France-based pet food manufacturer and supplier Royal Canin, which opened a high-end packaging plant at a cost of about Rs100 crore in Bhiwandi near Bombay in April, aims to deliver smaller packages targeted at Indian consumers, a report in The Hindu Businessline newspaper said.
Satinder Singh, managing director of Royal Canin (India), told the paper that Indian consumers prefer to buy pet food in smaller packs. “About 85% of packs (sold here) are less than 1.2 kg—Indian consumers prefer to buy in smaller packs,” he said.
The reason is not far to seek: affordability, primarily, and the problem of storage. Given the high and rising prices of pet food, this is more a compulsion than a preference. And when it comes to premium brands such as Royal Canin, Indian consumers are even more careful as the products are inherently more expensive. Besides, storage of the contents of larger packs can be a concern, because once the pack is opened, the food has to be transferred to an airtight container, and it’s not easy to find such large containers, or to make space to keep them.
Pet food imported from the Western world mostly comes in larger packs, often 10kg and above. The Bhiwandi plant will allow Royal Canin to repackage it into smaller packs ranging in size from as low as 200 gm to 4 kg, something the company hopes will bring more Indian pet owners to try its products. This will also help to improve its ‘fill rates’ in stores and service the needs of the local market when demand fluctuates, he said.
The packaging centre is “the first footprint of putting up a manufacturing centre”, Satinder Singh told businessline, adding that much would depend on the scale of operations and the sourcing of quality raw materials.
He also flagged the need for stringent standards for the domestic pet food industry, not just to protect the health of pets, but also to develop India as an export hub for pet food.
Claiming that imported products are regulated in global markets, Satinder Singh told the newspaper that the lack of local standards could prove detrimental to the health of pets and the industry. He said the industry had begun lobbying the government on this issue.
Globally, Royal Canin is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mars, Inc, which also owns the popular dog food brand Pedigree and the cat food brand Whiskas. Mars, which also owns some of the world’s most popular chocolate and snack brands, was the USA’s fourth largest privately owned company in 2022, according to Forbes.
