With demand for pet food getting specialised due to the presence of fastidious pet owners, the choice in food given to pets is getting varied by the day.
On Tuesday, Margao based, BARF India, announced the launch of a new kind of pet food for dogs comprising ready-to-eat, unprocessed meat, vegetables and fruits. The company is the first in India to manufacture, frozen, raw pet food and sells under the brand name of BARF. It has its manufacturing facility in Sanguem.
Brian Fernandes, proprietor, said that, the company’s products are currently sold online and receiving an encouraging response from the market. “Our efforts are now on to increase sales significantly by tapping new markets within India and foraying into exports. “ The company is looking at Sri Lanka and Dubai for exports, he said, adding that, presently sales (online) are in 30 cities in India and in the range of 6.5 tons per month.
“To cater to anticipated increase in domestic sales and exports we are looking at expanding the capacity of our plant and also eyeing new plants in Hospet or Bellary,” said Fernandes. He explained that, unlike regular dog food that is processed and made out of soya, meat, grains, etc., the food manufactured by BARF is natural.
It comprises raw meats, bones, organ meats, fruits, vegetables and some essential herbs and comes closest to the diet followed by dogs in the wild, he said. The price of food ranges from Rs 350 per kg to Rs 800 kg and compares favorably to other pet food brands available in the market, said Fernandes.
The press briefing was held in the presence of Sagar Badakere, director sales, and Steve Fernandes, director marketing, BARF India. Speaking on the product range, Badekere, said that BARF which is an acronym for Basic Ancestral Raw Food is a 100 per cent natural diet for dogs recommended by experts.
“The meat used in all products are human grade meat,” he said.
The company sources its raw material from Goa as well as outside. While chicken is sourced from the company owned poultry farm in Sanguem the duck and turkey is purchased from Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively.
Sales are through an ecommerce platform and is supplied to customers doorstep in cities of Goa, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, etc.
Although pet food available in stores is largely cooked, the consumption of uncooked meat to dogs is picking up, according to BARF officials.
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