While many pet and wellness brands boast that their dog food rivals the freshness and nutrition of human food, Spot & Tango creates human-grade meals for dogs that are formulated by veterinary nutritionists. Spot & Tango’s selection of ready-to-serve food is transparently engineered with twelve ingredients with sustainable ingredients that have no additives, fillers, or preservatives that are commonly found in commercial kibble. The company’s mean plans are tailored to the pet, taking into account activity level, breed, allergies, preferences, and health. Spot & Tango is available through the company’s website through subscription and meals start as low as $1.47/meal.
AlleyWatch caught up with Spot & Tango CEO and Founder Russell Breuer to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $56.95M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised a total of $51.75M in funding after raising a $38.5 million Series B and $13.25M Series A, led by Valor Equity Partners.
Tell us about the product or service that Spot & Tango offers.
Spot & Tango is the DTC premium pet wellness brand, famous for our signature UnKibble™ food- the first-ever Fresh Dry™ dog food. Spot & Tango makes it easier for pet parents to keep their dogs happy and healthy and believe that a happy and healthy life starts with good food.
What inspired the start of Spot & Tango?
My wife and I would cook homemade meals for our dog, Jack, which inspired me to address the lack of healthy, fresh food options for dogs.
How is Spot & Tango different?
Spot & Tango delivers ready-to-serve, human-grade meals that fit your dog’s unique nutritional needs. Unique pros of Spot & Tango’s UnKibble include:
Quality: Exceeds industry standards with 100% whole foods – no artificial additives, colors or flavors!
Personalization: Several factors are taken into consideration prior to developing a meal plan, such as allergies, activity levels, breed, flavor preferences, health conditions – all the way down to the scoop size!
Sustainably-minded: Each delivery is consciously shipped with curbside recyclable boxes from strategically located distribution centers
Full transparency: The complete ingredient profiles are printed on the front of every pack giving customers an opportunity to know exactly what they are purchasing
No Retail Markup: Sold directly to you to keep quality high and price low
Favorite amongst pups: Customers claim their dogs do cartwheels as they approach their Spot & Tango bowls!
What market does Spot & Tango target and how big is it?
The pet category is a multibillion-dollar industry and the wellness sector is growing rapidly. Spot & Tango develops products and solutions using fresh, whole ingredients that address the pet health epidemic, including obesity, diabetes, and allergies.
What’s your business model?
Spot & Tango is an e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, subscription business model. We offer personalized meal plans, free shipping, and a 100% Happy Pup Guarantee — if your dog doesn’t love our food, we’ll give you your money back. It’s that simple.
What are your post-COVID office plans??
Our philosophy is to provide a dynamic working environment that meets the needs of our employees, promotes a healthy work-life balance, and adapts to COVID protocols. Currently, we offer a hybrid office model; 3 days in, 2 days work from home.
What was the funding process like?
Valor Equity Partners led our Series A and Series B rounds. The funding process required a well-developed operating model and business plan, building upon the product market fit and rapid growth we achieved since the Seed round.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Mission, rapid growth, and team! We are pioneering new health & wellness pet food products and building a community of passionate pet parents through What The Pup, our content portal. Our team is nothing short of world class, and their ability to problem solve, react, and adapt is attractive to investors.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We recently launched our new Cod & Salmon Unkibble recipe, and we have a number of exciting partnerships in the pipeline! Our priorities in Q2 and Q3 include hiring, scaling our supply chain, and improving the overall customer experience on our website.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Stay hungry, be persistent, and network network network! Raising capital is a relationship business developed over months and years.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are focused on further developing our health & wellness product platform by launching new categories and expanding our existing portfolio of Fresh, Unkibble, and Snacks.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC?
Sweetgreen and Naya are our go-to spots in NYC for lunch!
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