Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL), a leading pet food company in India, is preparing to enter India’s fast growing pet food market. People familiar with the matter said that the company will make its products available at half the price of major companies like Nestle, Mars, Godrej Consumer Products and Emami. Reliance has informed distributors and trade channels that it is pricing its brand Veggies 20-50 per cent lower than existing players, similar to its strategy in the cola sector, an official said.
focus on these cities
Campa, the consumer products arm of Reliance Retail, is using its previous entry strategy into Cola to challenge existing players in the pet care sector, which has grown due to the wave of rising pet ownership and premiumisation. According to the official quoted above, the pet food will be made available in general merchandise stores and semi-urban stores in tier-2 centres. However, no official statement has been issued by RCPL yet. It is noteworthy that the pet food market of the country is currently estimated to be more than ₹ 31,000 crore.
The company sells its brands across categories, including cold drinks, juices, energy drinks, water and staples, and these brands are available at 20-40 percent lower prices than existing competitors. This has led many competitors to either intensify consumer promotions, offer higher commercial margins, or introduce smaller, lower-priced packs. However, none of its brands are currently available nationally.
T. Krishnakumar, director of Reliance’s consumer products division, told ET in an interview in June that the company wants to ensure that its consumer portfolio is available nationally by March 2027. Former Coca-Cola chief Krishnakumar said RCPL is working on a strategy to focus on 60 crore common consumers and work with neighborhood stores by giving them margins on prevailing costs.
Rs 31,000 crore market
A recent report by RedSeer Strategy Consultants says India’s pet care market is expected to double to $7 billion by 2028 from the current $3.5 billion. The report says the number of pets in Indian households will increase from 26 million in 2019 to 32 million in 2024. The report said a key trend driving the market is premiumization and subscription services that provide delivery of food, beauty products and health services. Leading brands in the pet care category include Pedigree, Purina, Supertails and Royal Canin, while leading startups include Heads Up for Tails and Drools.