The Idea behind DogSpot was modest as Rana and his wife started off by just putting up a blog with information and content for pet owners. Gradually, it became into an eCommerce platform in the year 2011 aspiring to solve all the problems in the dog world by aggregating and organizing products and content. Rana’s motive behind starting DogSpot was to bridge the gaps and bring the pet community closer by becoming a one-stop platform for dogs all needs.
Rana states that although, the pet industry is showing an upward trend but it hasn’t been able to establish a strong foothold yet in the country and because of that there is an eminent need to bring organized solutions for pet needs.
On Jan 5th one of the India’s business tycoons, Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount with Ronnie Screwvala, India Quotient and some new and existing investors. Ecstatic with such strong backing Rana states that the investment by Ratan Tata is an endorsement of the long-held belief by us and our investors that the India pet care sector is going through a phase of huge growth and transformation.
Rana affirms that while eCommerce is their source of revenue, but they also maintain their focus equally in the creative content generation as it drives a sizable amount of traffic to the website.
DogSpot offers products across 11 categories which are further divided into sub-categories which include puppy care, collars, food items, grooming accessories etc. They have more than 1200 products from over 50 brands including brands like Pedigree, Royal Canin, Drools, etc. For their logistics needs, they have partnered with Blue Dart, Delhivery, DTDC, Speed Post.
One of the interesting new features that are added on the site is Wag Club where pet owners can create a dedicated page for their pets, add pictures and interact with other pet owners as well. Rana says that Wag Club helps them garner insights about the pet and pet owners lifestyle and choice which makes it easier to sell targeted products to pet owners.
DogSpot has experienced a tremendous growth in past year itself. At present, it claims to do 60,000 orders every month with an average basket size of Rs. 1700.
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 percent.
Ronnie Screvwala states that the pet market in India will explode in the next five years as India further urbanizes. And Rana is certain that DogSpot is poised to be at the center of this transformation of the pet industry.
There is no doubt that Rana’s DogSpot has taken a lead in bringing the pet community closer and organized. Rana says that the funds raised in the recent round will be used to offer a new range of products under the existing brands and to increase the team size.
