BENGALURU: More often than not, pet owners opt for kibble and processed food for their dogs only because of convenience, points out Taarun Malhotra, for whom this was the trigger to start Bau Chow in May 2018. “The pet food industry is an unregulated market that is dominated by processed kibble. As a pet parent, we all want to feed the best to our dogs, but sadly, there are not many nutritious food brands available in India. Some of the worst dog food brands in the market load up their products with inexpensive fillers like corn and wheat products – their products also tend to be carb-heavy instead of meat-based,” he says, adding
that low-quality pet foods make heavy use of by-products and plant proteins, in addition to artificial colours to make their products more palatable.
A pet-lover himself, Malhotra’s idea was to enrich the life of dogs through the “one thing dogs love as much as they love their hoomans -– food”. He started with an investment of `4,00,000 and a home-kitchen in Koramangala, offering monthly subscription to customers. Freshly cooked food is delivered thrice a week, which is customised as per the requirement of the dog based on life stages, breed, health, etc and specifically, for the senior and ill dogs. They offer different meal plans, including everyday meal plans, puppy meals, weight loss plans, renal diet plans, diet liver issues and skin infection, cancer support diets.
“Our meals are customised based on the specifications of each pet, their weight, breed, age,” he says.
Currently operational in Bengaluru, the price for the service ranges from `500 per kg for grain-free chicken meal and vary according to the specification of the clientele. While they’ve had 40 clients so far, Malhotra still recalls his first clients, Yuki and Pixie. “Weight loss diets were chosen for them both. Pixie had hip dysplasia and has now been weighing 34 kg since the last one year,while Yuki has now moved to a
renal diet with minimal kidney issues as he is a senior dog,” he says.
The challenge, Malhotra points out, has been getting customers to shift to natural home-cooked meal for dogs, as kibble is prescribed by the doctors. “Sometimes, there is a need to combat the trust of the doctor even though there are legitimate facts to prove the long-term effects of kibble on the pets,” he says.
By 2021, Malhotra hopes to impact one lakh dogs, start services across metros, open more kitchens in Bengaluru, and start a chain of restaurants exclusively for dogs.
Not a stray thought
Bau Chow also has Bau Chow Streeties Food, which has clients who feed over 60 street dogs. “The quality of food for street dogs is same as the food made to order to the other customers,” Malhotra says.