Ratan Tata invests in pet care portal DogSpot.in

The funds raised will be deployed towards offering new range of products under the existing brand, said the shopping site for pet supplies

Tata Sons' chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in DogSpot.in, a Gurgaon-based online shopping site for pets supplies and accessories.

The fresh investment round saw the participation from existing investors. Founded in 2011, DogSpot.in, had received Rs 50 lakh in a seed round in 2012 from Aloke Bajpai, founder of ixigo.com, Vikas Saxena, CEO of Nimbuzz), and few others.

Angel-funded (Rs 1 crore) in 2013 by Anand Lunia of India Quotient, DogSpot.in had raised an undisclosed amount in 2014 from Ronnie Screwala's Unilazer, Anand Lunia and K Ganesh of Growth Story.

"The funds raised will be deployed towards offering new range of products under the existing brand.  Indian pet care market doesn't have too many products and brands catering to the fast growth segment," said DogSpot.in co-founder and chief executive officer Rana Atheya.

The global pet care market has breached the $100 billion mark in 2014, with the US alone accounting for $58.04 billion. With over four million pet dogs, the Indian pet care market is pegged at over $1.22 billion with an annual growth rate of over 35%, according to DogSpot.in.

"We invested early in DogSpot.in as we believe the pet market in India will explode in the next five years as India further urbanises. DogSpot.in is as much a destination to know more about pets as it is about the ecommerce of pets," Ronnie Screwala said in a press release on Monday.

"The investment by Mr Tata is an endorsement of the long-held belief by us and our investors that the Indian pet care sector is going through a phase of huge growth and transformation. DogSpot.in is poised to become an agent of this transformation," Atheya said.