London cat food company raises £4.5m to launch biologically balanced product

A London pet food company has announced that it has raised £4.5m to launch a new product.

Katkin completed the fundraise through a seed round led by Octopus Ventures.

The funding will be used to launch a cat food that meets cats’ biological needs, replicating the diet that would be ideal in the wild.

The £4.5m investment will support the KatKin’s plans to make healthy fresh cat food more accessible by expanding across the UK. It will also allow the company to develop its personalised products to ensure that every cat receives their exact nutritional requirements.

Dr Justin Shmalberg, chief veterinary officer of KatKin, commented: “Fresh food is truly an innovative approach to feeding cats, but the aim is simple: to provide quality ingredients from top tier suppliers and a high meat content tailored to the unique nutritional needs of cats.

“It has previously been difficult to replicate a cat’s natural diet whilst optimizing for mass-production and long shelf life which has been the conventional approach.

“However, by focusing on freshly-cooked ingredients, rather than the method of production and storage, KatKin has identified the dietary balance in custom-portioned amounts that supports cats’ nutritional needs, without needing to add processing agents or artificial preservatives which lack nutritive value.”

Brett O’Farrell, co-founder and CEO, commented: “As cat parents ourselves, Nikki and I had experienced first-hand not being able to give them the fresh, healthy and species-appropriate food they deserved - and that feeling of being underserved as cat owners by big industry.

“At KatKin we’re building a world class team that puts cats first and are on a mission to improve the lives of cats, as well as their owners.

“We’re grateful for the early support of our angel investors and from Rebecca at Octopus, which enables us to continue investing in our product and customer experience and to further extend our reach in the UK.”

Nikki O’Farrell, co-founder and CXO, added: “We’ve had phenomenal feedback from our customers to date, which has helped make KatKin the highest rated cat food brand on Trustpilot.

“We’re helping to educate cat parents about the importance of food and nutrition on their cats’ health, and also to address common dietary issues, such as obesity and allergies.

“With fresh, personalised and individual meals costing less than other premium brands, we’re ensuring cats can live healthy, happy lives.”

Rebecca Hunt, investor at Octopus Ventures said: “The pet food market is enormous and continues to grow, as pets increasingly become part of the family.

“This is particularly true among young professionals, who are delaying having children, and so have a willingness and desire to spend on their feline companions.

“Yet the market remains dominated by incumbent players who are not innovating and our experience backing Tails.com tells us there is a big opportunity for a brand like KatKin, which puts personalisation and health of the cat at the heart of its product.

“Brett and Nikki have already demonstrated exceptional focus on execution, with customers that love the service, and we look forward to supporting KatKin’s growth.”