Pet Care Brand Heads Up For Tails Raises $37 Mn From Verlinvest, Sequoia And Others

Delhi-based pet care brand and products retailer Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) has raised $37 Mn (INR 277 Cr) in a Series A round of funding today. The investment round was led by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital India. 

The round also saw participation from Amitell Capital and existing investor W&C PetTech.

The funds will be utilised to increase HUFT’s distribution footprint across India and accelerate new product development and manufacturing.

Founded in 2008 by Rashi Narag, HUFT is a retailer of pet products. Its line of products ranges from human grade, preservative-free treats to novelty items like orthopaedic beds and organic supplements.  

The startup, through educational content and marketing endeavours, also aims to increase awareness among existing and new pet parents on the need for pet wellness and care. 

Talking about funding, Narang said “We aim to create products and educational material for all the needs of pets at every stage of their life. We will continue to become a permanent part of people’s lives as pet parenting partners by leveraging on our in house expertise and experience of over 12 years of working with dogs and cats.” 

The Series A funding comes after the pet care startup raised $10 Mn in 2019 from a group of family offices, HNI’s and existing investors. HUFT claims to have revenue growth of more than 80% despite the pandemic. 

According to IPS, the Indian pet care market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% to INR 5457 Cr by 2025. HUFT shares the market space with other pet-focused startups, Supertails, Dogspot.in, Waggle.in, Doggie Dabbas, among others.      

The startup plans to accelerate ahead by introducing a line of fresh pet food across the country, as well as expand its portfolio of 10 exclusive international brands, such as Pet head, Isle of Dog, and Wild Earth, that they currently represent in the country.

HUFT, which has a current team strength of 350 across functions, like marketing, product, brand, tech and manufacturing, also plans to increase their employee count to 450 by the end of 2021.