Heads Up For Tails: Building a Brand in an

Unbranded Industry

We find out how HUFT is building a brand in an unbranded market, using a combination of soul
and sound marketing strategy.
Context
India has an estimated pet population of 28–29 million, and the pandemic-induced surge in pet
ownership means this is growing rapidly. So far pet owners have been largely served by
unbranded products, but Gurgaon-based Heads Up For Tails, or HUFT, is all set to change this.
Founded by Rashi Narang in 2008, HUFT has 52 experience centres across 14 cities, with 70% of
them equipped with a pet spa. These stores retail both international brands as well as its own
products.HUFT’s bet to build a brand in an unorganised market is paying off now. The company’s
annual recurring revenue has touched Rs. 180 crores, growing at approximately 17-18% year-on-
year.
“We are a brand for pet-lovers by pet-lovers that combines science, art and heart.” (Rashi Narang,
Founder, HUFT)
We caught up with Samriddh Dasgupta, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, to get the inside
track on how they approached brand-building and marketing.
Culture: By Pet-lovers for Pet-lovers
Narang founded the brand because she was unable to find quality products for her pet in India.
HUFT’s culture continues to put pets at the centre and this love for animal’s shows in every
interface – from their website to the stores. In fact, the companies’ career page promises ‘canine
and feline co-workers’ and visitors to the HUFT headquarters are likely to bump into the resident
Indies – Chelsea and Elsie.
HUFT’s in-store spas have guidelines that discourage muzzles and choke collars. Brand guidelines
include directions for suitable language and images – photos of Indies are encouraged and words
like ‘strays’ (the brand uses ‘streeties’) are taboo, as is the tendency to over-humanise with
monikers like ‘fur babies.’
HUFT’s culture is codified in a ‘Soul document’ which every employee gets as part of
induction.The world needs more kindness and compassion. Show that you understand the
problems and challenges that people are going through, and that you care enough to solve them.
Do it with compassion and not through power. It is the difference between saying ‘help’ and
‘support’. ‘Help’ is a statement of power; ‘Support’ is collaborative and caring.

Products: Private label, India-specific

Did you know that Labradors in India weigh more than their counterparts anywhere else, because
we tend to over-feed them?
With India-specific issues, comes the need for India-specific products and in addition to global
brands, HUFT offers over a hundred India-first products like tick and flea solutions, treats, biscuits
and beds.
The brand’s proudly desi Indian Collective even offers hand block-printed kurtas with real indigo
dyes for your pet.
Private label products contribute to 30-35% of the company’s sales, rising to over 50% during
winter-time.

Content: Filling the Gap for Indian Educational Content

HUFT teams realised that there was a dearth of information and educational content for
Indian pets. There was a high search volume from India, but the results displayed were all
from international sites. HUFT started creating content in response to the most common
queries from pet parents and now has production facilities in-house. From ‘How to deal with
fleas and ticks’ to ‘Can my dog eat peanuts?’ – The brand produces a wide range of non-sales
focused content. The company also sends out a newsletter with sharp tips that has an open
rate of 40%+ and over 50,000 subscribers.
Every piece of educational content at HUFT begins life as a blog post and is then repurposed
for other formats. Even though channels like YouTube and Instagram Reels are more
effective for distribution, Dasgupta believes this approach creates structure and discipline.
Currently, 60-70% of the traffic to HUFT’s D2C site is organic and there is a spike every time
they post educational content.
Interestingly, the company measures its content marketing success through metrics like searches
and saves. When there is new educational content posted on any platform, it results in an increase
in searches for the brand on Google. On Instagram, the company optimises for “saves” as an
indicator of how much value the content delivered.
A quick look at the brand’s Instagram page is evidence that the brand has found affinity with pet
parents. While the 122,000 follower count is impressive, the many comments and frequent tags
show genuine engagement.
Fun Fact: HUFT also sees healthy organic traffic from LinkedIn.
Marketing: Focus on First-party Data
We do very few ads, but very high segmenting”, says Dasgupta, “We’re against lazy
marketing and cookie pollution.”
This approach needs first-party data.
HUFT has meticulously built unified views of a customer with both offline and online data,
along with granular attributes like propensity to open SMSes, preferred store visit days and
pet details. Apart from insulating the brand from the vagaries of platforms, this ensures
timely communication for customers rather than the ‘spray and pray’ approach rife in much
of digital marketing. It has also helped the brand to understand what kind of products work
better offline vs online.
Secondly, the brand has built “more customer journeys than we care to admit,” analysing
Google Analytics and heat maps. These provide the foundation for several drip campaigns
and optimisations. For instance, a new prospect at the top of the funnel might see a 40 second
brand video. Depending on when she dropped off, a relevant ad will be shown featuring one
product she saw in the video and one she did not. Then, depending on what she clicks, further
communication is targeted.
HUFT spends 35-40% of its paid marketing budget on the top of the funnel, 10-12% mid-funnel
and around 50% on conversions at the bottom. However, there are plans to ramp up top-of-the-
funnel brand marketing.

Integrating the Offline and Online Experience

The company has an online: offline sales split of 55:45 and the platform strategy is to allow
for quick functional purchase online, while encouraging a more leisurely browsing
experience offline. The staffs at the stores or experience centres, as HUFT prefers to call
them, are trained to “counsel, not sell.”
“Design is paramount,” says Dasgupta, “both for our offline and online experiences and the
bulk of it is conceptualised and executed by our in-house team.”
There are only two ways to influence human behaviour: you can manipulate it or you can
inspire it. Designing with minimalism and restraint is more difficult than being loud. Whether
it is performance ads or brand communication, the aesthetic principle of our minimal elegant
design should be the bedrock. (From HUFT’s Soul Document)
Beyond the stores, HUFT also builds its brand through several offline events ranging from
workshops to marathons and collaring drives. In 2019, the company set-up HUFT
Foundation, a not-for-profit arm that works to improve the lives of street animals in India.

What’s Next?
On the cards is an app as well as new product lines at lower price points. Funding
of US$ 37 million in 2021 has allowed the company to increase its retail footprint
and manufacturing capabilities, giving it more control over prices. Dasgupta also
says that he wants to communicate the intersection of the company’s business and
social ambitions more strongly and get more people to engage with HUFT
Foundation. “We are always thinking of how we can get more pets into
households,” he says. “Research shows children who are around pets are more
focused, kinder and empathetic. This is an opportunity to positively impact the
next generation’s EQ.”We say woof to that.