Bengaluru-based pet care player Supertails has grown 200% per year in the last three years and is now rapidly expanding its product and service offerings, and will soon be seen opening offline stores
Bengaluru-headquartered Supertails has been having a ‘pawsome’ run since its inception growing in terms of products, services, popularity, and presence.
Started in 2021, by Aman Tekriwal, Varun Sadana, and Vineet Khanna, the brand has been providing innovative solutions that enhance the well-being and lifestyle of pets.
“The category was always growing, but it needed a boost, which the pandemic provided. And post-pandemic, it has started to reach the threshold of the network effect,” said Khanna explaining that since over 85% of pet parents in India are first-timers, with needs that are different from an evolved market, the brand started with the primary need fulfillment over the first year. It then went on to add more offerings in terms of informed healthcare and behaviour training among others.
The growth
Supertails began by offering food products for pets. “One needs to have the best assortment of food available from India and abroad, taking care of across the price points, across the life stages of the pet, and any form of specialization. For instance, we go from the basic food to even as specialized as well-prescribed diets,” he added.
Supertails first expansion was in its product portfolio, going from food to nonfood. Healthcare consultations came next which are fully digitally done.
“We first get the pet parent in and then we address more of their needs over time so that most of the needs of the pet parent are fulfilled,” said Khanna.
This was followed by a pharmacy for pets as well as online dog behaviour training services, provided by a team of experienced in-house veterinarians and pet behaviour specialists.
Now, pet parents can order essentials like pet food for delivery within hours and book online vet consultations from the comfort of their homes.
Star Product
The company’s star product is Henlo, which is baked dry food for dogs made from 100% human-grade ingredients, maintaining the nutrient content and flavour at optimum levels. The product launched as a pilot project in 2022 and received an overwhelming response.
“Henlo is manufactured in-house. We started with dog food. And eventually launched certain variants in the same. The idea is to expand the range in the future, getting into cat food as well,” added Khanna.
Pharmacy
To further support pet parents, the firm has introduced a pet pharmacy on its platform, becoming a full-stack platform offering pet supplies, online vet consultations, online behaviour training, and a pet pharmacy. Launched in Bengaluru as a pilot project, Pharmacy currently delivers medicines pan India and is perhaps the largest organised e-pharmacy for pets in the country.
“We were the best suited because we are online and have doctors on our payroll, so we can generate the best top of the funnel with respect to the demand for pharmacy. We launched the pharmacy, about three quarters back, and right now, more than 25% of our orders carry pharmacy,” explained Khanna.
Future plans
The company has experienced robust growth in the last couple of years.
“In these three years, we have grown by at least 200% per year and we hope to give up the momentum,” shared Khanna.
The brand is now also venturing offline with its exclusive stores.
“Venturing into offline setup would be a part of our expansion plan in the next stage,” said Khanna. “The online needs are already getting addressed. If the needs are offline, we will have to address them by exploring the offline setup,” he explained without sharing details.
The expansion will be funded by the recent monies raised. In February 2024, Supertails raised Rs 125 crore (approximately $15 million) in a Series B funding round led by RPSG Capital Ventures and existing investors Fireside Ventures, Saama Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, and Sauce VC.
Other plans include expanding its pharmacy network, going deeper into healthcare, launching more private labels, and enhancing a faster delivery network.
“Whenever we enter a new category, we test the entire market. We do a lot of research with our existing customers, and we get feedback from them on whether the category is an increasing need for them. For any brand, the biggest performance indicator is not just their top line. It’s about how many customers come back to you. Customer love and retention are the top metrics that we track,” shared Khanna.
“We are adding more offerings and occasions of consumption for pet parents. We are on the right track and have a long way to go ahead,” he concluded.
