Godrej Pet Care, a wholly owned subsidiary of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), plans to expand its dry dog food brand Ninja into adjacent categories including wet food, treats and cat food as it looks to build a broader presence in India's fast-growing pet care market.
"There is a lot of portfolio work underway. Wet food, treats, cat food—many things are in the works," Nitin Jain, chief operating officer of Godrej Pet Care, told Mint. The company is evaluating whether to launch the new products under the Ninja brand or as separate brands.
The expansion comes as India's pet food market attracts growing interest from large consumer goods companies. Long dominated by Mars Petcare, owner of Pedigree and Royal Canin, and homegrown player Drools, the market has recently seen the entry of Reliance Consumer Products Ltd with Waggies and Wipro Consumer Care through Happy Fur. The new entrants are betting on rising pet ownership and a gradual shift from home-cooked meals to packaged pet nutrition.
According to Euromonitor International, the market grew from $690.5 million in 2023 to $786.6 million in 2024 and was estimated at $884.4 million in 2025. India’s pet population rose about 5% in 2024 and was projected to reach nearly 39 million in 2025, driven by a growing base of pet owners willing to spend on nutrition and healthcare.
Portfolio push
Unlike many rivals that entered larger markets first, Godrej launched Ninja in Tamil Nadu last year.
Jain said the state offered an evolved pet care ecosystem—with established veterinary clinics, pet stores and breeder networks—while allowing the company to test its marketing strategy in a relatively isolated media market.
The company now plans to expand into Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala, with Maharashtra and the western region expected to follow.
South India represents an estimated ₹1,800–2,000 crore of India's pet food market, according to a press release by the company.
Jain acknowledged that consumer adoption during the early months of the Tamil Nadu pilot was slow as pet owners took time to shift from home-cooked meals to packaged food. However, he said demand gathered momentum over time, giving the company confidence to expand.
To independently verify market response, Mint spoke to veterinary clinics, pet retailers and dog food distributors across Tamil Nadu.
Several retailers said they initially recommended established brands instead of Ninja. Some said the product was not well suited to all dog breeds, particularly smaller breeds, while others reported that a few pet owners experienced digestive discomfort after switching.
Jain denied that Godrej had changed Ninja's formulation or received product complaints.
According to him, one of the key learnings from the pilot was that smaller breeds are generally more finicky than larger breeds and require kibble of an appropriate size and texture.
"Small breeds are finicky for all brands, not just Godrej Ninja," he said, adding that the company has since introduced a variant designed specifically for smaller breeds.
On reports of digestive discomfort, Jain said the issue was often linked to pet owners changing food too abruptly rather than the product itself. Dogs should be transitioned gradually by mixing the new food with the existing diet over several days before making a complete switch, he said.
"Many pet parents don't follow this transition process. They simply replace one food with another overnight, and the pet takes time to adjust. That is often perceived as a problem with the product."
Distribution bet
Unlike other FMCG businesses within the Godrej group, Godrej Pet Care has built a specialized distribution network instead of using GCPL's existing sales infrastructure.
Manufacturing is handled by sister company Godrej Agrovet at its Nashik facility, while Godrej Pet Care oversees branding, sales and distribution. The pilot was backed by a smaller manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, which Jain said will continue to function as an R&D and product development centre even as commercial production shifts to Godrej Agrovet's larger Nashik plant.
Jain said the company avoided GCPL's FMCG distribution network because nearly 70% of pet food sales in India come through specialized outlets such as pet stores, veterinary clinics and breeders rather than kirana stores or supermarkets.
"This category is very different from FMCG. These retailers need to be serviced at a different frequency and require specialised distributors. An FMCG distribution network is not designed for these channels," he said.
The strategy differs from Reliance Consumer Products, which launched Waggies in Karnataka before expanding through its existing FMCG distribution and retail network.
Jain said Godrej could eventually share distributors with its FMCG business as the category matures and general trade becomes more relevant.
Growth opportunity
Godrej is positioning Ninja in the mass segment, competing with Pedigree, Drools and Reliance's Waggies rather than premium imported brands such as Royal Canin.
Like Waggies, Ninja is priced at ₹199 per kg.
"We are playing in the mainstream or the mass segment. We want more pet parents to come into this category and find an option for complete and balanced nutrition that they can afford," Jain said.
Rather than focusing solely on taking market share from incumbents, Godrej is betting on expanding India's packaged pet food market itself.
According to the company, only 5-7% of calories consumed by pets in India currently come from packaged food, with the overwhelming majority still coming from home-cooked meals.
Jain expects the category to grow by more than 15% annually over the next few years. "This category is in its infancy. There is so much headroom to grow," he said.
“We are not here just to build a brand. We are here to increase the size of the category, which creates enough room for us to play and for other brands to play as well.”