St. Louis-based Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. has provided funding to five startups as part of its annual pet care innovation contest.
This year’s winners include companies based in three countries, selected from a pool of more than 150 applicants. The winners sell an array of products, ranging from exercise toys to cat toothbrushes.
Each company receives $25,000, mentorship and will participate in an accelerator boot camp program at Purina’s headquarters in downtown St. Louis. The five startups in March will compete in a pitch competition at Global Pet Expo, a trade show in Orlando, Florida, with the winner receiving a $25,000 cash prize.
This year marks the eighth time that Purina has held its Pet Care Innovation Prize challenge. The competition staged by 9 Square Ventures, Purina’s corporate venture capital arm, and St. Louis-based Active Capital.
The five startups receiving are investment are:
- SwiftPaws (Melbourne, Florida): SwiftPaws sells exercise products for pets, including lure coursing kits that can be used to play chase with a dog. SwiftPaw appeared on ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank” in 2022, inking an investment deal with celebrity investor Lori Greiner.
- BestyBnB (Kansas City): BestyBnB has developed a platform to provide access to housing for pets when owners are in “challenging situations,” such as domestic violence, medical care or substance abuse treatment.
- Arch Pet Food (Chicago): Arch Pet Foods sells alternative protein dog treats focused on specific health issues, including digestive health and hip and joint health.
- Ryercat (Vancouver, Canada): Ryercat has created a toothbrush and toothpaste made specifically for cats.
- VetChip (Perth, Australia): VetChip has created a chip that’s inserted into pets and is designed to track potential health issues “for faster diagnosis and treatment.”
”This year's group of winners exemplifies the diverse range of possibilities in pet care, and we look forward to working with each of these companies to help accelerate their success in an incredibly competitive and rewarding industry," Blair Morgan, co-lead of Purina's 9 Square Ventures group and Vice President of Strategy and Innovation for Purina, said in a news release.
Nestlé Purina PetCare is a subsidiary of Swiss conglomerate Nestlé. Purina is the manufacturer of several high-profile pet brands such as Purina ONE, Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Tidy Cats. Purina had revenue of roughly $19 billion in 2022.
