Cultivated pet food manufacturer raises £3.6M in seed funding
London-based Good Dog Food to increase the production of sustainable nutrition products for dogs.
Good Dog Food (GDF) focuses on creating sustainable and ethical food for dogs and has raised £3.6 million ($4.5M/€4.1M) in a seed funding round.
The capital injection is expected to create dog food made of cultivated rather than slaughtered meat. The company believes this new option will appeal to “pet owners [who] value sustainable options.”
Agronomics, a company that specializes in cellular agriculture, owns 42.4% shares in GDF and has contributed £1 million ($1.3M/€1.6M) of the total funding.
GDF’s CEO Owen Ensor commented that the company aims “to bring some of the first-ever cultivated meat products to market” to transform the food system into becoming more sustainable and ethical.
“Developing products for pet food is the natural starting point,” he concluded.
A shift
The shift towards vegan or ethically sourced pet food has grown considerably in recent years.
The British company is said to have strong fundamental knowledge in producing sustainable products as they have already removed all animal components from their manufacturing process. It aims to remove the 20% of meat used for pet food at a global level.
Cultivated meat can be made by producing agricultural products from cells, an alternative method to rearing an animal to slaughter or growing crops.
According to Nielsen, pet foods claiming to be free from animal by-products grew 24% to $138 million (€125.8M) in 2022.
