Pet tech firm KatKin, founded by siblings Brett and Nikki O’Farrell in 2019, has secured £4.5m for its customised cat food start-up.
The founders aim is to create the “healthiest cat food in the world”, with a 95% fresh, real meat content and zero fillers and preservatives.
It uses a proprietary algorithm that enables the personalisation of food for an individual cat based on a range of inputs, including, weight, size, age, activity level.
The £4.5m investment will support further development of its personalised products.
Dr Justin Shmalberg, Chief Veterinary Officer of KatKin, said: “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 & CEO added: “As a 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.”