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Lyka Pet Food, a dog food subscription service that prioritises fresh, nutritious ingredients over processed dry kibble, has today closed a $30 million Series B funding round led by an Israeli investment heavyweight.
The capital injection will add some bite to the company’s bark as it aims to capture a share of a fast-growing pet care sector, expected to be worth $500 billion globally over the next five years.
The round, comprised of equity and debt, was led by Israeli entrepreneur Itai Tsiddon who was a lead investor in other success stories such as Frame.io, Forter and Gcash, and included participation from Pet Circle founding chairman Craig Blair and Petbarn founder and former CEO Paul Wilson.
It builds on a period of expansion via acquisitions for Lyka, which bought Sydney rival Happy Tales Kitchen in February this year for an undisclosed sum and Melbourne-based competitor The Wholesome Dog 10 months prior.
For Lyka co-founder Anna Podolsky, who was a finalist in the 2021 Sydney Young Entrepreneur Awards, the capital will enable her to continue with her mission to improve dog diets, which was inspired by the health issues of her own dog named Lyka.
The company aims to disrupt the pet food space by delivering freshly prepared, wholefood nutrition direct to doors around Australia. Each recipe is formulated by veterinarian and Lyka co-founder Dr Matthew Muir, alongside a team of veterinary nutritionists.
“Here at Lyka, dogs are so much more than family and deserve to eat like it. There’s a reason why we feel better on a fresh food diet and the same goes for dogs,” Podolsky said.
“I witnessed an immediate change in Lyka’s energy, coat and even her tooth decay. I knew I needed to make these meals accessible to passionate dog parents.”
The service offers the use of a proprietary algorithm that customers can employ to tailor meal plans specific to their dog’s age, breed, weight, activity level and sensitivities.
According to Dr Muir, pet parents are looking for this level of detail and truly want the best for their dogs.
“If the past few years have taught us anything in Australia, it’s the importance of our loved ones’ health and companionship. Our pets deliver that to us in spades,” Dr Muir said.
“Dogs rely on us as pet parents to provide them with optimal nourishment, so it's important to feed them a complete and balanced diet. Ingredients should be as fresh as possible, and contain a mix of high-quality proteins, omega fatty acids and low carbohydrates.
“I'm so proud of what we've achieved at Lyka and love hearing from families that have seen and experienced these benefits in their furry family member.”
Lyka says the investment will be deployed to accelerate the education of customers, fuel research & development, and construct state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution capabilities to service rapidly growing demand.
“I'm really excited to be joining as an investor in Lyka," lead investor and Itai Tsidon said.
"It's clear that the pet wellness industry has been held back for too long by complacency and sub-standard practices.
“Lyka's purpose driven and innovative ethos is more than just an interesting idea, the thousands of real-life examples of positive impact from their customers is testament to that.”
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