Market for pet food in India is evolving rapidly: Gaurav Kwatra, Purina

The Petcare category is still at an early stage of development and requires a strong commercial focus, says Gaurav Kwatra, Director of Purina, Petcare India.
 

He spoke to us about the core brand philosophy of Purina, how it is preparing for the competitive segment, and establishing a niche for itself in the pet care category. 

Excerpts:

After a long stint at Nestle, a new opportunity has been given to you. What needs to be done for the brand as Purina isn’t a known brand in the market?

I have been fortunate enough to be associated with a brand like Nestlé as it gave me the opportunity to work across various categories like Beverages, Foods, Confectionery, Health Science, across multiple markets. Winning in the pet care category is as much about impactful consumer marketing as it is about KoL advocacy. Building a whole ecosystem of advocates becomes extremely critical part of the marketing plans.

How are you preparing for the competitive segment and what is the way forward for Purina India?

We are committed to helping pets live longer, happier and healthier lives through proper nutrition and care. We are extremely focused when it comes to the quality of our products. Purina products are created with the expertise of over 500 pet experts around the globe. In a typical month, 100,000+ quality checks are conducted in manufacturing facilities.

We know right nutrition can bring improve longevity and quality of life for our pets. And our global success over the years has come from our innovation and deep-rooted focus on nutrition. We would continue to focus on our superior quality of products and maintain the kind of nutrition that we have been always been known for.

Globally, Purina is a Nestle brand but in India the structure is different, and is operating as a separate company. Are there any plans for Purina to be under Nestle in the future?

The Petcare category is still at an early stage of development and therefore requires a strong commercial focus. It is based on a different business model and catering to a different set of customers. The logistics, distribution model, route to market are all different for the Purina business. Therefore, Nestlé S.A had decided to introduce this as a separate business.  It will not be correct to speculate on future operational models.

How does the brand plan to strengthen its distribution and sales network in the country. What is the marketing strategy?

As of now, we are more focused on the larger cities. While the smaller cities are increasingly becoming important, they will still take some time to churn the kind of volumes as a larger city. We are currently retailing through more than 1,500 pet stores and Vet clinics across 23 cities.

In India, we still have very low calorific coverage (share of stomach) of pet food with widely prevalent behaviour of feeding home food which in most cases is not adequate. Education of pet owners on the benefits of right nutrition is the single biggest source of growth for the category and Purina.

The right strategy at the moment is to leverage this emotional connect and cater to the growing demands of ‘pet parents’ by providing them with the right mix of nutrition which is best suited to their pets’ requirements.

What about the competition. Pedigree has made a remarkable position in the pet care segment. What are your views on this?

We understand that there are players who enjoy the first-mover’s advantage in India. But, India as a market for pet food, is evolving rapidly. Pets are making their way to more and more households. Pet owners are no longer depending solely on home-cooked food for their pets. They are increasingly relying on packaged food to ensure proper nutrition for the pets. This means increased headroom for growth for pet food manufacturers.