Stylised Grooming by Scoopy Scrub

Grooming that is breed-specific is just one of many services offered by the folks behind this leading pet care service. Sanjeev & Preeti Kumar began in 2007 and have 55 franchises today, not just in India but other countries, too

If you had attended Dog A’Fair this year, the fun carnival for dogs organised by dogs & more, you would have seen a white Toy Poodle, all dolled up at a stall, as you entered. That is Mr Kimutaku, one of the five furry kids parented by Sanjeev and his wife, Preeti. The Delhi-based duo form the founding pair of India’s leading pet styling service known as Scoopy Scrub – set up in 2007 offering professional grooming for all pets, from dogs to cats, rabbits to hamsters, Macaws, too. What began as a labour of love to address an urgent need for proper grooming and breed-specific styling in the country is today a 55-franchisee business with five self-owned units, spread across several metros, tier-1 and 2 cities including The Furry Fam, their first in Bombay, as well as Mauritius and Thailand. Plans to set up in USA, Canada, Australia and UAE are in full swing which will take the total to 60 in two months time.

When a leading banker for 13 years – VP of HDFC Bank – and a teacher decide to put their careers behind them and pool their resources and expertise together to live out their dream, an enterprise like Scoopy Scrub is born. Well, to be precise, it began with Pet Bytes in 2004 offering all services for pets from grooming to training, boarding, pet food, pet travel, counselling and more. Pet Handlers is another venture that emerged to provide highly trained canines for special task duties. Pets were also provided for photoshoots and dog shows.

Sanjeev begins, “We were the first to start pet events such as fashion shows in which we tied up with leading fashion designers to use only celebrity Indies. We were also the first to start massages for dogs and a call centre way back when, as well as Licious – the first pet bakery in India.” And of course, he states they were the first to start franchising in the pet industry. Their business is solely owned by them with no investors whatsoever. “As pet lovers, we wanted to do justice to our services, to our pets, so we decided to keep it within us and give it our best.”

With Scoopy Scrub, the pet-loving, certified-from-Thailand groomers, Sanjeev & Preeti, pioneered breed-specific styling which is integral to maintain pet hygiene and a great coat for different breeds. Take their very own: five Toy Poodles at home. Apart from Mr Kimu, there’s the 15-year-old Royal Duchess, then Diva Divine, next is Princess Leiah and the latest to join the brood, the only boy, Sir Rosco. Grooming them is a most intricate procedure and they’re in the best of hands. “Technically, there’s one dog per family member and then little Rosco for all of us together,” quips Sanjeev. The family includes his two daughters, Shrujal and Priyal.

Family extends to the 200-member staff that make up Scooby Scrub, that make it the success it is today. “Our staff have been with us for 18-19 years and we are one family. We have head groomers – besides my wife and I – Kamal Giri, Vishnu Bhandari, Biren Bera and Damodar Bhandari, who head various regions of the country. The total number of certified groomers is 155!” This is the measure of our success, not the P&L numbers they can show.

On that note, Sanjeev shares that Scoopy Scrub is not a profit-making business but a passion being lived out each day. For instance, if a franchise would cost around 35-40 lakhs for a metro city in this industry, they would charge 1.5 lakhs and come out with a tiny royalty fee for themselves, he informs us. Passions don’t make homes, though, which is why Sanjeev and Preeti had to make business sense out of it when they started out in 2007. Today, with each of their self-owned units and their many franchises, they average around 5 lakhs per Scoopy Scrub space.

Sanjeev reminisces, “Back when we began, we wanted to introduce grooming and styling of international standards. There are 7-8 types of Spaniels in India, and each has a different styling need. It’s about teaching the parents how to best take care of their pets once they leave the salon.” Sanjeev would know a thing or two about that given that he’s had pets for his 51 years of life and has been deeply involved in the welfare of animals since 33 of those years. People in the pet industry know him fondly as Jeev. “Maneka Gandhi herself said since jeev means life, it is only befitting for you to go by the pet name. And so it stuck.”

And Jeev, along with Preeti, and the rest of the Scoopy Scrub gang, have taken pet grooming and care to the heights in India and abroad, earning them accolades along the way. Among them are Best Grooming Brand of the Year by the Indian Pet Industry; Franchisor of the Year Award by Franchise India; the ENBA Award for the TV show, Best Friends Forever, which Sanjeev himself anchors on Doordarshan. And then some…