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Pet industry factors driving growth

India’s economic growth, growing empathy towards pets and rapid urbanisation are driving the industry forward.

The Indian pet industry has come a long way in the past decade in terms of market value, customer service, and organisa-tion. What was once only a motley crew of shopkeepers selling sham-poos and biscuits has now evolved into an $800-million-plus industry and comprises large

multi nationals, as well as do-mestic players. Industry veterans believe this is just the beginning, and that the spurt in pet owner-ship and growing interest in pets, especially dogs, mean the pro-gress witnessed up to now is only the tip of an unexploited iceberg. “I peg the market potential of the Indian pet industry at $1.5 bn,” says Rana Atheya, founder of DogSpot.in, a portal for dog lovers.

Continuing its growth trend, the Indian pet industry is expected to continue to register strong double-digit retail value growth in 2013. This growth will be driven by several factors: the increase in pet ownership, rising dispos-able income, higher awareness of the dietary needs of pets and the benefits of pet food, and most importantly, a change in percep-tion towards pets.

Increased pet ownershipAs India continues to evolve

in all spheres, more people are considering and opting for pet ownership. According to the in-ternational strategy research firm Euromonitor International, the pet population in India (including all species) in 2006 was approxi-mately 7 mio. This figure grew to 10 mio by 2011. Although a meagre number when viewed in relation to the aggregate human population of India (1.2 bn), these figures demonstrate the vast un-tapped market that lies herein. Although there are no studies pro-viding definitive numbers re-garding the number of pet adop-tions per year, going by Euromon-itor’s figures, 600 000 pets are adopted every year on average. Pet ownership is expected to in-

crease at a faster rate in years to come due to a host of reasons — increased instances of delayed parenthood, changed perception towards pets and increased buying power, amongst others.

“Currently, the human to pet ratios are terribly skewed in India. As awareness about pets spreads and more people see their friends, relatives and neighbours getting pets, they too will consider pet ownership. The next six years will see the rate of ownership rise ex-ponentially due to the host of awareness initiatives being taken by the industry. I expect there to be at least one pet per five homes in 15 years’ time,” says Sanjay Jaiswal, general manager of pet care at Provimi Animal Nutrition India Pvt Ltd.

Rising disposable income Rising disposable income is a

huge contributory growth factor for the pet industry in India. In its revised 2007 figures, based on increased and sustaining growth, and more inflows into foreign direct investment, Goldman Sachs pre-dicted that “from 2007 to 2020, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in $ terms will quadruple”, and that the Indian economy will surpass the United

A large number of pet owners are shifting from homemade food to prepared food as their spending power increases. Photo: Sudhir Sharma

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States (in $) by 2043. According to official estimates, the Indian economy grew at 7.6 per cent (+/- 0.25 per cent) in the fiscal year 2012–2013. Furthermore, Eu-romonitor statistics report the an-nual disposable income of Indians to be $1,6 mio in 2012, a consider-able increment from the $1,1 mio in 2008.

Pet care registered an approx-imate growth of 24 per cent in current value terms in 2012. The growing affluence in urban areas has boosted consumer confidence and driven more consumption in many areas, including pet care. As disposable income increases, consumers are more likely to trade up to premium pet care products and specialised products. There is also a large base of pet owners who are gradually shifting from homemade food to prepared food as their spending power increases. Growing disposable income is also driving sales of non-food pet prod-ucts, with pet healthcare and pet dietary supplements experiencing strong growth. Pet owners are more willing to increase spending

on their pets, not only to meet their basic needs, but also for their health and wellbeing.

The short term outlook for the economy has become uncertain due to the debt crisis in Europe and signs of global economic slow-down. However, over the long term, the Indian economy is expected to benefit from growth drivers in Asia. Thus, disposable incomes are expected to rise further. This will enable more consumers to own pets as well as prompting in-creased expenditure on pet care among existing pet owners.

The national and international media’s positive portrayal of pets has had a huge impact on the public perception of the latter. Whereas pets were literally seen as nonentities in the country ear-lier, there is now a growing interest in them. Even those that cannot own pets for certain reasons are aware of the popular breeds in the country and the rudiments of pet care.

