For Royal Canin, vet education is key to growing its business

Satinder Singh, GM India, Royal Canin

“The entire market has transformed from when we first arrived in India,” declares Satinder Singh, GM India of pet nutrition company Royal Canin, which has just launched a global campaign to tackle pet obesity. Misinformation and lack of awareness are at the heart of this weighty issue among pets, says the French brand, owned by American multinational Mars Petcare. The brand arrived in India in 2007.

Despite its acquisition by Mars in 2002, Royal Canin has always remained a separate entity, says Singh, because it has a different philosophy and model. While Mars operates like an FMCG company, Royal Canin has a specialised approach and portfolio, driven by veterinary recommendations. As Singh explains, Royal Canin was started by a vet to treat a pet suffering from a specific condition, using specialised food. “There are so many vulnerable moments in the life of a pet, and our portfolio is available to support the nutrition required in every critical health moment.”

The big changes

Singh describes how, when Royal Canin first arrived in India, it was predominantly a dogs market, but now cats too have a huge share. “Overall, the pet food market is about $550 million in India,” he says, adding that from 5 per cent earlier, the share of cat food is 25-30 per cent today.

Another trend he flags is the shift in preference from large to smaller breeds, and, in terms of pet food, from cheap economy brands to premium brands. And yet, when it comes to what and how much to feed a pet, lack of awareness is rampant, as also overfeeding and constant treats of human food, the company’s survey on obesity shows.

The veterinary business in India has its share of unique challenges. For starters, there is a huge shortage of vets. “We produce about 3,500 veterinarians every year. But only 5 per cent join small animal practice,” he says. The rest opt for either large animal practice, higher studies, corporate jobs, academia, or move out of India, he adds.

“Even among those who specialise in small animals, the focus on nutrition is very limited,” he says. Royal Canin is investing in further developing the veterinary industry in India, he says. “We invite highly qualified vets from developed countries to interact with the vet community here. Second, we are providing 500 veterinarians with an AI-powered tool, which they can use to obtain a second opinion. This is through a collaboration with vet-tech firm Gekkovet. Third, we take hand-picked vets from India to France to interact with the academia and practitioners there,” he says.

“Our biggest investment is in education, and this forms the foundation of our strategy. Building social capital is key for us,” says Singh, pointing to how parent company Mars recently invested in Crown Veterinary Services, a vet clinic chain in India.

Growing presence

While Royal Canin does not manufacture in India — unlike Mars, which has a factory in Hyderabad — last year it invested close to ₹100 crore to set up a packing centre at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra. “Indian consumers don’t buy in bulk — 94 per cent of the bags sold in the Indian market in the pet food industry are less than 1-2 kg each. So the global portfolio, which we were importing, was not able to address local needs. This packing centre has helped us solve that,” he explains.

Globally, Royal Canin has about 500 recipes, translating into about 1,250 stock-keeping units (SKUs). “In India we have, as of now, about 250 SKUs,” says Singh.

But India is a fast growing market, he says, pointing to how, post Covid, there has been a huge spike in pet ownership. The pet food market is seeing 15 per cent compound annual growth rate. “We are growing marginally higher than the category,” he says.

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Published on April 20, 2025

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