Brett and Nikki O’Farrell
KatKin, a London-based online cat food ordering and delivery start-up, has closed a Series A round of $22 million.
Founded by siblings Brett and Nikki O’Farrell, with backgrounds in finance and advertising respectively, KatKin is a direct-to-consumer personalized cat food service.
KatKin’s service is very similar to meal kit delivery products such as Gousto, but for cat food.
Users pay for a monthly subscription to cat food tailored to their cat’s traits and needs and delivered to their home.
The Series A round was led by Verlinvest and Perwyn with the participation of Octopus Ventures.
The founders said the new funds will be invested in manufacturing capacity expansion, research and development and marketing.
The duo, both cat owners themselves, believe there is an underserved market for the online sale of specialized cat food, as dogs and their owners have received the most attention from investors – although the global cat food market is tipped. worth over $40 billion.
“There is no global cat brand that is truly trusted and uncompromising,” Brett said.
“As a result, much of the capital, especially in the emerging companies category, is going to the dog-first companies.”
Nikki said the dog market is more visible and prevalent for investors to hold onto.
“A cat parent and their cat currently have a very private relationship in your home and so I think that might also be something not fully understood by investors coming into the space, if they don’t have cats of their own.”
The siblings push the unique recipes and meat content of the foods they produce. According to the founders, some cat food manufacturers on the market exaggerate the meat content of their products.
“Cats are tougher and you have an inherent palatability challenge that you don’t have with dogs,” Brett said.
KatKin’s meal boxes are made from steam cooked and frozen meat and delivered to customers in insulated boxes. Cats are obligate carnivores, depending on meat for their diet. All recipes are composed by a veterinary nutritionist.
“Cats need meat. There are certain bodily functions that they can’t do without the proper proteins that come from meat,” Nikki said. “All of our meals are 100% freshly cooked meat. We wanted to reduce many of the risks associated with raw food production and production.”
Monthly subscriptions range from £50 to £64, Brett said. Currently, the service is only available in the UK.
He added that this latest financing round will be used to strengthen its presence in its home market with a view to international expansion.
“This funding is to prove that the company’s unit economy works in the UK. The UK is very much our home market, our test market. But the ambition is to build a global cat brand. The plan would be to to enter the US sometime next year.”