Pet Care Brand Captain Zack Gets $1.5 Mn In Pre-Series A Funding

Mumbai-based pet grooming startup Captain Zack secures $1.5 Mn in Pre-Series A funding led by industrialists Kushal Desai and Chaitanya Desai through their family office along with Japan Vyas, co-founder of Sixth Sense Ventures, who had been an angel investor in the company.

Other investors participating in the round include Naval Bir Kumar – erstwhile head at IDFC Asset Management & Standard Chartered Asset Management, Sunil Agarwal, owner – entrepreneurial Joy Cosmetics and experienced investment banker Ketan Shah, who manages Panini Advisors LLP.

The company plans to use the fresh funds for marketing and brand awareness.
Founded in 2017 by Mohit Lalvani, Captain Zack offers a toxin-free range of pet products comprising specially made formulations that are paraben-free and vegan.

The company sells its products via its own platform as well as other ecommerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon.

With a team of 22, the company is serving across major metros in India.

Parent company EM Personal Care also plans to use the fresh funding for its other brand Coccoon, which offers unique beauty formulations using exotic fruits and plants, such as a non-invasive wrinkle filler, high-end night serum, radiance cream.

The pet care market in India is expected to hit the $270 Mn mark by 2019.

In the pet care segment, Delhi-based luxury pet products portal Heads Up For Tails had raised $2 Mn from a group of high net worth individuals in a pre-Series A round in January 2017.

Later in September, Bengaluru-based pet care startup, TailsLife raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge round from existing investor Exfinity Ventures chairman V Balakrishnan.

Earlier in 2016, a Gurugram-based online portal for pet care, DogSpot.in, had raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ratan Tata, along with a few new and existing investors – Ronnie Screwvala, India Quotient and K Ganesh.

Other pets-focused startups are Waggle.in, a platform which allows dog owners find temporary homes; Delhi-based Collar Folk, which plans holidays for people who would like to take their pets along during vacations; Gurugram-based Doggie Dabbas, a pet food ordering platform offering customised, nutritious and balanced diet for dogs; and Bengaluru-based Dogsee Chew, which sells natural and organic food for dogs.

According to the “India Pet Care Market Outlook, 2022″ the segment is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 20% in the forecasted period of FY 2017-18 to FY 2021-22. The market is categorised into four segments i.e. pet food, pet accessories, pet grooming and pet healthcare.

With players like Grofers, Amazon etc already offering pet care products, niche pet startups have a huge market to grow into.

[The development was reported by ET.]