The Idea That Started With a Simple Question
In 2010, Fahim Sultan entered a business that most people in India barely considered a serious opportunity: pet food. At a time when imported brands dominated the premium shelf and many Indian pet owners still relied on homemade food, Drools saw a gap hiding in plain sight. Why should quality pet nutrition be affordable only to a small section of pet parents? From that question came a business built around science-based nutrition, accessible pricing, and a deep understanding of Indian consumers.
What began in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, would eventually grow into one of India’s biggest homegrown pet-care brands.
From Chhattisgarh to a National Brand
Drools started its journey within the IB Group, a poultry business that gave the company an important early advantage, access to quality chicken protein and an established understanding of the food supply chain. Instead of trying to imitate global brands, Drools used its local advantage to build products suited to Indian pet parents.
The company gradually moved beyond being a small manufacturer and built its own ecosystem around product development, manufacturing, distribution, and retail. By September 2018, Drools Pet Food had formally emerged as a separate entity, ready to build a much larger brand.
The Pet Food Market Nobody Was Taking Seriously
India’s pet-care industry was still relatively small when Drools began. Pet ownership was growing, but commercial pet-food penetration remained low. For many families, feeding a dog or cat commercially every day was still considered an unnecessary expense.
Drools saw something different.
As urban households changed, disposable incomes increased and pets increasingly became family members, spending habits began changing too. Pet parents wanted better nutrition, convenience, treats, supplements, and specialised diets. Drools positioned itself right in the middle of that transition.
The Strategy: Premium Nutrition Without the Premium Price
Drools understood that India didn't need another expensive imported pet-food brand. It needed good nutrition at a price ordinary pet parents could afford.
That became one of its strongest competitive advantages. The company focused on protein-rich formulations, real meat ingredients and science-backed nutrition while maintaining a value proposition that appealed to India's expanding middle class.
The result was powerful: instead of competing only for affluent customers in large cities, Drools could chase the much bigger opportunity across metros, Tier-2 cities and smaller towns.
Building a Brand for Every Pet Parent
Drools didn't stop with a single product line. It built a portfolio designed to cover different budgets, breeds, life stages and nutritional needs.
Its ecosystem now includes brands such as Drools, Purepet, Meat Up, Canine Creek, Kitty Yum, Grain Zero, Focus and Vet Pro, spanning everything from everyday food and treats to premium and specialised nutrition.
With 650+ SKUs, the company created something bigger than a pet-food product—it built a complete pet-care portfolio. That breadth helped Drools capture customers as their pets' needs and spending power evolved.
Distribution Became Drools’ Secret Weapon
A great product means little if customers cannot find it.
Drools aggressively built distribution across India's fragmented pet-food market. Its products moved through pet stores, general trade, modern retail, veterinary channels, e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
Today, Drools reaches 40,000+ retail outlets, while digital channels have opened another powerful route to consumers. This combination of traditional distribution and new-age commerce helped the brand move beyond India's biggest cities.
The strategy was simple: be available wherever the pet parent shops.
From One Factory to a Manufacturing Powerhouse
Drools eventually began building manufacturing capacity at a scale few domestic pet-food companies could match.
Today, the company operates six manufacturing facilities, supported by around 1.6 million sq. ft. of warehousing infrastructure. Its production capacity has crossed 5,200 tonnes of pet food per month, giving the business greater control over supply, quality and costs.
That vertical strength became an important part of the company's ability to scale rapidly while maintaining its value proposition.
The Growth That Changed Everything
The numbers began telling the story.
Between FY20 and FY22, Drools reportedly achieved an extraordinary 70% CAGR, reflecting the acceleration of India's pet-care market and the company's growing distribution footprint.
The business subsequently crossed the Rs 500 crore revenue mark, while its products expanded across India and international markets. Today, Drools exports to 22 countries, including markets such as the UAE, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The company had transformed from a regional manufacturer into a global-facing Indian pet-care business.
The $60 Million Bet That Validated Drools
In June 2023, global consumer-focused investment firm L Catterton invested approximately $60 million in Drools for a minority stake.
The investment was more than capital. It was a strong signal that India's pet-care opportunity had moved beyond being a niche category.
Drools planned to use the capital to strengthen manufacturing, distribution, marketing and expansion, while L Catterton brought global consumer-business expertise to the table.
For Fahim Sultan and his team, the message was clear: the pet-food opportunity was no longer small.
The Moment Drools Entered the Unicorn Club
Then came the milestone that changed the company's story forever.
In May 2025, Nestlé S.A. acquired a minority stake in Drools. The transaction terms were not publicly disclosed, but the deal pushed the company's valuation beyond the $1 billion mark, making Drools India's first pet-food unicorn.
