Mankind Pharma launches PetStar
“The PetStar brand, which aims to provide nutritious and healthy food for pets (dogs and cats),” says Chanakya Juneja, director Mankind Pharma Ltd in conversation Smita Dwivedi.
Mankind Pharma incorporated in 1991,is one of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies and is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse range of pharmaceutical formulations across various acute and chronic therapeutic areas, as well as several consumer healthcare products.
The company diversified into animal health in 2007. Since then, Mankind has witnessed growth in the areas of the dairy industry, poultry and companion healthcare. The pet healthcare products are manufactured in an European plant.
Yummy delights
Now with the launch of PetStar, they have entered into the pet food division. The brand aims to offer quality food for pets. Mankind’s PetStar food aims to cater to the needs of the pet community, which includes dry food, treats, gravy, and many more products.
Chanakya being a passionate pet lover himself feels that our pets deserve nothing less than the best. He is young & enterprising, third generation in the business. On asking how his journey started, he shared, “It was a natural progression for me to join the company and take it to the newer heights.”
The vision behind the launch of pet food, Chanakya shared, “With our new launch, PetStar, we are entering into a completely new segment of the pet care range. Since pet parenting is increasing, we have launched this brand. We have already been in the pet industry since 2007, and have the resources and experience coupled with a brilliant marketing team.”
Love for pets grows
Pet fondness has increased during the pandemic. Food plays a crucial role in providing pets with health and nutritional value. With this aspiration, the company strives to enhance the health of pets with its medicine, supplements, and grooming ranges.
Further adding to the conversation Rajeev Juneja the Managing Director of Mankind Pharma said, “After looking at the rising number of pet owners, we decided to expand our offering to the pet care segment. Normal human food is not recommended for pets and in most cases is unable to meet their nutritional requirement. Understanding that pets have different body needs, we came up with the Mankind’s PetStar keeping in mind the requirements of pets which is suitable for all breeds.”
Go & grab
PetStar food will be available in different flavours and is manufactured in the UK by making use of technology and European raw material. PetStar food is produced as per the quality and safety standards of BRCGS (British Retail Consortium Global Standards) and the food is also tested in laboratories. The product is manufactured keeping the Indian climatic conditions as a priority.
“The products will be available in select counters on offline and select online platforms. We will aim to expand our reach in both channels. Products will be available on online platforms after a month. Customers can buy the products from pet shops and clinics,” he shared.
Friend at home
About Chanakya’s pooch connections he smiled and narrated, “I am a pet lover since childhood and have two pet companions at home. As a child of 2-3 yrs. old I had German Shepherd , back then the only thing I loved about him was that he was too protective about the entire family. Whenever anyone wanted to come close to me, he used to growl. As a child, I felt so secure around him. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after a long gap, I got two new pets -Golden Retriever and a Shih Tzu. And life is awesome with them.”
Adding to it, he said, “It was a wonderful feeling to have someone with you, showering unconditional love always…a friend at home. They play their role with complete honesty, so I feel we as pet parent needs to be true to them. It’s our responsibility to nurture them, take care of all their needs and provide them with the best.”
Message-old is treasure
“It’s very important to spread awareness about the problems pets face when they get older. There are two main segments of pet-parent – the young and first-timer and the ones having pets for a longer time. Both need to be educated and informed about taking care of the ageing dog. I think it is very important for them to know the health challenges and conditions the pet would be going through as he grows older in life. They need to understand that and give right supplements, food & medicine and make sure they have a healthy older life as well” concludes Chanakya.