BLEP WORLD The Most Promising Indian Pet Food Company Start-up 2023

Q1 - When was the company established? And why? The story behind the company.

Ravi: BLEP World was established in February 2022, and our website (https://blepworld.com) went live in the 2nd week of January 2023. Our first six months went into perfecting the dog food recipes and getting extensive testing for nutrition, minerals, amino acids, shelf life and dietary fiber

From September to December, we finalised the packaging and established a supply chain of raw materials from high-quality suppliers.

Inspiration drawn from Max - Our pet Dog

Our beloved dog, Max is our inspiration for starting BLEP. Max is now a 5-year-old German Shepherd who despite being an extremely big dog, still acts like a puppy. He enjoys hammering his squeaky toys the most. He is the focal point of everything in our house. Like most parents, we fed him kibble because we thought that was the best food for dogs. We tried most premium brands like Orijen, N&D, Royal Canin etc. But over the years, Max despite being extremely active gained weight and had frequent gastric issues. His weight gain eventually also led to impaired mobility of his hind legs. After consulting the vet, we decided to shift him to home-cooked food. We cooked his meal looking at the ingredients of kibble, and we were shocked by the result. The food we made looked so much better and smelled so much better. Max happily ate his home-cooked meal.

We then also did a lot of secondary research on Kibble and realised that most processed dog food brands make dog food using substandard ingredients. Their cooking procedure that involves heating food above 200 degrees celsius, not only kills nutrients but also induces probable carcinogens. The usage of starch to get that crunchy shape is one of the leading causes of increasing diabetics in our dogs (Dog diabetes has increased by over 900% in recent times).

We then decided to form a company we wished existed for Max, and that’s how BLEP’s journey started.

Q2 - What are the different products that have been launched? Tell us about the all important certification by an Indian Agency affiliated with AAFCO ?

Ravi: We have three recipes:

1-   Chicken Brocco Pawer

2-   Chicken Zuke Pawer

3-   Chicken Pumpkin Pawer

All our recipes are made of only high-quality, human-grade ingredients, and we cook food using the same technology via which food for the armed forces is prepared, i.e. retorting. We do not use any preservatives for shelf life, no added sugar or flavours and no grains.

The reason we didn’t add any grain was two-fold:

A – Some pets have grain or gluten allergies.

B – Rice and wheat can be easily added at home. We wanted to supply high-grade nutrients from our side that a pet parent can feed as is or after mixing with home-cooked ingredients. By having the option of mixing rice and home-cooked ingredients and yet providing all essential nutrients, we have been able to lower the adoption cost.

Every batch of our food is tested by Equinox labs for nutrient and quality checks. We chose Equinox because they are equipped with conducting AAFCO-compliant pet food testing.

  We have kept it simple. We choose the best ingredients, and cooking technology and do regular quality checks to ensure we have a healthy, delicious and balanced diet for dogs of all ages.

 Q3 - Advantages to the pet owner using the pet food?

Ravi: BLEP Dog Food is super nutritious, healthy and made with quality ingredients. It will improve the overall health of your beloved pup and eventually help them live a long, healthy life. Other small tangible benefits include increased energy, weight management, a shinier coat, improved digestion and, of course, since the proof is in the poop - a less smelly poop.

Q4 - So far how was the response from pet owners? Have you tested the product with pet owners?

Ravi : We are elated by the response we have received so far. Our food is loved by dogs of all ages and sizes and by even the fussiest of eaters. Pet parents can easily see most of the ingredients when they look at our pack and see tangible improvement in the energy, poop and fur of their dog. The proof of the response lies in the highlights below:

1 – We in a short span of 2 months have over 500 customers, of which above 200 are our monthly subscribers now

2 – Over 800 orders processed

3 – Till now, we have sold close to 1200 kg of food

4 – We have delivered pan India in over 200 pin codes.

Q5 - Is it dry, or wet food? Is it suitable for puppies / Adults? Is your food only for dogs at the moment? Any cat food in future and treats?

Ravi: Ours is wet dog food. Our Food is similar to Khichdi, Curd Rice or Bisi Bele Bath in texture.

Our food is suitable for both puppies who have already started eating solid food and adult or senior dogs. The diet of a puppy or a dog is a function of

1 – Age

2 – Neutered or Not Neutered

3 – Current Weight and how far is it from ideal weight

4 – Activity level

Having breed-specific food is merely a marketing gimmick. Unfortunately, breed-specific dog foods are little more than a marketing gimmick and do not have sound nutritional science backing them, and even Vets admit this.

We are currently serving only dogs and that too only chicken-based diets. In the next three months, we will proudly launch

1 – Food for our cats

2 – Mutton based recipes for dogs

3 – Treats for cats and dogs

Q6 What is your opinion of the available dog food in the country? both imported and domestic? Is it healthy for pets?

Ravi: In the 1970s the average life span of a dog was 17 years and now it's down to 10 years. Dogs have the highest rate of cancer among all mammals. 50% of dogs above ten years of age end up developing cancer.

This is, unfortunately, due to what we have been feeding our pets. The major players in the market are serving kibble that is filled with substandard quality ingredients.

The so-called imported premium food manufacturers add the picture of a happy dog along with brown pellets of food suggesting it was made with a healthy roasted chicken breast. The reality can instead be diseased chicken parts mixed with starchy fillers and processed at temperatures known to produce carcinogens.

We all endlessly love our pets, and I strongly urge all pet parents to try finding out more about kibble online.

However, many Indian players are now turning the tide, and we are extremely happy to be a part of the community that is working on redefining the pet food market.