Conventional media coverage, along with the advent of social media, has spawned thousands of platforms that propagate the

benefits of keeping pets and the joys of pet ownership. Pet lovers and animal welfare workers have also taken aggressively to blog-ging and social media propa-ganda about pets, further pro-jecting them as having positive attributes. With more people turning to digital platforms as sources of information, they are exposed to the positive content posted about pets, leading to val-idation of affection for pets in ex-isting pet lovers and the arousal of curiosity and fondness in non-pet owners.

News coverage reporting in-stances of animal heroism, people willing entire estates to their pets, surveys proving that pets are pos-itive influences on children and adults alike etc. have gained pets respect and admiration amongst Indians. Local television shows, such as NDTV Good Times’ “Heavy Petting”, further supple-ment positive media attention for pets. Local animal welfare organ-isations further aid the humanisa-tion of pets, sensitising the public to their needs and emotions. News coverage of international and na-tional celebrities expressing their devotion to their pets has also been noticed by the Indian populace.

Amongst the rave reviews of pet keeping and empathy in the media to the plight of stray ani-mals, the nominal instances of animal aggression (mostly by stray dogs) get lost in the sea of positive coverage and the cases that are reported blame local civic bodies for not controlling the situation, and not the animals themselves, who are depicted as victims.

Young couples without children are increasingly adopting pets.

Rana Atheya, founder of DogSpot, a portal for dog lovers.

Dogs are the most popular pet species in India.

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Humanisation of pets Owing to the general atmos-

phere of sensitisation towards pets in the country, more Indian consumers have come to regard them as thinking, feeling, human-like members of the family and pet owners no longer mind spending on what they perceive as necessary or beneficial for their pets, be it pet food, treats, toys, medicines, resort stays or air fare. In particular, urban consumers have begun to humanise their pets to a great extent and want to buy them alternatives of what they buy for themselves in every category.

As non-pet owners meet each other and interact with pet-owning

families, they become aware of how pets are treated and learn the norms of pet care. Pet birth-days are celebrated and acquaint-ances ask not only after children but also after family pets. The trend of humanising pets is ex-pected to spread further, with pet owners becoming more interested in understanding their pets and meeting their needs, including their dietary habits, nutritional and entertainment needs.

Delayed parenthood is a much underestimated but potent con-tributory factor to the growth of the industry. Every year, hundreds of young married couples without children adopt pets as a means

to simulating family life before they have children. These couples, mostly in their early to mid-30s, typically tend to be from major cities and fall in the middle to upper middle class segment.

The fact that the conventional Indian joint family system is fast becoming defunct, especially in metropolitan cities, is also in-creasing pet ownership amongst couples without children, as many of them miss the hustle bustle of family life. Nuclear families also give young couples the freedom to do as they please without hurting the sentiments of an elder, who may not like or tolerate pets.

Key trends in IndiaDogs are the most popular pet species in India, followed by cats.

In 2013, the canine population is set to remain over nine times that of cats and 14 times that of other pets. In terms of pet ownership, 4 per cent of Indian households owned dogs in 2011, compared to 0.3 per cent for cats.

The people most likely to own pets are families with young chil-dren or young couples without children.

Pet care products catering to the health and wellness needs of pets (especially cats and dogs) have emerged. With modern soci-ety’s growing focus on health, pet owners increasingly project their own health and wellness needs on to their pets.

International players are strongly represented in pet care in India, with the top three (Mars International Pvt Ltd, Royal Canin India Pvt Ltd and Provimi Animal Nutrition India Pvt Ltd) all being multinationals and accounting for a combined value share of 52 per cent in 2010.

Pet food in India has seen increasing specialisation. Although the specialised brands are more expensive than standard variants, they are gaining popularity in urban areas.

In most pet-owning households, female consumers decide which brands to buy and which products are required for their pets.

People are increasingly turning to supermarkets to buy pet food. They find it convenient to buy their pets’ food along with their own groceries. Also, pet food and pet care items are increasingly being bought through e-commerce websites.

Social media have emerged as the most powerful tool of mar-keting, as they have the power to reach millions at little expense.

Pet-specific events are becoming more popular, as small out-fits like Anvis Inc and Party Barky Hai arrange for pet-and-owner meets, where people with pets meet, socialise and spend the day together.

Pet resorts & home stays: as more Indians discover the joys of travelling, they seek secure homes or resorts for their pets while they vacation. To cater for this need, a host of pet resorts have emerged, and many pet lovers have established pets-only home stays.

Rutaksha Rawat is editor at the Indian pet trade magazine Creature Companion. E-mail: businesseditorlba@yahoo.com

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