LOS ANGELES — Recently launched Yummers announced Oct. 6 it has raised $6.3 million in a seed funding round led by L Catterton and other investors. The omnichannel pet lifestyle brand will use the new capital to support its brand strategy and retail partnership with Petco.
Other participating investors included Caravan, FS Investors, C&S Family Capital, Platinum Mile Ventures, and Louis Kreisburg.
"While pets have long been considered a member of the family, they are becoming increasingly humanized across the board," said Whitney Casey, venture partner at L Catterton. "Pet parents are focused on investing in premium products and experiences to provide their beloved animals with the highest quality care. Through its innovative products, which boast easy-to-use mix-ins, Yummers widens the aperture of personalization available to create holistic feeding solutions targeting specific nutritional needs. The Yummers team is led by unbeatable talent, and we look forward to leveraging our extensive experience investing in the pet food sector to support Yummers' continued expansion and success."
Yummers was officially launched in September by Rebecca Frechette Rudisch and “Queer Eye” stars Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness. The brand’s portfolio currently includes 18 meal mix-in varieties for dogs and cats.
Antoni Porowski (left) and Jonathan Van Ness (right) in the kitchen with their K9 companions. (Source: Yummers) "I've believed for a long time that the pet space really deserves a brand that is all about bringing the emotion of pet parenthood to the forefront, giving pet parents permission to create the extraordinary lives their furry friends deserve," Rudisch said. "This investment is a meaningful step and inflection point in the growth of Yummers as an omnichannel brand. It will help us scale our critical retail distribution and allow us to continue to push against the status quo in our ambition to become a mainstay in pet parenting culture. Furthermore, I am thrilled to extend my already more than decade-long relationship with L Catterton in such a meaningful way. Having worked with the firm on previous endeavors, I couldn't think of a better partner to embark with on the Yummers journey."
Both L Catterton and C&S Family Capital will join the board of Yummers, alongside Rudisch and Caravan.
"At Caravan, we helped identify a unique opportunity in the fast-growing pet category to create a compelling brand that aligned with pet parents' elevated standards around feeding, nurturing and bonding with their pets," said Pauline Moller, co-founder and chief executive officer at Caravan. "We are thrilled to be a co-founding partner in Yummers and to have worked closely with Antoni, Jonathan and Rebecca to build and bring this brand to market. We are incredibly excited about its continued growth."
Read more about Yummers’ products and distribution strategy.
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