Interview with Deeksha Shetty, Co-founder, Fresh Fetch
“Quit your job and follow your dream” is a seemingly cliché advice that we often hear; but Its not very often that we actually see youngsters quitting their high paying jobs to follow their dream. Here is one such “SHEpreneur” Deeksha Shetty, an ex-IT employee, a pet lover, who, along with her friend has launched a start-up “Fresh Fetch” that caters to pets and pet parents. Fresh Fetch aims at helping pet parents feed their little ones fresh, yummy and nourishing meals every day. Read on to know what she has to say about her journey so far.
What is the story behind Fresh Fetch? What was your inspiration behind starting it?
We’ve been pet parents most of our lives and we’re not going to lie about feeding our dogs dry kibble. For the most part, we were lazy and loved the convenience of it all until we realized that they deserved more. So, we decided to curate daily fresh meals for our dogs and in no time, we could see a difference.
Fresh Fetch is all about making it convenient for pet parents to feed their little ones fresh yummy meals every day.
Using the power of pets to become an entrepreneur is a rare thing in India – how did you go about it?
Our love for pets was what pushed us to start Fresh Fetch. The pet care industry is one fastest growing markets in India and pet parenting is being taken more seriously than before and we saw this as an opportunity.
What are some of the challenges you faced when you started out?
One of our biggest challenges is bringing awareness about the advantages, and the world of difference food can make to pets when you switch to species-appropriate diet.
Unlike with humans, our only feedback on the food is based on how quickly the dogs empty their bowls. On those rare occasions that the dog is fussy, it is challenging to figure out what works best for the dog and customize accordingly.
What are the things women entrepreneurs need to keep in mind while starting something? Apart from the great idea, what do you need to be armed with?
As an entrepreneur, you have to be passionate about what you’re doing. Sometimes you don’t see the results you envisioned, but you have to be patient and not give up easily.
Also, having a clear vision of what you want to achieve and mapping out a business plan to get there is essential.
How important is social media in building a business today? How has it helped you?
Social media has proved to be a great medium for marketing, especially for first-time entrepreneurs who come with no marketing background whatsoever. It has been really helpful in terms of reaching to the right kind of audience and keeping our customers engaged.
What are your future plans for Fresh fetch?
Collaborations with similar business that could compliment our offerings, reaching out to more pet parents out there and help them make the right choice for their pets.
What advice would you give to somebody else who wanted to start a similar business?
Market research to understand what’s out there and how you could do something different to attract customers would be a good start.
Starting a new business is not the easiest thing and you have to understand the work it involves and be prepared to give it your all.
Tell us about your offerings
We home deliver meat based fresh home-made meals, which can be customised according to the pet’s needs. This can be purchased as weekly or monthly subscriptions.
Apart from fresh meals, we also make dog treats like Cookies, Peanut Butter which are made with human grade ingredients and no preservatives.
Doggie Box is a gift package put together with all things doggos will love.
We also offer wholesome meals for the streeties- Streetie Love
