L Catterton Invests in Drools, India's Top Homegrown Pet Food Company

Drools will leverage L Catterton's category expertise and brand building capabilities to further strengthen its position in the country's fast-growing pet food market

MUMBAI, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, today announced that it has invested around $60 million in Drools Pet Food Private Limited ("Drools"), the top local pet food company in India. This builds on the firm's longstanding track record of growing pet food businesses across the world and marks its first foray into the sector in India.

Drools will leverage L Catterton's expertise in the sector to further strengthen its position as the largest domestic player in India's burgeoning pet food market. The market is expected to grow by approximately 20% annually over the next five years to reach over $1.2 billion in 2028 on the back of increasing pet adoption as the country becomes more urbanized and household sizes become smaller. Macro trends such as rising income levels and the increasing humanization of pets are also leading pet owners to spend more on their pets, especially on buying packaged food instead of preparing home-cooked meals.

Capitalizing on these secular tailwinds, Drools has almost quadrupled its revenue over the past three years by building an omni-channel pan-India pet food business. Its portfolio of dog and cat food brands such as Drools®, its flagship brand, as well as Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum provides a wide range of benefits which address the growing demands of the fast-evolving Indian pet parent.

"What truly differentiates Drools is its ability to manufacture high-quality products across the price ladder and make them available to pet parents via every relevant channel, be it online on Amazon or Flipkart, or offline in over 34,000 points of sale spanning specialty vet shops, veterinary clinics, and general trade stores," commented Anjana Sasidharan, a partner in L Catterton Asia. "Its focus on product quality has helped it become a brand that has gained a reputation for providing high protein content at value-for-money price points, cultivating a very loyal base of customers. This is an exciting time to be entering the country's pet food market, which we believe is at an inflection point, and we look forward to working closely with the Drools team to further scale its business."

"Drools is dedicated to driving sustainable growth," added Drools founder Fahim Sultan. "We have built a strong foundation for the future by embracing responsible business practices while delivering high-quality pet food products, and believe that partnering with L Catterton will enable us to enhance our position in the market as we continue our journey towards positively impacting the pet food sector. L Catterton's expertise and ability to create value for companies in the sector is well known across the industry and will help us unlock a new phase of growth. We are keen to leverage its consumer insights, operating know-how, as well as commercial network to further strengthen our brands and recruit talent. India's developing pet market continues to mature across metros, as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, and we see many more years of secular growth ahead."

L Catterton has significant experience building brands in the pet food space across the world. Current and past investments in the sector include Butternut Box, Canidae, Harringtons, Instinct®, JustFoodForDogs, Lily's Kitchen, Old Mother Hubbard®, Partner Pet, Petlove, Pure & Natural, Rachael Ray® Nutrish®, and Wagg.

About L Catterton

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton's team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world's most iconic consumer brands. For more information about L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.

About Drools Pet Food

Drools Pet Food Private Limited ("Drools") is India's leading homegrown pet food company with a portfolio of brands such as Drools®, its flagship brand, as well as Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum. Established by founder Fahim Sultan in 2010 with a focus on pets' nutrition, health, and welfare, Drools was born to bridge a gap in the market and provide pets with a diet comprising clean ingredients with a wholesome and balanced nutritional profile. Its initial line of dry food for dogs and cats has now expanded to include wet food, treats, and supplements produced in line with international quality standards. Drools today is one of the fastest-growing pet food companies in South Asia and has also established an international footprint over the past decade, since shipping its first consignment of dry food to Sri Lanka in 2012 and then to Nepal that same year. At present, its products are exported to over 20 countries. For more information about Drools, please visit www.drools.com.

CONTACTS

L Catterton

Julie Hamilton (U.S.)
media@lcatterton.com
+1 203 742 5185

Bob Ong (Asia)
bob.ong@lcatterton.com
+65 6672 7619

Jinal Parekh (Adfactors, for L Catterton in India)
jinal.parekh@adfactorspr.com / lcatterton@adfactorspr.com
+91 98696 57529

Drools

Renuka Nadkarni (Adfactors, for Drools)
renuka.nadkarni@adfactorspr.com / drools@adfactorspr.com
+91 99303 79129

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SOURCE L Catterton