Drools’ ambition to become a unicorn business

Mumbai-based pet firm Drools has announced 2 “transformative” initiatives to “redefine” the country’s pet healthcare and veterinary service sector.

The company has introduced Drools Vet Thrive, a vet clinic upgrade scheme and visionary initiative designed to elevate pet healthcare services nationwide. With an investment of ₹25 Crore ($30M/€28.1M), the initiative is expected to enhance the scope of pet healthcare services by furnishing them with state-of-the-art equipment like advanced diagnostic instruments and surgical gear for superior pet care.

“The scheme will give pet parents peace of mind, knowing that their pets are receiving the best possible care, and make pet ownership more affordable. For veterinarians, it will enable the provision of superior care to their patients and give them access to ongoing training and development opportunities”, says CEO Dr. Shashank Sinha.

Drools’ second initiative is the launch of Drools Veterinary Health, a strategic diversification into the small animal pharmaceutical arena to enable the company to become a “holistic partner within the pet healthcare ecosystem.”

The company has been commended for “spearheading the liaison of India’s pet care and vet services with the international veterinary community.” 

The initiative has been well received by the local industry. Dr. Dhananjay Bapat, President of the Pet Practitioners Association of Mumbai (PPAM), highlighted that Drools is enabling Indian veterinarians “to learn from and share knowledge with their international counterparts.”

“This is a crucial step in India’s journey to achieve global standards in pet care,” he admits.

Unicorn status

Drools’ ambition is to become a unicorn business, a startup company with a value of over $1 billion (€930 million). “We are actively working towards this goal,” Dr. Sinha admits to GlobalPETS.

To achieve this milestone, the company is focused on product innovation, market expansion, and reaching new partnerships to continue its “growth trajectory.” In a recent interview with GlobalPETS, Drools’ CEO admitted that the company is looking for business growth in Asia and Europe.

The firm also aims to ramp up production capacity, streamline operations and strengthen its distribution network. Earlier in the year, the Indian pet food brand raised $60 million (€55.9M) from investment firm L Catterton to help leverage its commercial network and expertise in consumer insights.

Established in 2010, Drools exports to over 23 countries worldwide, and its product portfolio is available across 30,000 stories in India.

Other local developments

Royal Canin India recently collaborated with European vet tech company GekkoVet to launch an online diagnostic and treatment tool to provide veterinarians in emerging markets across the globe with digital solutions.

The AI-assisted algorithms provide an array of differential diagnoses related to patient-specific findings, as well as offer relevant treatment recommendations. The additional veterinary knowledge is aimed at assisting the speed of professionals’ decision-making capabilities.

“With this initiative, we are bringing extensive medical knowledge to veterinarians via GekkoVet’s innovative technology. We are very proud to enable veterinarians to incorporate an advanced clinical decision-support tool into their daily practice”, says Satinder Singh, General Manager at Royal Canin India.

GekkoVet offers 24/7 on-demand access to 80,000 pages worth of clinical source material and the ability to match symptoms to 33,000 diagnosis combinations.