Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting has entered India’s rapidly expanding pet-food market with the launch of Snuggles, a premium dog-food brand, marking the company’s first entry into a new consumer category since it ventured into the foods business in 2022.
The launch, announced on August 26 to coincide with International Dog Day, comes as India’s pet-care industry attracts increasing interest from major consumer and FMCG companies. Wipro estimates the country’s pet-food market at around ₹5,500 crore, while the broader pet-care market is valued at approximately ₹8,000 crore.
The company expects the pet-food category to grow at around 10-12% annually over the next five years, supported by rising pet ownership, increasing disposable incomes and a shift towards treating pets as members of the family.
Snuggles targets India’s premium pet-food consumer
Wipro is entering the category with a premium positioning rather than competing directly with mass-market products on price.
Snuggles is priced at approximately ₹530 per kg, placing it above several mainstream pet-food brands while targeting consumers willing to spend more on premium nutrition for their pets.
The initial range comprises three dry dog-food variants: Puppy All Breeds, Adult Small Breed, and Adult Medium & Large Breed. The products are being offered in pack sizes ranging from 1 kg to 10 kg.
One of the brand’s key differentiators is the inclusion of freeze-dried chicken chunks alongside conventional kibble. Wipro says the formulation uses human-grade chicken and is designed to offer a more premium nutritional proposition.
The products also contain prebiotics and postbiotics, while the company says artificial preservatives have not been used in the formulations.
Hyderabad becomes the first launch market
Wipro has initially launched Snuggles in Hyderabad, a market where pet ownership is significantly higher than the national average.
The company plans to use Hyderabad as an initial market before expanding into other urban centres. India's pet-food consumption is heavily concentrated in large cities, making urban consumers an important target for the brand.
Wipro intends to distribute Snuggles through a combination of specialty pet stores, veterinary clinics, modern trade, e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
The company is also expected to leverage its existing consumer-products distribution network as it expands the brand geographically.
Low packaged-food penetration creates a large opportunity
Despite India's growing pet population, packaged pet food remains relatively underpenetrated.
Wipro estimates that only around 7% of Indian pet parents currently use packaged pet food. This compares with substantially higher penetration levels in markets such as the United States, where packaged pet food is used by a large majority of pet owners.
India is estimated to have roughly 36 million pets, including around 30 million dogs and six million cats.
The opportunity is also being supported by changing consumer behaviour. A growing number of younger urban consumers are willing to spend more on pet health, nutrition and wellness, creating demand for products positioned beyond basic feeding.
Industry data cited by Mint indicates that India's pet population rose from approximately 28.4 million in 2020 to 39.2 million in 2025 and could reach around 51.8 million by 2030.
Wipro partners with Thailand’s Betagro
For the Snuggles launch, Wipro has partnered with Thailand-based Betagro Group for research and development, technology and manufacturing.
The partnership allows Wipro to leverage Betagro's experience in animal nutrition and pet-food manufacturing as it establishes its presence in the category.
Wipro is currently outsourcing manufacturing and importing some key ingredients. The company has said it is evaluating the possibility of manufacturing pet food domestically as the business scales.
The company is reportedly evaluating an investment of more than ₹150 crore for local manufacturing capacity.
Wipro operates nine manufacturing facilities in India, and one of these could potentially be used for pet-food production in the future.
Product development involved hundreds of pets
The Snuggles portfolio was developed over approximately 18-24 months, with Wipro conducting extensive product testing before the commercial launch.
The company has said the products were tested on more than 500 dogs, with consumer feedback gathered from over 5,000 consumers during the development process.
The company has also established a dedicated pet-nutrition research and development setup in Bengaluru, working with veterinarians and nutrition specialists.
The focus is on developing formulations suited to Indian pets and the country's different climatic and consumption conditions.
Competition intensifies in India’s pet-food market
Wipro's entry comes at a time when India's pet-food market is seeing increased competition from established FMCG companies.
Godrej Consumer Products entered the segment with Godrej Ninja in 2025, while Reliance Consumer Products launched Waggies later that year.
The market continues to be led by established international pet-food companies, including Mars and Royal Canin, alongside Indian players.
According to Euromonitor data cited by Mint, Mars International India held around 36% of India's dog-food market by retail value in 2025, followed by Indian Broiler Group at approximately 21% and Royal Canin India at around 16%.
Wipro's premium pricing and differentiated product proposition therefore put Snuggles into direct competition with both established premium brands and newer Indian FMCG entrants.
Wipro targets a top-three position
Wipro is setting an ambitious growth target for the new business.
The company aims to make Snuggles one of India's top three pet-food brands within five years.
Rather than treating pet food as a standalone product launch, Wipro plans to build it into a separate business vertical within its consumer-products portfolio.
The company also plans to expand the portfolio beyond its initial dog-food range, with cat food and additional pet-nutrition products being potential areas of future expansion.
Why Wipro’s entry matters
The entry of another major Indian FMCG player highlights how India's pet-care industry is moving from a niche category towards a mainstream consumer opportunity.
The combination of increasing pet ownership, low packaged-food penetration and rising willingness among urban consumers to spend on premium pet nutrition is attracting companies that traditionally focused on human consumption.
For Wipro, the strategy is clear: instead of entering the market through low-cost mass products, the company is targeting the premiumisation trend with a higher-priced offering built around differentiated ingredients and nutrition.
With the Indian pet population expected to continue growing and packaged-food adoption still relatively low, the company is betting that the next phase of India's pet-food growth will come not only from existing pet parents spending more, but also from converting millions of consumers who currently rely on home-prepared or conventional food for their pets.
The success of Snuggles will ultimately depend on whether Wipro can build consumer trust, establish veterinary and retail distribution, and justify its premium pricing in a market where both multinational specialists and India's largest consumer companies are increasingly competing for the same pet parent.