Bengaluru-based petcare startup Supertails has delivered a milestone year on the topline, crossing ₹100 crore in operating revenue for the first time. However, like many consumer internet startups in scale mode, the company’s rapid growth came at the cost of widening losses.
According to its financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Supertails reported ₹108.3 crore in operating revenue in FY25, marking a sharp 68% jump from ₹64.6 crore in FY24. Yet, its net loss widened to ₹52.5 crore from ₹41 crore a year earlier — a 28% increase.
The numbers tell a clear story: demand is rising, but scaling remains expensive.
Credits: Ascendants
Commerce Continues to Power the Engine
Founded in 2021 by Varun Sadana, Aman Tekriwal, and Vineet Khanna, Supertails positions itself as a full-stack digital petcare and pet-parenting platform. While the company offers services, commerce remains the undisputed core of its business.
The platform sells more than 30,000 pet products, including food, treats, accessories, grooming essentials, and healthcare items. In FY25, nearly 95% of operating revenue came from product sales alone. Out of ₹108.3 crore in operating revenue, ₹102.5 crore was generated through commerce.
This heavy reliance on product sales underscores Supertails’ current business model: building scale through inventory-led retail before services become a larger revenue contributor.
Services Still a Small Slice
While Supertails has positioned itself as a comprehensive petcare ecosystem, services remain a relatively small part of its financial mix.
Veterinary services — including consultations, vaccinations, grooming, and preventive care — contributed ₹2.65 crore in FY25. The company also generated additional operating revenue through franchise fees and advertising monetisation, though these remain modest in comparison to product sales.
Including around ₹5 crore in non-operating income from investment gains and interest, Supertails’ total income stood at ₹113.3 crore for FY25.
The structure suggests that while the long-term vision may involve higher-margin services and ecosystem monetisation, the company is currently still in a commerce-first growth phase.
Costs Climb as Scale Expands
If revenue growth was impressive, expense growth was equally striking.
Total expenses rose 53% year-on-year to ₹165.8 crore in FY25, compared to ₹108.4 crore in FY24. The biggest cost driver was materials — essentially inventory procurement — which climbed 45% to ₹83.3 crore, accounting for roughly half of total expenses.
Employee benefit expenses increased 34% to ₹25.3 crore, reflecting team expansion as the company builds capabilities across operations, tech, and services.
Marketing and advertising spend stood at ₹22.9 crore, up 37% year-on-year. For consumer brands in competitive digital markets, customer acquisition remains one of the largest and most unavoidable growth levers.
Other overheads — including shipping, legal and professional fees, payment gateway charges, and software costs — added another ₹34.3 crore to the expense line.
The result: widening losses, even as scale improved.
Efficiency Improving — But Still Under Pressure
One telling metric in the filings: Supertails spent ₹1.53 to earn every rupee of revenue in FY25. While this represents a marginal improvement over FY24, it highlights the continued pressure on unit economics.
The company’s EBITDA margin stood at -8.9%, while return on capital employed (ROCE) was -19.09%. These figures place Supertails firmly in the “growth-first, profitability-later” bracket.
On the balance sheet side, the startup reported total current assets of ₹100 crore as of March 2025, providing some cushion as it continues to invest in scale.
Backed by Strong Investors
Supertails has raised approximately $51 million in funding so far, including a $30 million round. Its investor roster includes Nippon India, Titan Capital, Fireside Ventures, and RPSG Capital, among others.
The backing of established consumer-focused funds suggests continued confidence in India’s growing petcare market — a segment that has seen rising urban adoption, premiumisation, and increasing willingness to spend on pet health and wellness.
Credits: Indian Retailer
The Road Ahead: Scaled Revenue, Still Paying for Growth
FY25 clearly positions Supertails in a “scaled revenue, still paying for growth” phase. Crossing ₹100 crore in operating revenue is a major validation of demand and market appetite. However, the widening losses underline how expensive it remains to acquire customers, manage inventory, and build a multi-service ecosystem.
The big question going forward: can Supertails improve margins while maintaining growth momentum?
For now, the numbers reflect strong demand traction — but also the high cost of building India’s next-generation petcare platform at scale.
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