, juices, energy drinks, water and staples, at prices 20-40 per cent lower than existing competitors, leading many competitors to either accelerate consumer promotions, offer business margins, or introduce smaller, lower-priced packs. However, none of its brands are yet available at the national level.
T Krishnakumar, director of Reliance’s consumer products division, had told ET in an interview in June that the company “wants to ensure that its consumer portfolio is available nationally by March 2027.” Krishnakumar, the former Coca-Cola chief, said RCPL is working on a strategy to focus on 60 crore common consumers and work closely with them “by giving margins to neighborhood stores at today’s costs.”
31 thousand crore market
A recent report by RedSeer Strategy Consultants states that India’s pet care market is expected to double to $7 billion by 2028, from $3.5 billion currently. The report says that the number of pets in Indian homes will increase from 26 million in 2019 to 32 million in 2024. The report said that an important trend driving the market is premiumization and subscription services that provide delivery of food, beauty products and health services. Big brands in the pet care category include Pedigree, Purina, Supertails, and Royal Canin, while major startups include Heads Up for Tails and Drools.