CHENNAI: After completing his engineering degree, Regi James had plans to study Theology in the US. But Covid 19 disrupted those plans and he stayed back.
During that time, he began cooking meals at home for his pets, something that soon took an unexpected turn. “I was preparing food for my pets. Then I thought, why not share what I’m cooking with my neighbours as well?” he says.
His neighbours became his first clients. As demand grew, he began supplying homecooked pet food across the city.
He now prepares meals using chicken, beef, mutton and fish, largely through a subscription model. “Some customers order three times a week, some only on weekends, but most are regulars. Chicken broth is the most popular dish. For cats, it is mainly fish. We don’t add any preservatives.”
A similar focus on fresh, homestyle pet food drives Charanya Khandhadai’s venture. She started Slurpup in 2019 as a small neighbourhood service in Valmiki Nagar, catering to pet-owning neighbours. In 2024, it was rebranded as Mutt’s Native.
What began as a small initiative gradually expanded as more pet parents began looking for fresh alternatives to commercial food. “Today, we supply across Chennai. We’ve grown slowly and steadily and we want to keep it that way. Scaling up too much would mean compromising on quality and that’s not something we want to do.”
Based in Perungudi, the cloud kitchen follows a gentle cooking method. “We avoid high-temperature and high-pressure cooking to retain nutrients. The meat is minced with vegetables and other ingredients and lightly cooked. We follow this method of cooking for chicken, mutton, turkey, duck and beef. For fish, we use steam cooking,” she explains.
Charanya agrees that they are facing slight difficulties because of LPG issues. “Dishes like bone broth take up to seven hours to prepare. With the current LPG issues, it has become difficult. We are exploring more sustainable alternatives because relying only on LPG may not work in the long run,” she says.
The kitchen offers both standard meals prepared in batches and customised meals tailored to individual dogs. All recipes are formulated by a canine nutritionist and approved by vets. Meals typically include a mix of meat, vegetables, sprouted lentils, bone broth and fish, with meat making up about 60-70 per cent of the diet.
The food is prepared, frozen and then delivered, as no preservatives or additives are used. The brand also offers a separate herb, spice and seed mix that pet parents can add to home-cooked meals. “It is a blend of 10 different herbs and spices, which are canine-appropriate and would help in digestion, anti-inflammatory responses, joint health, and fur and coat health,” she says.
The entrepreneur observes that there is much more awareness among pet parents about providing balanced and wholesome meals for their pets. “For pet health, they have started realising the benefits of feeding fresh food over commercial food. Demand has increased over the years. Today, a lot of pet parents understand that this is a long-term investment towards pet’s health. Supporting your pet’s health can help avoid diseases when they age...when they struggle with kidney/liver ailments or immunity issues. It’s a worthwhile investment to make at the beginning rather than at the last stage of the pet’s life,” Charanya points out.
Wagg n Dine is the new entrant into the cloud kitchen for pets scene and its founder, Manivannan, has a reason. “People may ask, why give so much importance to pet food? Pets are a major part of the family. We have to give proper food to them,” says Manivannan.
His cloud kitchen focuses on preparing fresh, human-grade meals for dogs using natural ingredients, delivered to customers’ doorsteps.
The cloud kitchen is subscription-based and includes chicken, vegetables and rice in their menu. “The demand for quality pet nutrition is rising rapidly and cloud kitchens for pets are bringing convenience, customisation, and clean meals to urban pet parents in cities like Chennai. We met several vets and took their advice. We tried a few recipes and finalised the ones we have now,” he says.