Bond Pet Meals, recognized for making plant-based pet treats, is shifting its focus from treats to pet meals functions because it leans into the creation of “nature-identical” hen, beef, fish and different meat proteins utilizing precision fermentation. Final November, Bond kicked this off by saying a partnership with Hill’s Pet Vitamin to develop a craft meat protein for its product portfolio.
With the brand new focus, the Boulder, Colorado–primarily based firm joins an inventory of incumbents centered on more healthy choices for our four-legged mates, together with Freshpet, which launched its Spring & Sprout vegetarian pet food final September; Maev, growing human-grade uncooked pet food; Alpha Paw within the complement house; and Jinx, centered on clean-label pet food.
The transfer is buoyed by a $17.5 million Sequence A funding in June from a gaggle of buyers that features Archer-Daniels-Midland Firm’s enterprise arm ADM Ventures, Cavallo Ventures, Genoa Ventures, Lever VC, Thia Ventures, iSelect Fund, Stage 1 Fund, Lifely VC and Satori Capital. Becoming a member of in as particular person buyers are musicians Sia Isabelle Furler and Joan Jett. Previous to the Sequence A spherical, the corporate raised $2.5 million to convey its complete funding since 2017 to $20 million.
Bond Pet Meals was co-founded by Wealthy Kelleman and Pernilla Audibert and is a part of a world pet meals market valued at $110 billion in 2021 and poised to develop 5% yearly via this decade to be price $164 billion by 2029.
The brand new funding will allow the corporate to broaden its meat protein portfolio and scale up manufacturing at a brand new 15,000-square-foot facility in Boulder whereas additionally tripling the scale of its crew, Kelleman advised TechCrunch.
Initially, the corporate was considering of creating its personal model of pet meals, however determined to make the shift to meat proteins for different firms to make use of on account of curiosity from some massive pet meals names, together with Hill’s, and a few others within the pipeline.
“All of those world gamers knocked on our door, and we realized that we will construct a wholesome enterprise and have a bigger materials affect if we collaborate with established firms as a substitute of doing it on our personal,” he added. “We’re actually accelerating our course of growth work to convey down the price of items in addition to making some quick work of our pressure engineering.”
The power is anticipated to be full within the first quarter of 2023, and Kelleman expects preliminary meat proteins to be prepared for commercialization in two years. That interval consists of pilot feeding applications to gather knowledge that demonstrates efficiency, security and efficacy as Bond works via the regulatory course of.
Kelleman says Bond is near having the ultimate specification for its hen meat protein accomplished inside the subsequent few months. Then it is going to undergo feeding trials in canine and cats, doubtless early subsequent 12 months, because it continues to work via the regulatory course of and collaborating with strategic pet meals companions.
