Fresh-cooked cat food start-up KatKin has raised $22m (£18.2m) in a series A funding round led by PE firms Verlinvest and Perwyn.
Founded by brother-and-sister team Brett and Nikki O’Farrell in 2019, the brand steam cooks 100% human-grade meat, with no fillers, grains or preservatives, and then freezes the meal before sending it out to customers.
The tech platform uses a proprietary algorithm to allow customers to build personalised boxes of fresh, portioned to each cat’s unique traits, including age, weight, activity level, body shape and favourite flavours, with choice of meats including beef, chicken, turkey, duck, pork, lamb and fish.
The DTC service is priced from £1.75 a day and is delivered to customers via a monthly subscription service.
Previous investor Octopus Ventures, as well as angel investors, also took part in the round. It takes the total amount raised by the company to $28m.
KatKin plans to use the money to invest further in its personalised health plans, scientific research and the development of new recipes.
The business is also expanding its manufacturing site and in the coming years has ambitions to extend into other areas of cat wellbeing, including sustainable tofu-based and health-indicated litters, worming tablets and flea treatments with smart tech, toys and insurance.
Brett O’Farrell said: “Mainstream cat food is stale, packed with cheap ingredients, hard-to-understand labels and fluffed-up claims. It’s difficult to find what’s best and customers are frustrated.
“The demand is huge for KatKin and every six months we’re doubling in size and customer base.”
Perwyn managing partner Andrew Wynn added: “The business is well-positioned to drive growth in the rapidly expanding natural and fresh food market for pets, and we look forward to supporting KatKin on the execution of its expansion plans.”
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