Chonk: The ‘purr-fect’ start for Bangladesh's first locally produced dry cat food brand

Bangladesh is a nation overflowing with several thousands of pet lovers. Astonishingly, about 70 per cent of pet-owners are nurturing a purring companion. They finally witnessed the dawn of a homegrown solution to a long-standing problem regarding quality and affordable cat food. Chonk, Bangladesh's first locally produced dry cat food brand, was born from the passion and determination of three dedicated cat parents: Co-Founder of Alpha Catering Muhammed Asif Khan, Head of Research, EDGE Research & Consulting Waseem Khan, Managing Director of Pearu Abdus Sami. For years, local cat owners and retailers in Bangladesh have been struggling in a very blurred situation of getting imported cat food, with high percentage import taxes up to 50 per cent --Customs Duty (CD): 25 per cent, Supplementary Duty (SD): zero (0) per cent, Value Added Tax (VAT): 15 per cent, Advance Income Tax (AIT): 5.0 per cent, and Regulatory Duty (RD): 5.0 per cent, fake syndicates that fuel up the prices, and the existence of hazardous fake products that are dangerous for the cats. These problems, together with the picky attitude characteristic for felines, caused the less positive experience of working with products from this category as both buyer and seller.

Chonk proved itself to be a light in this stormy market. Growing tired of this situation the founders decided to make locally produced superior cat food. Their mission is to reduce import dependence on imported products, break organised syndication, and defeat the menace that fake products pose. For instance, after adopting a small kitten, the Pathao deliveryman reached out to Chonk, asking if he could feed his kitten cat food from Chonk. He also added that he delivered so many Chonks products during the past few weeks that he already had attachments with Chonk, and after knowing it's Bangladesh's first cat food brand he felt very proud.

A homegrown solution to a global problem: Many of the problems that Bangladeshi cat owners may encounter are familiar on an international level. Currently, most of the pet foods are produced by multinational companies around the world. These companies provide a good variety to their customers but charge high prices, which makes the local markets easily dominated by fake products offering varieties. The contemporary pet food market perceives Chonk as a new global trend of local and independent pet food brands for introducing quality and affordable products.

Founders stated, "We focused on the product quality and recipe more than marketing, and half of our raw material is imported. We're using high-quality raw materials, from Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Turkey, USA and Norway to ensure foods cats love and which are also healthy." Chonk aims and has been very consistent in its pricing strategy. In the contemporary local market, imported cat foods containing grain-free, high protein, and the most expensive cat foods ranging from Tk 1,000-1,500 brands available in the Bangladeshi market are BonaCibo, Royal Canin, and Reflex Plus with very low sales. Then there are mid-range brands like Smart Heart, Whiskas, Jungle, Lara, Cat and Joy, and Meow at Tk 600-750, and cheaper ranged brands are Drools, Billi, and Kat Club starting from more thanTk 400. These brands are doing well in the recent context. So there is a good side to having these brands in our cat food market, we're getting varieties but the bad side is that revenues earned by these brands are going outside of our country as these are imported brands.

Chonk's recipe was made in one of the leading pet nutrition labs in the world, based in Germany. Chonk got 80 per cent positive responses with their initial sampling. Chonk is getting about 50 per cent of repeat customers within one month of their journey. Chonk is widely selling 1.5 kg cat food for Tk 499 whereas competitive brands are selling at Tk 800-900. This cost advantage is due to localisation since import taxes are expensive and some aspects of supply chain mechanisms are complex. Currently, pet food brands such as Smart Heart and Whiskas which have migrated from developed countries dominate our pet food market by 70- 80 per cent, and what Chonk is doing is creating its niche by providing reasonable affordability with reasonable quality.

Quality without compromise: Purchasing a good stock of ingredients, identifying the right equipment, and pedalling a good recipe were some of the greatest concerns which in turn needed a lot of research. To complement the locals' ideas and strategies in Chonk, the company sourced ideas and expertise from experienced foreign pet food companies and spoke to professionals from China, the Middle East, Germany, and the USA. Although some raw materials are bought from Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Norway, and Turkey to guarantee the quality of Chonk products, this company still pulls out all the stops to source locally.

Chonk's recipe was developed in a leading German laboratory and complies with the guidelines of the Association of American Feed Control Officials and FEDIAF Nutritional Standards. Production processes involve strict hygiene measures, while imported inputs are rescreened by local laboratories in terms of quality.

Chonk not only offers affordable cat food but also provides various additional benefits. Chonk ensures that cat shelters receive a monthly allocation of Chonk products at no cost. Furthermore, Chonk is adopting rigorous measures to safeguard against counterfeiting by maintaining direct communication with consumers. Careful selection of its dealerships will be prioritised, and systematic verification will be conducted to ascertain the authenticity of the products they offer, thereby minimising the risk of distributing counterfeit items.

Chonk's founders are aware of the potential for the growth of a sustainable pet care market which can also require better facilities for veterinary services, better gadgets for pets, and enhanced animal protection legislation in Bangladesh. They also focus light on the absence of a local regulating body for pet food standards within the industry. As it stands the government does not tax raw materials for pet food hence they should facilitate the same for manufacturing machinery to enhance innovation.

The Bangladesh government currently does not charge tax on the import of raw materials for cat food. By streamlining the process of importing machinery needed for pet food manufacturing, we could create an environment that fosters innovation and allows new ideas to flourish in our country. Exciting market opportunities await in our country for pet care, cat clinics, and cat accessories, inviting us to embrace our passion for nurturing and improving the lives of our beloved pets.

The government needs to establish and enforce strict regulations to prevent animal cruelty, as we owe it to these vulnerable beings to ensure their protection and well-being. Chonk is trying to bring pet shelters and communities together, as well as providing its products at discount prices to them. Shortly, we will need a local pet food regulatory body in our country to ensure our local pet food quality. Otherwise, it would just take one unethical local producer to damage our national reputation regarding this industry in the global market.

Samiha Mamun is an undergraduate student of Army IBA (Affiliated with Bangladesh University of Professionals), Savar, Dhaka. She can be reached at [email protected]