Drools Enters Unicorn Club After Nestle’s Investment

Swiss food giant Nestlé SA, the parent entity of Nestlé India, has acquired a minority stake in homegrown D2C pet care startup Drools. However, the startup did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Drools also said that it recently became a unicorn, without disclosing further details.

Drools said it will continue to operate independently, maintaining its strategic and operational autonomy.

Founded by Fahim Sultan in 2010, Drools offer 650+ SKUs, including high-protein, prescription, and value-for-money diets, serving the full spectrum of pet nutrition needs. It claims to have about 3,400 employees currently.

The Bengaluru-based startup sells its products via its own website, major ecommerce marketplaces, and offline stores. It also exports its products to more than 40K retail outlets across 22 countries, including Australia, Israel and the UAE. 

“Backed by a strong focus on science-based nutrition, Drools continues to drive innovation and build meaningful engagement with the evolving demographic of Indian pet parents, positioning itself at the forefront of the country’s pet care industry,” Sultan said.

The development comes nearly two years after US-based private equity (PE) firm L Catterton invested $60 Mn in the Indian pet food brand at a valuation of $600 Mn, obtaining a 10% stake in Drools.

The startup competes with Wiggles, Head Up For Tails and Benny’s Bowl in the pet care market which is expected to grow at 18-20% CAGR, creating a $7-Bn (around INR 6,000 Cr) opportunity by the end of 2027-28.

Since COVID pandemic, India has been witnessing a surge in pet care businesses, attracting a lot of investors to fund their expansion efforts.

For instance, pet food brand Dogsee Chew secured $8 Mn (INR 69.4 Cr) from Ektha.com, Shivanssh Holdings and Poddar Family office, in February.

Meanwhile, in March, Bengaluru-based pet care startup Supertails was in talks to buy multispeciality veterinary clinic Blue 7 Vets as part of its effort to expand its offline services.

Based on Inc42 data, the Indian startup ecosystem surrounding pet care raised around $130 Mn in funding, until February this year.