Pet food brand Drools claims unicorn status after minority stake by Nestlé
Summary
Drools Pet Food Private Limited claims it has become Indias first pet food unicorn following a minority investment by Nestl\xe9 S.A., the parent company of Nestl\xe9 India.Drools has not disclosed the details of the transaction but will continue to operate independently post-investment.The deal gives Nestl\xe9 access to Indias growing pet food market, while Drools is expected to continue expanding in both domestic and international markets.Drools, with brands like Pure Pet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, and Kitty Yum, claims to be the top seller in the pet food category on Amazon. The company operates fully online and also sells offline, including vet clinics, pet stores, and general trade retailers.Founded by Fahim Sultan in 2010, Drools operates six production facilities and has a warehousing footprint of 1.6 million square feet. The company distributes its products through 40,000 retail outlets in India and exports to 22 countries. The round was one of the largest investments in the pet care industry in India.For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, Drools revenue from operations jumped 50% to Rs 714.90 crore from Rs 474.62 crore in FY23. Netradyne and Juspay reached the milestone in January and April, respectively, while Porter recently joined the list after raising $200 million in a Series E round at a valuation exceeding $1 billion.