It all began when Shubha K. one day wondered why pets get a raw deal while we put so much thought into human food
On some sunny days, next-door Mrs Navneet Bhattar tries to tempt her bow-wow with a fresh chicken leg and on others, she pokes his butt to see it do a little hippity hoppity hop. But nothing gets the barker on his toes. The reason could be more than the ordinary lackadaisical attitude of this pampered race.
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| Shubha K Director, Pets Dhaba |
One day while feeding her son, Shubha was wondering about the nutrients in his food when it struck her if she had ever wondered the same for her pet.
Following the realisation, Shubha began to cook for her pet. Incidentally, stirring up a nutritious meal wasn’t difficult for she knew all about the essential nutrient requirements of dogs.
Two years ago, during her maternity leave, Shubha began reading up on pets and their nutrition. But before she could get back to work, her employer handed her the pink slip, citing global meltdown. That did it. Shubha never went back to the software industry. She began looking for a job in the pet industry instead.
However, jobs even in that sector were not easy to come by. Never one to give up, Shubha decided to start something on her own. Little did she know then, that her passion for pet-friendly food would grow into a successful enterprise.
As the word spread of her fingerlicking nutritious pet food, requests poured in from friends and friends’ friends, asking her to cook for their dogs. That is how Pets Dhaba was born.
Pets Dhaba is a unique home-made tiffin-dabba system for pets in Bengaluru. Shubha says, “The food at Pets Dhaba is designed keeping the nutrition and health requirements of pets in mind. In fact, the food here can also be customised depending on the needs and tastes of individual dogs.”
She has, in fact, gone an extra mile in ensuring that pets get adequate nutrition. The meals at Pets Dhaba are designed with inputs from veterinary doctors to keep the protein levels high and calorie intake low.
There are different kinds of meal plans for vegetarian and non-vegetarian dogs. While vegetarian meals have a mix of cereals, vegetables, fruits and nuts, milk and oils (for coat conditioning), non-vegetarian meals comprise the same along with chicken. Pets Dhaba also has a range of salads and desserts.
The conceptualisation and designing were a breeze, but the delivery of food posed a problem initially. Given the size of the city, Shubha struggled to make the food available to her customers on time. To tackle this, she hired delivery boys who were well-versed with Bengaluru’s routes. “We took people with experience in Pizza delivery,” says Shubha.
Started from home with one delivery boy and no significant investment, Pets Dhaba today has a permanent client base of 55 doggies. The business is making approximately `9 lakh per annum. Shubha has moved her business to a new house with a separate kitchen, 3 delivery boys, 1 cook and a helper entirely dedicated to Pets Dhaba.
Pets Dhaba plans to open up branches within the city to make faster deliveries. “This will not just help reduce the time spent on commuting, but also increase our capacity for handling more clients,” explains Shubha. She is also contemplating opening her shop in Chennai.
Undoubtedly, the business has gained some acceptance among the pet lovers of Bengaluru, but the scale is far from significant. Currently, Pets Dhaba relies on word of mouth and cost-free online marketing through social networking sites. A more aggressive marketing strategy should help it reach more people and their pets.
| Exoert Speaks | |
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Interesting Concept |
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Attractive Market As a pet-owner myself I can relate to some of the pain-points Pets Dhaba is addressing and can as well testify the willingness of owners to spend! Pet-care in India is a large and growing market thanks to rising disposable incomes and awareness levels. Scalability Challenges It’s not clear how the business will be able to scale if daily deliveries are being made. Unless very specific geographic areas with high pet-densities in Bengaluru are being targeted, profit margins may erode due to long-tailed geographic demand. Driver salaries, vehicle depreciation and fuel charges will add up. Perhaps, Pets Dhaba can also consider preparing food that can be stored for a few days in a refrigerator, without preservatives, to minimize daily deliveries? Complementary Offerings I would recommend actively focusing on other services such as organizing pet birthday parties and other events and catering special dog food for the same (cakes, cookies, donuts, etc.) along with pet training and pet grooming services. These have the potential to be much higher-margin businesses and a perfectly logical up-sell from the food delivery services. |
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| Rangarajan Sridhar JAFCO Asia |
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In general, barriers to entry for this business are quite low. However, with effective marketing and brand creation, and a first-mover advantage, Pets Dhaba has the potential to emerge as a one-stop shop for all pet related needs in Bengaluru. Ratings by the Expert |
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