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Emami Picks 30% Stake In Petcare Brand Fur Ball Story
Publicly-listed fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Emami Ltd, on Thursday said it has picked up a 30% stake in petcare brand, Fur Ball Story.
Harsha V Agarwal, vice chairman and managing director, Emami Ltd, said in a statement that petcare segment in India is witnessing rapid growth, without revealing the financial details of the transaction.
"With rising disposable income, a greater number of people are getting domestic pets, especially dogs. Further, with increasing awareness of the psychological and physical benefits of having a pet at home, people have started gradually identifying themselves as pet parents rather than being just pet owners," added Agarwal
Fur Ball Story, operated by Cannis Lupus Services Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2017 by Animesh Katiyar. The startup uses ayurvedic remedies to formulate medicines for pets.
Fur Ball Story replaces the computer mouse with four-legged harbingers of joy
The Gurgaon-based startup conducts pet therapy sessions for individuals and corporates to help them de-stress.
Animesh Katiyar, studying law at Symbiosis Law School, Noida was an ardent dog lover. To his great joy, his college had brought in two Labradors for the students to play with.
And, slowly, Animesh noticed that the dogs brought about a sea change at the college. Students who felt homesick started spending more time with the dogs on the campus, there was less absenteeism among the students, and the general atmosphere was more cheerful and friendly.
After passing out, he decided to launch Fur Ball Story in December 2016, taking a cue from his observations. It began as a pet therapy platform using canines but has since added services like home boarding and a dog’s cafe, and is planning to venture into products.
Furry friends with a cause
With companies switching to remote working amid the pandemic, many employees started suffering from stress due to the blurring boundaries of professional and personal space. It was no different for Gurugram-based management consultant Vrinda Bhatnagar.
“My sleep was affected; I was dreaming of presentations,” she shares. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) came to Bhatnagar’s rescue; she booked sessions with Fur Ball Story (FBS)—a Gurugram-based AAT organisation that charges Rs. 2,500 for a two-hour session for individuals and conducts a few pro bono sessions—in 2021. “After a few sessions, I could actually feel the difference. The best part was that I did not have to speak about my problems [with the dog]. We would just spend time. The company was extremely relaxing for me.
In time, Bhatnagar’s stress reduced. She had started sleeping peacefully and would wake up fresh.
Emami acquires 30% stake in pet-care startup Cannis Lupus Services
FMCG firm Emami Ltd NSE -3.17 % has acquired a 30% stake in a pet-care start-up, Cannis Lupus Services India, in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed amount.
In a release, Emami NSE -0.85 % said the company will roll out a range of natural, ayurvedic and chemical free products for pets and will scale up the business by virtue of the expertise of Cannis Lupus. It said Cannis Lupus under the brand 'Fur Ball Story' would be focusing with the ayurvedic range of solutions for common and reccurent ailments in pets, especially dogs.
A Startup Is Helping Delhi-NCR Residents Unwind in the Company of Dogs
It all started in 2016 when the director of Symbiosis Law School, Noida, brought two Labradors into the campus. The attendance of students went up, students staying away from their families seemed to cope better and were far less homesick and the general happiness quotient in college displayed a heartening improvement.
Animesh Katiyar, one of the founders of Fur Ball Story, was a student during that time and says, “Until then I never loved dogs; I was rather indifferent towards them. Interacting with those two furry creatures changed it all for me. I saw so much change in most people with the dogs being on campus. My friends and I would go to college just so that we could spend some time playing and petting the dogs.”
This Gurgaon-Based Startup Brings Dogs To Your Doorstep To Help You De-Stress. Whattay Idea!
You know what is the best feeling ever? The feeling of being surrounded with the cutest doggies. Nothing can help you de-stress better. I mean, just look at these cute balls of fur!
While you stare at this GIF on your screen, one startup is all set to make you jump right into your screen and turn your wishful-thinking into reality. They are called the Fur Ball Story.
In 2016, Shrishti Sharma, a law student and the co-founder of the Fur Ball Story, made a very interesting observation on how the college authorities devised a master plan of bringing two dogs on campus just to get the students to come and attend lectures. The interesting bit is, it worked.
At Mumbai airport, comfort dogs are giving anxious flyers some therapy and lots of cuddles
At Terminal 2 of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, a three-year-old boy tugs at the fur of Angel, a one-and-half-year-old Golden Retriever, hoping to get a reaction. The dog does not turn a hair and, true to her name, tolerates his curiosity with preternatural patience. As his mother admonishes the little boy, the dog’s handler intervenes – “These are therapy dogs. They won’t hurt him, and they have been trained to comfort and de-stress nervous passengers.” Mother and son both relax as they pet the dogs and thank the handlers with wide grins before they walk away.
Angel and her colleagues – a year-old Labrador named Muffin and a 14-month-old Shih-tzu called Cocoa – are comfort dogs being handled by Fur Ball Story, a Noida-based organisation that aims to leverage the stress-reducing effect of human-dog interactions. Every weekend, co-founders Animesh Katiyar and Srishti Sharma travel to Mumbai and bring their dogs to the international airport from 6 pm to 1 am, hoping that the energetic and friendly canines can help passengers feel relaxed and de-stressed before they fly out of the city.
