LOS ANGELES — Jinx, a modern dog food company, announced Nov. 16 it has raised $28 million in a Series A funding round led by The Merchant Club (TMC). TMC was joined by other angel investors, including TV personality and comedian Trevor Noah, actor Chris Evans, NFL player Odell Beckham Jr., and Michael Ovitz, co-founder of the Creative Artist Agency (CAA).

The investment will help Jinx expand its portfolio and extend its product distribution beyond direct-to-consumer (DTC) to include brick-and-mortar retailers across the United States starting early next year.

Jinx Co-Founders Terri Rockovich, Sameer Mehta and Michael Kim launched Jinx in January 2020. These former founding members of Casper Mattress have since partnered with Postmates, Barry’s, Spotlight Oral Care and dog-friendly restaurants to establish the pet food company as a lifestyle brand for the modern pet owner.

"Our vision is to elevate the way we care for our dogs by providing premium nutrition at an attainable price point and creating a single destination for wellness products that are clean-label and better for your dog," said Rockovich, chief executive officer and co-founder of Jinx. "This funding round included a very strategic slate of investors with a lot of heart for our brand and our mission. The round will ultimately allow us to step onto a bigger stage creating mass premium options for our customers.

“We will double down on our team and introduce product assortments within new pet health categories allowing us to continue offering dogs the highest-quality diet available. Early next year, we will expand beyond the DTC model making Jinx available at major retail locations across the country."

Since it was founded, Jinx has partnered with Petco, Target and Bloomingdales to expand its online distribution, but will now look to in-person retail to grow the brand’s presence and accessibility in the American marketplace.

These are not the first funds to be raised by Jinx. In late 2019, the company raised $5.65 million in investments from high-profile celebrities with interests in pet nutrition, including Will Smith and his family, NAS, Halsey and Lilly Singh, as well as professional athletes Michael Strahan and Daniel Sturridge.

The SEED funding round, led by Initialized Capital, also included NQV8, a pet industry consulting firm, as well as Align Ventures, Brand Foundry, Sinai Ventures, Wheelhouse Group and &vest.

Jinx sells a range of kibbles, treats, meal toppers and dental chews for dogs. All formulas are free from fillers and preservatives and follow a clean-label approach including organic proteins and functional superfood ingredients. According to the company, Jinx products are formulated by animal nutritionists and vetted by certified veterinary professionals.

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