Maneka Gandhi turns entrepreneur; launches vegan pet food brand ‘Woofly’

Maneka Gandhi is turning to the pet-food business to create a source of income for animal welfare that can endure beyond her lifetime, starting with Woofly, a ₹40 per 100 gram vegan dog-food brand. The first offering from Gandhi-owned Compassion Foods is manufactured at a third-party vegan-only facility in Jaipur.

Gandhi traced the idea back more than four decades. At 23, she used money (₹8 lakh) left to her by her late husband to build an animal shelter and hospital on what was then the outskirts of Delhi. “We didn’t even have an architect,” she recalled. Built gradually over the years, the facility near Rajouri Garden today spans four acres, employs 130 people including 11 doctors, and cares for between 4,000 and 5,000 animals.

For years, animal welfare work was sustained through donations and fundraising initiatives. “But the point is that we can’t just do that,” she said. “It has to be a steady source of income that does not depend on one-off events.”

“Something has to be done to sustain it,” Gandhi said. “Long term, I want to build more shelters. How do we do that? Where do we get the money from?”

Each ₹40 packet contains 100 grams of powder that expands to roughly 300 grams when mixed with water and can be served with rice. “It’s a Maggi noodle concept,” Gandhi said.

Woofly is produced at a vegan-only facility in Jaipur, which Gandhi said developed the formulation at its own cost. “It took us four years of mistakes,” she said.

The company is initially targeting pet owners as well as people who regularly feed community dogs. Gandhi is particularly focused on what she calls the “chicken-rice market” individuals who feed stray dogs rice mixed with inexpensive chicken leftovers.

“This doesn’t work for me,” she said. “I don’t believe that one animal should be fed to another.”

Woofly is set to be available through platforms such as Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart, while discussions are underway with Shiprocket for distribution. The brand will also be sold through its own website.

Importantly, Gandhi said profits from Compassion Foods will ultimately support People for Animals, the animal welfare organisation she founded.

Woofly is only the first step. Gandhi plans to expand the portfolio with foods formulated for older and diabetic dogs, followed by Meowly, a taurine-fortified vegan cat food.

“Cats have special nutritional requirements; therefore, we are ensuring that Meowly can meet those requirements without the addition of meat or any animal product,” she said.