Deepika Padukone and others invest $2.6 million in digital pet care platform, Supertails
Bangalore-based digital pet care start-up, Supertails.com has announced its foray into the rapidly growing pet care market in India. Supertails.com is a first-of-its-kind platform that supports the ever-increasing pet parent community by providing trustworthy veterinary care and a one-stop solution for pet food and supplies.
Supertails.com is differentiated by its unique proposition of being a fully digital tele-health consultation service made available through a team of highly experienced in-house veterinarians. With doorstep delivery service available across the country, the brand aims to bring the pet parents closer to the largest assortment of pet supplies from India and across the globe.
Supertails.com has raised over $2.6 Mn USD in pre-series A round, led by Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners. Other investors include global Indian icon Deepika Padukone, Titan Capital, Sauce VC, and Whiteboard Capital. It is also backed by high profile individual investors like Tej Kapoor, Pankaj Naik (Executive Director, Avendus capital), Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta (Founders, Licious)
Over the last 5 years, India has been one of the highest growing pet care markets in the world, largely backed by pet adoption by the millennial population and further fuelled by the need for companionship during the pandemic. Dog adoption rates have grown upwards of 50 per cent in 2020 while the cat market has grown upwards of 40 per cent. With pets in more than 12% of urban Indian homes, the country is on the threshold of further exponential growth in this industry similar to what happened in more evolved pet markets like China ($30Bn USD) and the USA ($105Bn USD) in the past.
As more people make new additions to their families with pets, Supertails.com aims to enrich this new journey for them with products and services that they need the most.
Led by founders Vineet Khanna (SVP - Licious, AVP - Snapdeal), Varun Sadana (co-founder Licious, VP - Snapdeal) and Aman Tekriwal (CFO - Licious), the Supertails team comprises multiple entrepreneurs who have been contributing to the pet care space for many years. As part of the stellar, founding team are Dr. Shantanu Kalambi, the Chief Veterinarian at Supertails (founder Dial-a-vet) who established a telehealth service for pets besides working on a variety of animal welfare and conservation projects with ReefWatch Marine conservation, Wildlife Trust of India and CUPA; Unnati Hunjan (founder Therapeutic Paws) who launched an Animal Assisted Therapy venture in Bangalore and Sagar Sheth (founder of Animapp) who built a veterinary clinic management software company in Chennai.
A relentless passion for the pet care ecosystem and a vision to make India a pet-friendly nation unites the founders of Supertails.com with their team of pet care experts and enthusiasts.
Varun Sadana, Co-Founder of Supertails said, “We know that our pets are a part of our families, and they deserve nothing but the best. As experienced pet parents ourselves, we understand the anxieties and concerns one has to face in the journey of caring for a pet. With that in mind, we set up Supertails to make pet parenthood enjoyable and stress-free. We will continue to add more products and services designed to empower pet parents through expertise and convenience”
“As the population of pet parents increases in the country, so does the need for empathetic and agile service providers especially around nutrition and healthcare. The market growth rate in India has accelerated since 2019 from 16-17 per cent to upwards of 20 per cent in 2020. We are very excited to start this journey with the Supertails team and become a part of the evolution in the pet care industry in India.” says Ash Lilani, Managing Partner at Saama Capital.
Deepak Shahdadpuri, Managing Director at DSG Consumer Partners said, “We are big believers in the petcare opportunity in India and have been tracking this space globally. We are investors in Perromart which is the largest online pet store in Singapore. We believe the team at Supertails has the right experience and skillset to build the most trusted digital-first pet destination in the country.”
“I believe strongly in the founders of Supertails and the vision they bring to the table. The digital healthcare service they’ve designed for pets is a one-of-a-kind offering in the Indian market. It will not only enable comprehensive accessible healthcare for pets but will have a far-reaching impact on the veterinary industry in India.” says Manu Chandra, Founder and Managing Partner at Sauce VC
Anshu Prasher, Partner at Whiteboard Capital said, “We always believe in brand-led investments and we feel that Supertails is an excellent combination of brand play in a digital format in a category which is quite underserved at the moment”
As it grows, Supertails plans to support pet parents as they navigate all aspects of pet parenthood, including the decision of bringing home a pet, training and hygiene consultation, raising a healthy and fit companion, and fulfilling all primary needs for the pet.
