Photo Credits: Biz Plus: Mascot – Chaitanya Malkarnekar_1
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Services Mascot can offer to pets or arrange range from grooming, training, giving the pets a bath (or a bubble bath), cutting their nails, cleaning their ears, preparing them for fashion shows, offering various treatments like anti-fungal, antibacterial, tick and dandruff, advising on their diet, arranging for a transport for the pets, boarding or home stay, etc.
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Biz Plus: Mascot – Chaitanya Malkarnekar
Photo Credit: Bharati Pawaskar
Photo Caption: Chaitanya Malkarnekar, proprietor, Mascot at his Pet Lifestyle Store in Margao
Heading: Mascot: All for pets under one roof
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Intro: A genetic engineer turned enthusiastic entrepreneur and a professional groomer, Chaitanya Malkarnekar, proprietor, Mascot,speaks to BHARATI PAWASKAR on how he got into this line of business and all about his future plans...
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It’s Saturday evening when Princey walks in the pet lifestyle store, Mascot, at Margao holding the hand of her little daughter Christel and cuddling in her arms her newly-purchased pet – a Persian cat – asking for a brush to comb the fur of her cat and a shampoo to bathe her with. As she exchanged conversation with the owner of Mascot, she quickly shot a series of questions – “How can we keep her fragrant and odour free? Tell me if her fur will get entangled as we comb and clean it? And how can we see that her skin remains dandruff free?”
Princey who has purchased the Persian cat just two days ago for Rs 9000 from some pet shop, is totally unaware how to handle this new member in her family. A genetic engineer turned an enthusiastic entrepreneur and a professional groomer, Chaitanya Malkarnekar, proprietor, Mascot, had ready answers for all her queries. Though Mascot deals with only pet products/services and not live pets, Chaitanya is well-versed with the issues regarding pets, especially dogs and cats. He suggested a particular type of brush but asked her not to buy any shampoo as it was not advisable to bathe the delicate cat so soon. Instead, to wipe the cat with a wet towel if she gets dirty. "Such cats are to be bathed once in 20 days or even more,” Chaitanya told Princey.
Happy with the free piece of advice Princey walked out of the store with only a brush. “I don’t want people to mess up with their pets, especially when they have recently purchased them,” exclaimed Chaitanya after Princey left with her expensive cat.
“We don’t deal in selling or buying pets but we provide everything that a pet dog or a cat needs – from biscuits to bowls and collars to beds, chew sticks to pet treats and supplements to toys,” quips 29-year-old Chaitanya who has ambitious plans to expand his products and services into a chain of Mascot stores in the State as well as India. With the increasing tendency among people to provide expensive luxuries to their pets, the business is sure to click in the next five years, feels Chaitanya.
Having done a professional training course in grooming from Mumbai, this genetic engineer enjoys offering free advice – irrespective of the fact whether his customers are known or are regular at Mascot or total strangers who walk in for the first time.
Why didn’t he pursue his career as a genetic engineer and instead plunge into this totally different line? Chaitanya points out to his father, Dr Vasant Malkarnekar, a veterinary officer who retired earlier this year from the post of deputy director (Health) in the government of Goa.
“It was my supportive father who motivated me to open this store when I felt that I chose a wrong career after 12th and after realising that being a genetic engineer was not my cup of tea,” smiles Chaitanya.
Dr Malkarnekar motivated his son Chaitanya to venture into the pet world as he was very fond of animals himself. It was a small beginning. Today, Chaitanya’s Mascot that kick-started in 2010 has expanded to three more outlets in the State – at Colva, Ponda and Porvorim. Under the Mascot umbrella, rests the pet lifestyle store and allied pet services – pet food and accessories, pet taxi service, pet bakery, pet saloon, pet pharmacy, home boarding, home grooming, veterinary and training as well as pet vaccines. Not reluctant to give home deliveries, Mascot’s clientele spreads across Goa and even to the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Chaitanya briefs his entry in the world of pets and the journey that followed, “After I passed out as a genetic engineer in 2008 from Bangalore, I tried doing various jobs but always had a feeling that I wore the wrong shoes which ultimately won’t take me anywhere. Then one day, my father causally asked me if I would like to open a pet product shop as he had some vacant space in Margao. Why not try out this option, I thought. Finally, it was in 2010 that Mascot, my first pet lifestyle store, kick-started. I had very few products on my shelves and was not quite sure how the business would run. I should be honest – the initial year-and-a-half was tough as I was new to this line of business. But once I got hold of the nuance, Mascot’s second outlet was opened in Colva in 2012 with the helping hand of my friend Sagar Badakere who is very much in love with the pets. Sagar walks an extra mile when it comes to animals and extends help by offering a loving home stay - one dog at a time freely moving all over his home and personally looked after.”
Early this year, Mascot opened its third outlet, in Ponda, along with an attached pet pharmacy and a pharmacy for human beings. In October 2016 Mascot is opening its fourth outlet at Porvorim which will offer an exclusive boutique experience with a special customer lounge, beverages and snacks, television and slide show on pets, a grooming parlour, consultancy with unique, holistic treatments and natural solutions for various pet problems.
Grooming, training, giving the pets a bath (or a bubble bath), cutting their nails, cleaning their ears, preparing them for fashion shows, offering various treatments like anti-fungal, antibacterial, tick and dandruff, advising on their diet, arranging for a transport for the pets, boarding or home stay etc is among the services Mascot can offer or arrange.
It’s not that only humans that like partying. Dogs love the parties too, especially when they have loving homes and kind masters who celebrate their birthdays or special occasions. “We also help arrange pet parties, especially dogs – where the owners bring their dogs and allow them to have fun. We have a pet bakery unit too, where we bake healthy savouries, special cakes, cookies, cupcakes prepared on order for occasions. These cakes are bland, without sugar and chocolates but with other stuff like fruits and vegetables. We have our own four-five recipes for pet cakes – like peanut butter cake, chicken-jerky cake, honey-banana cake or curd-honey cake which we outsource,” shares Chaitanya.
Mascot has veterinary doctors on call and when the pet owners give a call for home visits, the vets are sent. Their pet taxi service is available for Rs 15 per km to transport the pets if they are sick or otherwise. Many customers ask their help for taking their pets from homes to hospitals or vice-a-versa across the State. The average life of a dog is between 8-12 years or sometimes 15 years, though if taken good care of their diet, some live up to the age of 18-20 years. Depending upon the age and the breed, Mascot offers guidance regarding holistic diet without any preservatives. Commercial, processed food is not good for the pets and so healthy, nutritious, natural and purest form of food with meat, vegetables and fruits is advisable.
“We also offer tips on how to buy a good dog too, though we don’t sell them,” states Chaitanya. He comes out with a number of brilliant suggestions on the right dog food, a good home stay, safe boarding, party themes, grooming, training etc. He spells of plans to start mobile grooming, where the groomer will visit the home to groom a pet. He is dreaming to open a pet café too where owners are allowed entry with their pets and pet snacks will also adorn the shelves along with snacks for humans.
“Given an opportunity I will certainly work on these ideas, but let me keep my fingers crossed,” quips Chaitanya. His Mascot pharmacy at Ponda has vet medicines for pets with a pharmacist. Charging reasonably for the services offered to pet owners and keeping rates economical, Chaitanya is planning for direct import of pet food and accessories from China, Thailand and UK so that he can offer at still lower prices. He points out to a huge scope in this business. Not only effluent and elite but also middle class clientele now has well looked after pets at home. It is no longer considered a status symbol to own a dog but an honest need to show compassion towards animals and share space with this man's best friend.
