Question

PLEASE DISCUSS THE THREE ARGUMENTS BELOW. SINCE YOU

ARE ARGUING AGAINST INTRODUCING SHEBA IN INDIA, THERE IS NO NEED TO

MAKE COUNTERARGUMENTS. PLEASE ALSO REFER TO THE EUROMONITOR

STUDY AND ANY ADDITIONAL OUTSIDE RESEARCH YOU DO.



Sheba isn’t really sold in emerging markets, and it’s clear why not. It’s a very expensive

niche product in countries where people don’t really humanize their pets.



From the Euromonitor data and reports, we can see that the Indian cat food market is still

really young. The vast majority of Indian people continue to feed their cats non-prepared

food.



India is a DOG country. Although upscale dog food and services are very popular, little

demand exists for similar cat food products

Answer 1

SHEBA CAT FOOD (USED TO BE A MARS COMPANY PRODUCT)

Before we understand more on the brand Sheba, the premium wet cat food, we need to understand a bit more on the nature of the Canine and Feline animals which humans befriend as pets.

Canine friends or dogs are known as the most lovable human pets in the world since generations. History shows that even the olden kings had hunter dogs in their army. However, history refers less with respect to feline or cats. Let us further understand the primary importance of cats and dogs. Dogs, unlike cats, expresses its love to their masters explicitly or in other words, humans tend to have a cuddle hormone oxytocin generated when they are in the company of dogs. As the old saying goes, love is valuable when it is perceived or shown. Love remains love if not perceived which is the basic characteristic features of any living intellectual being in the world.

Cats, on the other hand, likes the company of their owners or master but it takes more time for them to become attached to their masters. In this stressful world, people want to have their love expressed faster and needs to be perceived intensely. In short, a hug will be far worth than a smile in the modern stressful world. This is where the dog differs. However, some human beings are having a poised mind. They would like to have peace at large around them without much vibrations of love. Such kind of people would always prefer to have a feline friend with them instead of dogs.

Like dog breeds, there are lot of cat breeds in this world. However, cats are expensive and is costly to maintain, unlike common dogs brands. Dogs are expensive too when you go for higher brands like St. Bernard a breed that cannot take excessive heat. A Persian cat similarly due to its silky hair cannot take the extreme conditions in India and they prefer to be in a cool place.

Cat and Dog Food: both cats and dogs will take almost all homemade food that human being eat. But it is the buying capacity of the owners that decide whether they should go for a dog/cat food. For example, if you feed your cat dry or wet fish which they like the most, its perfectly healthy for the cat. But, however, tends to emit a foul smell for the faecal matter and their breath smells bad too. Cats have a special nature of digging the sand before they answer the big call of nature (unless potty trained). If you tend to grow your cat inside a flat or an apartment with zero lawn space, then you need to give a cat dry or wet cat food to have a foul free environment. Also, cat food has a lot of ingredients that take care of supplements that they need for hair growth, hair fall and their bone development. Cat needs to be hydrated all the time and wet food always deliver them that along with enough liquid hydration in the form of clean water.

Indian Pet Scenario

Pet shops are common only in metropolitan cities in India, unlike western countries. If you visit any of the pet shops in a city, the most common order of pets generally would be as follows unless the customers are brand conscious and seek a specific brand of their choice based on their personal interest.

1. Love birds (from budgies, parrots, to macaws)
2. Fishes and aquatic creatures (ornamental fishes plus tortoises)
3. Doves and Roosters
4. Dogs (from lower pomeranian to high-end breeds)
5. Cats (usually Persian cats, Bombay cats, maincoon etc.)

Almost all the pet shops are having the first three items mentioned above and bigger pet shops would have item 4 and 5 above. By visiting these shops and just by a visual survey you can come to the main conclusion as follows

You will see young or newborn birds, and young fishes and doves in their cages but when it comes to cats and dogs especially cats, it is very rare that you find a kitten or a puppy. All the feline friends will be above 7-8 months old at least. It is just maintained to have an item in their portfolio. If you visit the shop later after say 2 months, you will see the same cat there without anyone coming for it.

From the conclusion above we can come to one of the important buying decision of Indians with regards to pets. The decision to purchase Item 1-3 along with its accessories will be impulsive or lets say will be an aftereffect of compulsion mostly from the family. For example, when kids go to school, every parent would want a pet from category 1-3 above as to show a living animal in their textbook and there it ends.

But item 4 and 5 above the buying decision is not so impulsive. This is because, in the Indian context, most of the opposite sex will not like pets in married family life. The only family that buys a cat would be the ones who live in an apartment without a lawn or open space.

As its, a culture among Indians to big houses with big compound walls, the best pets they would ever want to buy would be a watch or guard dog. They will always have a permanent cage built for them there and would give homemade food to them.

Cats are bought buy mostly people living in apartments as mentioned above. Here they not only need to buy the cat but also they should buy a cage (usually between 4500-7000 INR) plus cat food to have a fresh smell-free environment, cat sand for potty training etc. in short the cost associated with it would be high when compared to the actual cost of the cat itself. In most of the cases, people tend to invest (Indian scenario) unless they are an avid pet lover only for the pets and rest will never follow. If you ask and Indian cat owner a normal office goer about a grooming facility for cats and dogs, they will not have an answer since they are not even aware of it.

This is not only the case with India but all emerging countries in the world. How many of Indian cat owners know that cats growing in the middle east, for example, has a passport when you purchase them with a name and details about vaccinations given till date. It can even be used to take them out of the country. How many Indian cat owners really give vaccination to cats is also a big question that needs to be addressed. The answer or percentage will be close to less than 4% actual cat owners.

In short, except for ardent pet lovers, cats or dogs become a symbol of prestige. Having a Persian cat in a cosy house will be a days talk and they don’t even bother whether the cat is comfortable in their homes with its bare surviving necessities.

In such a scenario, any company that would try to sell their cat food in the Indian market will always be at a loss since the market demand would be very less. Mainly because of the exchange rates. For example, wet cat food in the middle east (a pullout can with mixed meat) would cost you around let us say 6AED/QR/SAR whereas in India a smaller portion would cost around INR 200. For a common breadwinner even though he is an ardent pet lover, this amount would certainly take a toll on his monthly budget when he lives with a family.

There is a common belief which still exists in the mind of almost all individuals in any emerging market especially like India. Dogs are meant to be guardians of property and life of their masters. They should be capable fo warding of strangers encroaching at night. On the other hands feline friends are petted mostly in such countries as vermin hunters to protect their crops. There are more dog shows and very limited cat shows in India. In such a market forming a niche product with respect to the feline food industry will not be a successful business.