It was an extraordinary outcome for a company that had started in Chhattisgarh in a category once considered too niche for a billion-dollar business.
The Nestlé association also placed Drools alongside one of the world's biggest food companies, giving the Indian brand an even stronger platform for its next phase of growth.
Drools’ Numbers Tell the Bigger Story
Behind the unicorn headline is a business built at considerable operational scale.
Drools now has 40,000+ retail outlets, 650+ SKUs, six manufacturing facilities and exports to 22 countries. Its manufacturing ecosystem supports thousands of employees, with a significant sales workforce helping push the brand deeper into India's fragmented market.
The company has also claimed around 38% market share by volume in India's pet-food market, highlighting how aggressively the homegrown brand has expanded.
Its estimated valuation is $1 billion+, although the exact terms and valuation from the Nestlé transaction have not been publicly disclosed.
The Challenge Was Never Just Selling Pet Food
Drools had to change a consumer mindset.
India's pet-food market had two major barriers: low commercial-food penetration and strong price sensitivity. Many pet owners were accustomed to homemade diets, while premium imported products could be expensive.
Drools had to convince consumers that packaged pet food was not simply convenient—it could also be nutritionally meaningful.
At the same time, the company faced competition from established global players with decades of brand recognition. Its answer was not to fight them on their terms, but to understand the Indian pet parent better.
Understanding the Indian Pet Parent
This became one of Drools’ biggest advantages.
The company recognised that Indian pet parents wanted quality, affordability and convenience at the same time. They wanted better food for their pets but didn't necessarily want to pay international-brand prices.
Drools built its proposition around that reality.
The company also benefited from the broader pet-humanisation trend, where dogs and cats increasingly moved from being household animals to becoming genuine family members. As emotional attachment increased, so did willingness to spend on nutrition, treats, healthcare and specialised products.
From Indian Brand to International Ambition
Drools didn't limit its ambition to India.
Its products now reach 22 international markets, demonstrating that an Indian pet-food company can compete beyond its home market when it combines local cost efficiency with global-quality manufacturing.
The company's international expansion also reflects a larger shift in India's consumer economy: brands that understand the domestic market deeply can increasingly take those capabilities overseas.
Why the Nestlé Deal Matters
Nestlé's investment is significant beyond the money involved.
For Drools, it provides access to the experience, network and global perspective of a multinational with deep expertise in consumer products and pet care. For Nestlé, the investment provides exposure to one of India's fastest-growing domestic pet-food businesses.
Most importantly, the deal validates the category itself.
India's pet-care market is no longer a side business. It is becoming a serious consumer opportunity.
What Made Drools Different?
Drools didn't build its success around one breakthrough product.
It built an interconnected machine.
Affordable premium positioning brought customers in.
Wide distribution made products accessible.
Manufacturing control supported scale.
Multiple brands captured different consumer segments.
Digital commerce expanded reach.
International exports opened new markets.
The real innovation wasn't a single product, it was putting all these pieces together.
Fahim Sultan’s Bigger Bet
Fahim Sultan's journey reflects a valuable entrepreneurial lesson: sometimes the biggest opportunities sit inside categories that others underestimate.
Pet food wasn't considered India's next billion-dollar category when Drools started. But Sultan recognised the early signs of a behavioural shift and spent years building infrastructure before the market became mainstream.
He didn't simply wait for the pet-care market to grow.
He built a company capable of growing with it.
From Pet Food to Pet Care
The next chapter for Drools could be significantly larger than its original business.
As Indian pet parents become more sophisticated, demand is moving beyond basic food toward treats, supplements, veterinary nutrition, specialised diets and wellness products.
Drools already has a broad portfolio and manufacturing base from which it can expand deeper into these categories.
The opportunity is no longer just about feeding India's pets. It is about becoming a larger part of their everyday lives.
The Biggest Lesson From Drools
The Drools story proves that a business doesn't need to begin in India's biggest startup hubs to become a billion-dollar company.
It started in Chhattisgarh, entered a relatively overlooked category, understood the local customer, built distribution patiently and invested heavily in operational capability.
The biggest lesson is simple:
Don't chase the market everyone is chasing. Find a market that is changing, and build before everyone notices.
The Billion-Dollar Bowl
Drools' journey from a small Chhattisgarh operation to India's first pet-food unicorn is more than a startup success story. It is a story about changing consumer behaviour, patience, execution and the power of understanding an overlooked customer.
A decade ago, pet food was a niche category. Today, it has attracted global capital and created a $1 billion+ Indian brand.
And perhaps that's the most interesting part of Drools’ story: the company didn't just grow with India's pet-care revolution, it helped create it.
