Pet parents have food brands on a short leash with focus on transparency

Demand for cleaner labels is pushing brands to compete on science, transparency, and traceability

A pet parent from Delhi ordered a meal for her cats from Pune-based startup Zoomies. Inside the box were cat treats, wet food packets, and an envelope containing laboratory (lab) reports attesting to the quality checks conducted on the ingredients. This isn’t an isolated case of pet food brands going the extra mile to prove their credibility.

 

Founders of startups such as Gurugram-based Smylo and New Delhi-based Blep have tasted their own brands’ pet food to establish trust. The evolving pet industry and increasingly aware consumers have compelled startups to adopt a more experiential approach to brand communication that goes beyond vague back-of-pack labels and celebrity advertising.

 

“A few years ago, conversations were largely centred around price or flavour. Today, many pet parents turn the pack around to read the ingredient list. They want to know the source of the ingredients and whether preservatives or artificial additives are used,” says Rashi Narang, founder of pet retail store Heads Up For Tails (HUFT). Going forward, she says, they also want to know whether the brand can explain its nutritional philosophy.

 

According to Kartikeya Gupta, founder of cat food brand Smylo, who publicly tasted his brand’s cat food while appearing on the business reality show Shark Tank India in March, this evolution is reflected even in the shift from the term “pet owner” to “pet parent”. “Food was always available in the market, but now if the customer is not satisfied, they won’t buy it,” he says.

 

Blep is another pet food brand whose founder Ravi Rathi has consumed his own pet food. In a video posted on the brand’s social media pages, Rathi is seen eating a spoonful of chicken zucchini and chicken broth. Gupta tasted Smylo’s tuna-flavoured cat food. Both videos gained traction and are pinned to the respective brands’ Instagram pages. “I can literally do it with any packet to refute the claim that it was a special packet,” says Gupta.

 

According to Gupta, the idea was to build trust in the quality of the ingredients being used. “The core ingredients are chicken or fish, which are part of human meals as well. So we wanted to convey that we are eliminating anything that’s not fit for human consumption,” he says, adding that he could do the same with any packet of the product. “We would love to be that transparent and break the taboo of pet food being gross,” he says.

 

Zoomies, launched in February this year, sends lab reports verifying the quality of its products. “We were conducting lab tests at all levels, for all products, and even for individual ingredients. Then we realised that if we are spending that much money, why not send the reports along to consumers,” says Sumedh Sudhakar Battewar, founder and chief executive officer of Zoomies.

 

The brand has also placed a quick-response code on all its packets, directing customers to a website where all reports and product details are displayed. “We can also shift to digital reports, such as for repeat customers who have already gone through the details once,” he says, adding that the company currently plans to continue providing hard copies. “We are doing this for all our 15-plus stock-keeping units. We even conduct the checks for competitors, but that is for our own understanding,” says Battewar.

 

The industry’s shift has also pushed legacy brands towards trust-based innovation. In a recent example, Whiskas — available on Indian shelves for more than two decades — has introduced an Indian fish range featuring rohu and catla. Launched with the tagline, “From Indian kitchens to your cat’s bowl”, the brand aims to sustain customer loyalty.

 

However, the dominance of legacy brands is now being challenged by homegrown startups. According to industry experts, the key reasons are their quality-led approach and open communication strategy. Many startup founders regularly host live chats on social media, discussing pet nutrition, behavior, and details of their products.

 

“Customers have got a forum to talk, and their feedback is being incorporated. That was missing with legacy brands,” says Gupta. He adds that the idea is to communicate the same message repeatedly across all media. This also helps startups reduce marketing costs while maintaining price competitiveness. “Testing is expensive, but we cut our marketing costs,” says Battewar, adding that this helps the company maintain its price point.

 

According to Narang, while convenience and affordability remain important, trust is increasingly becoming one of the biggest drivers of purchase decisions. Responding to this market trend, HUFT launched its own clean nutrition food brands — Sara’s and Hearty for dogs in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and Meowsi for cats in 2025.

 

“We realised transparency wasn’t just about listing ingredients on the pack. It was about helping pet parents understand what those ingredients do, how the food is made, and why those choices matter,” she says.

 

Pet nutritionists, however, believe the Indian market is still in its early stages, leading many pet parents to continue relying on foreign brands. “In recent years, multiple startups have approached me to formulate recipes, but the problem is that not everyone is willing to invest in research,” says Aakerschika Narayan Mishra, Delhi-based clinical pet nutritionist and founder of Go Fur Real Nutrition.

 

Pointing to some of the tactics used by the industry, she says ingredient labels list components in descending order of their proportion in the food. However, manufacturers may list chicken separately while splitting peas into peas and pea derivatives. “If you calculate the total, the proportion of peas is sometimes higher than that of chicken or meat, and this could be harmful,” she says, adding that some early-stage startups are also using artificial intelligence to design recipes, with no way for consumers to identify this.

 

Credibility factor

 

Zoomies: Launched in Feb this year; sends a copy of laboratory reports with all its products 

Smylo: Launched in 2024; co-founder Kartikeya Gupta ate the brand’s cat food on Shark Tank India in Jan 2026 

Blep: Founded in 2023; founder Ravi Rathi posted videos of tasting the brand’s dog food in Sep 2025 

Whiskas: A US brand, available in Indian market for over two decades, has now launched a range featuring Indian fish rohu and catla