By Lynda Kiernan
VegInvest has returned to lead a second funding round for Wild Earth, a startup using biotech to make vegan pet food. The $11 million Series A was also backed by Mark Cuban’s Radicle Investments, Felicis Ventures, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Mars Petcare, and international investors Bits x Bites from China, VECTR from Hong Kong, and POV, a German-based food fund.
This round builds upon the company previous $4 million in funding secured last year in a round also led by VegInvest and including Stray Dog Capital, Felicis Ventures, Blue Horizon, Babel Ventures, EverHope Capital, Macro Ventures, and Aera VC.
Between 25 and 30 percent of the meat industry’s environmental impact in the U.S. is attributed to pet food. Wild Earth’s mission, driven by pioneers in cellular agriculture, is to develop clean high-protein pet foods that are healthier, better for the environment, and more humane than conventional products, according to the Wild Earth website.
Touted as “the new generation of pet food”, Wild Earth’s entirely vegan cultured protein products are made from human-grade Koji, a filamentous fungus (aspergillus oryzae) used in Chinese and East Asian cuisines. Created from this base, Wild Earth’s products can be made using significantly fewer resources compared to farm animal-based proteins, while providing the same level of nutritional value.
“Given the shocking amount of animal farming required for pet food, and the environmental strain caused by feeding companion animals, Wild Earth represents an important component of a more sustainable and humane food system,” said Amy Trakinski, managing director of VegInvest.
Part of the Family
Increased humanization of pets by highly engaged consumers is leading purchasing trends in the pet food industry to parallel those in the human food sector. The health consciousness and concern over sustainability that are driving consumers’ choices for themselves and their families are also increasingly driving their food choices for their pets.
The U.S. pet food market was valued at $24.6 billion in 2016, and is anticipated to grow to a value exceeding $30 billion by 2022. U.S. pet owners spend upwards of $63 billion a year (approximately $23.05 billion was spent on food alone in 2015) on their family pets, noted the American Pet Products Association, a number that has increased every single year since the association began collecting data in 1994.
Specialty pet foods and treats are outperforming traditional offerings according to Pet Food Industry.com, with the bulk of the products in these two categories falling under the classification of “premium”, “super-premium”, “organic”, or “natural”.
Similar to the human food sector, these shifts are translating into consumer demand for cleaner ingredient labels on pet foods, and are leading consumers to search out grain-free and plant-based formulas.
No Meat for Dogs
Wild Earth plans to use the funds from this Series A, which brings the company’s total funding to-date to $16 million, to support the development of its no-meat food for dogs. Made from renewably sourced fungi, the company’s vegan dog food contains all 10 essential amino acids, omega fatty acids, digestion-boosting enzymes, and prebiotics, and represents an option to sustainably feed more than a billion pets by 2050.
“We’re investing in Wild Earth not only to impact this market but because Ryan and his team can provide valuable leadership to other companies in the plant-based innovation space,” said Trakinski.
Wild Earth also announced its move into a new headquarters in Southwest Berkeley at Outermost House – a historic former chocolate factory that VegInvest envisioned in 2017 as a global innovation hub for vegan food tech companies. The shift will allow for the company to expand its R&D and business facilities.
“Wild Earth and VegInvest share a foundation of values and innovation in this effort to achieve a food system that works better for people, the planet, and animals,” said Ryan Bethencourt, CEO of Wild Earth. “Their experience helping future-of-food companies reach the market will absolutely increase our timeline for commercial availability of our dog food with fungi protein.”