LONDON — KatKin, a European fresh food and pet health-tech startup, recently closed its Series A funding round, increasing its total funding to $28 million. The round was led by Verlinvest and Perwyn and received participation from Kreos Capital and previous investor Octopus Ventures.

“I am very excited to partner with Brett, Nikki and the KatKin team on their journey to revolutionize the pet food sector by offering healthy and fresh cat food at competitive prices,” said Lopo Champalimaud, board director at Verlinvest. “This is a sector that Verlinvest has been looking at for some time and KatKin is exactly the kind of innovative and disruptive brand that we love to support on its way to global leadership.”

KatKin plans to use the funding to add personalized health plans to its product portfolio and expand its R&D capabilities. The company will also expand its existing cat food manufacturing plant in London, creating new jobs and expanding its science-based, functional formulations to tackle a variety of health conditions in cats, including diabetes and renal disease.

“Following our previous investment in the healthy pet food sector, and the invaluable experience that we built up in this market, it has been a delight to get to know Nikki and Brett and to learn about KatKin and the enormous success they have had with their brand,” said Andrew Wyn, founder and managing partner of Perwyn. “We are very excited to partner with them and to build the next chapter in KatKin’s story. The business is well-positioned to drive growth in the rapidly expanding fresh food market for pets, and we look forward to supporting KatKin on the execution of its expansion plans.”

Founded in 2019 by siblings Nikki and Brett O’Farrell, KatKin offers fresh cat food, among other cat health products. According to the company, it is Europe’s first fresh-cooked cat food and health company, and its cat food has the highest protein content in industry, making it popular within the European pet food market. To date, the company has served about 9 million meals to 80,000 cats throughout the United Kingdom.

“…The demand is huge for KatKin — every six months we’re doubling in size and customer base,” Brett O’Farrell said. “We’re grateful to Lopo and Cecile at Verlinvest and Andrew at Perwyn, and Kreos as well as for the continued support from Octopus and our angel investors. This support doesn’t just invest in our business but also the health and happiness of cats and cat parents.”

The company’s cat food is formulated with aid from a US board-certified veterinary nutritionist and contains 100% human-grade meat, which is steam-cooked and then frozen. According to the company, cat food is one of the fastest growing segments, as the market is estimated to reach $50 billion by 2030.

“KatKin began when Nikki and I questioned what we were feeding our cats Molly, Kiki and Columbus,” Brett O’Farrell said. “The more we asked, the more horrified we were at what we found. So we gathered an ambitious, world-class team of people willing to stick their noses up at the cat food chain.”

Backed by science, KatKin’s cat food is formulated using a proprietary algorithm from which consumers can develop personalized food plans for their cats. The food is portioned to fit a cat’s individual age, weight, activity level, body shape, medical conditions and flavor preferences. The cat food is delivered directly to consumers as part of a subscription service, offering fresh formulas monthly.

To develop its fresh-cooked cat food, KatKin controls its entire supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to finished-product shipping, to ensure its formulas remain free from preservatives and fillers. The company’s fresh-cooked, cat foods include eight recipes:

  • Splash!, formulated with whitefish, salmon and turkey liver
  • Gobble!, formulated with turkey thigh, gizzards and liver
  • Cluck!, formulated with chicken thigh, liver and heart
  • Baa!, formulated with lamb trim, liver and heart
  • Mooo!, formulated with beef trim, heart and liver
  • Quack!, formulated with duck meat, gizzards and liver, and chicken heart and thigh
  • Oink!, formulated pork trim and shoulder
  • Bubble and Quack!, formulated with whitefish, salmon and duck liver

The company also offers cat treats and toppers.

KatKin is also planning for global expansion in 2023 with the launch of several new products and services outside of pet food, including litter, flea treatments, smart tech, toys and pet insurance.

“We’re cat parents that love hard,” Nikki O’Farrell said. “Cat wellbeing happens to be our profession, but it’s our passion first. And it shows — we’re the highest-rated cat food brand on Trustpilot [a customer review platform]. It’s all about creating awareness among cat parents, bringing them together as a community to drive change in the cat food industry. With fresh, personalized and individual meals costing less than other premium brands and most mid-market brands, we’re on a mission to get all cats thriving.”

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