The founders of London-based startup Omni – which makes plant-based pet food – bagged £75,000 from two investors on Dragons’ Den UK last night. Plant-based food continues to succeed on the small screen, with dog food maker Omni becoming the latest vegan company to win over investors on TV.
Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar, who founded the pet nutrition startup in 2020, appeared on the UK edition of Dragons’ Den on Thursday night and struck a joint deal with Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett.
The famous investors agreed to pour £75,000 into the startup in exchange for a collective 2.5% equity stake, valuing the vegan dog food business at £3M.
“I had already been looking for a healthy, balanced alternative to processed-meat dog food, so when Guy and Shiv presented Omni and its credentials as a highly nutritional, vet-formulated choice, I was bound to invest. Trust in a product is hugely important to dog owners,” said Meaden.
“The big test came, though, after the den, when I offered the food and treats to my pack of dogs, and they literally woofed them down – that certainly sealed the deal,” she added.
Omni sells a range of vet-formulated foods and supplements for dogs, such as No-Chicken Pot Pie, No-Beef Casserole, breath supplements, and Training Treats for physical and mental health. The products are catered to pets with sensitivities, allergies, anxiety, and gut issues, among others.
Sandelowsky and Sivakumar began thier pitch asking for £75,000 for a 1% stake in Omni. “I’m a small-animal vet that’s been in practice for just shy of 10 years, and I’ve seen a number of nutrition-related diseases in our pets,” Sandelowsky explained.
“At Omni, we believe that novel proteins – like those derived from yeast, pules, algae, and soon lab-grown meat – can be healthy and as delicious as traditional meat-based diets,” he added.
The company generated over £2.5M in sales in 2022 and 2023, and 80% of its 30,000-strong customer base are subscribers. It has delivered more than five million meals to pets globally.
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I can't help thinking that owning a dog and making it eat vegetables simply doesn't compute in terms of vegan idelogy - clearly I'm wrong?
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