How did this woman entrepreneur's pet grooming business earn Rs 1 crore?

People are increasingly enjoying the presence of their dogs and kitty companions, prompting Pope Francis to declare that choosing pets before children is a "new type of selfishness." But it also highlights the growing petcare and pet parenting industry across the world. According to Statista, India had over 21 million pet dogs in 2019 and is anticipated to have over 31 million by 2023. In fact, India is expected to become the fastest-growing market for petcare – encompassing pet food, medications, grooming, toys, and accessories – by 2022, with a market size of $490 million.

After her niece got a Shih Tzu named Oreo, Nishma Singhal spotted a huge market potential in pet rearing while running a men's grooming business.

She pointed out that overseas products were of higher quality but cost more, whereas domestic products were of lower quality yet cost less. As a result, Nishma founded Zoivane Pets, a company that produces natural, paraben-free pet grooming products at a reasonable price. The name comes from the Italian term 'Giovane,' which meaning 'young and active.'

Nishma was born and nurtured in Delhi and possesses a BTech in cosmetic science from Mumbai's Padmashree Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth and an MBA in perfumery and perfumes from Padova's Università degli Studi di in Italy. She also attended ISIPCA in Paris to obtain a European fragrance and cosmetics master's degree.

Enjoying around the pet-care sector

Nishma, who is based in Surat, emphasized research and development in order to manufacture the best products, and she conducted a poll of shops and pet parents to learn more about their experiences.

Zoivane Pets officially introduced a few goods in September 2020, including dog and cat shampoos, detangling spray, and sent it to celebrity dog parents Shilpa Shetty and Athiya Shetty.

The business includes over 60 items ranging in price from Rs 200 for a 100ml shampoo to Rs 5,000 for a 5L shampoo, all of which are created in-house and manufactured by third parties.

It claims to have sold over 10,000 products through almost 400 retail locations across the country as well as online retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Myntra, and Meesho.

To attract clients, the entrepreneur focused on perfumes and beautiful packaging in addition to making sure the products were affordable.

The future of funding and the path forward

 Nishma had always wanted to be her own boss, so starting a business came naturally to her, but it was not without its difficulties. Currently, Zoivane Pets' biggest problem is marketing and reaching out to its target audience of pet parents in India. PetVeda and Captain Zack, for example, are competitors.

Nishma, on the other hand, claims that the company has purposefully avoided spending on social media and performance marketing until now, relying instead on organic growth.

"We didn't want to lose money, therefore we were able to stay in the black." The idea was to focus on R&D since what good is advertising if you don't have a good product? "I learnt CorelDRAW and Photoshop during my sabbatical and was able to produce the original packaging designs myself because we didn't want to spend too much money on marketing," she says.

It began with a Rs 25 lakh investment and has already generated a revenue of Rs 1 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2022. The firm received $100,000 in seed funding from We Founder Circle, a digital-first and community-based investment platform, in December of last year.

Nishma did not have to worry about finance thanks to Zoivane Pets' sales-oriented strategy, as the company remained profitable and many investors approached the entrepreneur.

"We chose the We Founder Circle for the team because they want to partner with you to scale and provide a rich network of individuals and community to tap for aid," she explains.

Nishma advises aspiring and female entrepreneurs to find an issue to address and a market niche for it, then get to work on it.