Deepika Padukone Backed Pet Care Marketplace Supertails Raises $10 Mn funding

India’s pet care market is pegged at INR 74,000 Cr in 2022 and is further estimated to become an INR 210K Cr space by 2032. According to a report, the industry is expected to reach 19.2% CAGR by 2032. 

Supertails, a Bangalore-based Pet-care marketplace, has raised $10 Mn in Series A funding round in a mix of equity and debt. Fireside Ventures invested $9 Mn in equity funding and $1 Mn in debt funding round by Alteria Capital. The startup has raised $12.5 Mn to date, including the current fundraising.

According to Varun Sadana, cofounder of Supertails, “In the last couple of years, around 95% of the young Indian demographic, including Z generation and millennials, have become first-time pet owners. Most of these people do not have the right means to raise pets”

To address the needs of first-time pet owners, Varun Sadana, Aman Tekriwal, and Vineet Khanna founded Supertails in 2021. Supertails is an online petcare-focused e-commerce marketplace that offers pet supplies, online vet consultations and online pet training across India.

The startup will use the fund to build its tech infra, launch its mobile app and expand its newly launched D2C brand Henlo. Supertails will also deploy funds to strengthen logistics, post-sale experience and expand its offerings including an online pet pharmacy in the coming months.

Supertails believes that India does not have a pet-centric ecosystem. As a result, trivial doubts and questions of first-time pet owners are often left unanswered. Supertails has introduced the concept of ‘pet relationship manager’ wherein an executive will understand the requirements of pet owners and accordingly, assign them a pet nutritionist, veterinary doctor or pet behaviorist.

Tekriwal says “Based on pet owners’ needs, a pet relationship manager will immediately connect them to experts who are our in-house vets and behavior experts. This service has helped build the trust of pet owners in our platform”. 

The startup secured $2.6 Mn in 2021 in its Pre-Series A funding round from Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone, Titan Capital and Whiteboard Capital. Supertails claims to have clocked an annualized revenue rate of INR 50 Cr in the last 18 months and targets to achieve INR 100 Cr by March 2023.

The startup said that it has partnered with over 200 brands including Dogsee Chew, Royal Canin and Orijen, among others and currently manages a base of 100K customers and has offered over 20K online vet consultations to its customers so far.