Direct-to-consumer (D2C) pet care brands are leaning on subscription models to lock in customers, betting that repeat purchases can help them counter the scale and distribution advantage of India’s largest packaged consumer goods players as the niche segment heats up.
“Nearly 40% of our repeat customers today come through the subscription model, which tells us how effective it has been in driving predictable demand,” said Kartikeya Gupta, co-founder of natural cat food brand Smylo, which raised ₹75 lakh on business reality show Shark Tank India on 15 January from Anupam Mittal, Kunal Bahl, and Varun Alagh, giving up 1% equity along with advisory shares, valuing it at about ₹75 crore.
At the consumer level, subscriptions combine convenience with predictability by automating regular pet food purchases and reducing the friction of repeat ordering. Customers can choose flexible delivery frequencies and retain full control over shipments, with the ability to pause, skip, or cancel without long-term lock-ins.
For pet owners, especially those managing daily feeding routines, subscriptions help ensure continuity, minimize last-minute purchases, and offer better value through bundled or recurring orders—making them well-suited to staple products that pets consume consistently.
“Subscriptions work best for products that form part of a pet’s staple diet. Cats, for instance, need to be fed consistently, often up to one-and-a-half packets a day, so a bulk pack is bound to get consumed. Automated replenishment simply makes sense for the consumer,” Gupta said.
Mint reported on 26 December that India’s pet care market is seeing an influx of consumer goods giants chasing a new generation of indulgent pet parents, setting the stage for the category’s most competitive year yet in 2026.
Once dominated by Mars Inc., the sector—which market researcher Euromonitor International estimates grew from $690.5 million in 2023 to $786.6 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $884.4 million in 2025 globally—has evolved into a battleground for global and domestic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giants.
New entrants such as Reliance Retail’s Waggies and Wipro Consumer Care’s HappyFur, alongside investments from Godrej Consumer Products and Nestlé, are intensifying competition across price segments.
With 70-80% of the pet care market comprising first-time pet parents—largely young, urban consumers—the segment could reach about ₹35,000 crore in 2026, according to industry experts, cementing its status as a mainstream FMCG category in the country.
While comprehensive data on pet food subscriptions remains limited, a May 2025 Euromonitor report found that subscription-based models for pet grooming kits, treats, and monthly toy boxes are gaining traction among urban pet owners.
Companies such as Captain Zack and Wiggles are tapping into this trend through auto-replenishment services designed to prevent stock-outs, with convenience and perceived value emerging as key adoption drivers.
Subscriptions, however, have struggled in several other D2C categories. At cold-pressed juice brand Raw Pressery, high perishability and cold-chain costs eroded margins, while in dairy, brands such as Epigamia found that consumers preferred on-demand purchases via neighbourhood stores and quick-commerce platforms. At men's grooming brand Bombay Shaving Company, inconsistent usage patterns and easy switching made subscriptions less viable.
A strategic moat
Nonetheless, Gupta contends that pet food operates differently. “Meals are a daily essential, and pets tend to grow accustomed to specific brands, making consumption more predictable. Pet owners are also reluctant to change diets abruptly, naturally lending the category to subscription models.”
While brick-and-mortar retail continues to play a key role in customer acquisition, subscriptions are emerging as a stronger lever for retention, he added. “From a business standpoint, subscriptions significantly reduce marketing costs because the brand doesn’t have to repeatedly spend to convince the same customer to reorder.”
For many emerging pet care brands, subscriptions aren’t seen as an immediate growth engine but rather as a long-term strategic lever.
For Hari Shankar, founder of Chennai-based dog food brand Pets of Paradise, subscriptions are “strategically important but not yet mission-critical”. At this stage, he emphasized that brand trust, product quality, and consumer education carry more weight.
“In the long run, subscriptions will become a defensive moat by locking in habitual consumption and reducing switching driven by price-led FMCG competition,” Shankar said.
Currently, subscriptions make up less than 10% of Pets of Paradise’s customer base and contribute only low single-digit revenue. One-time purchases, largely through marketplaces, continue to dominate sales. Yet even at this modest scale, subscription customers show stronger retention, higher average order values, and significantly greater lifetime value, Shankar noted.
While insights from subscription data remain mostly qualitative, conversations with repeat customers have already influenced product decisions. These include introducing multiple textures, smaller and more frequent stock-keeping units (SKUs), and basket-led offerings that extend beyond core meals. In tier-II and tier-III markets, Shankar added, subscriptions only gain relevance once trust and trial are firmly established.
“Our advantage over FMCG players isn’t scale, it’s proximity,” he said, highlighting direct engagement and personalized baskets as differentiators that larger competitors struggle to replicate.
Bengaluru-based Muttley Crew, a five-year-old D2C brand focused on preservative-free pet treats and meals, is preparing to roll out subscriptions with a cautious, value-led approach rather than aggressive discounting. “We’re launching subscriptions very shortly, and we’re approaching it in two ways,” said founder Smriti Thomas. “Treats already see repeat buying, but meals really need to be subscription-led. That’s where automation makes sense.”
While the company plans to price subscriptions lower than one-time purchases, Thomas said the emphasis is on added value. “Each box won’t just have the selected treats, it will also include a small gift and useful collectables related to pet health,” she said.
At the same time, flexibility remains central to the design. “In India, people are still not fully comfortable with subscriptions beyond gyms or over-the-top (OTT) content platforms,” she said. “So there’s no lock-in, no large upfront payment, and the option to cancel anytime.”
Thomas added that subscriptions only work once trust is established. “Subscriptions help only after trust is built. Once pet parents are confident about the product and start seeing benefits, subscriptions reinforce routine and consistency.”
Over the long term, she said, subscriptions could help smaller brands compete with FMCG players on engagement and outcomes rather than price.
Out of reach
Not everyone shares the optimism. Arvind Singhal, the chairman of consulting firm The Knowledge Company, is sceptical about the model’s viability in the country. “I don’t think it works at all, especially in pet food. It’s like any other FMCG product,” he said. “Some people tried it before, and it never worked.”
According to Singhal, the market is heavily skewed in favour of large national players, where scale, distribution, and trust matter more than niche engagement. “It’s a typical FMCG product. Conventional distribution channels, economies of scale, and research and development come into play. If you can spend ₹2,000- ₹2,500 on a Nestlé product or an equivalent FMCG brand, you’ll switch straight away. There’s trust already.”
He added that in smaller cities, it’s hard for startups to compete. “Large FMCG companies reach hundreds of thousands of villages and millions of sales points. Why would someone in a smaller city look for a startup brand that nobody knows about?”
Singhal remains cautious on the future of D2C pet brands. “I don’t see a way they can sustain for long. Most will remain niche—two crore, five crore, maybe 10-20 crore, but the bulk of the market will still belong to large FMCG companies. Some may get acquired because they carve out a niche, but that’s about it.”