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Ollie Announces $4.4 Million Seed Round

2016-10-05
NEW YORK, NY, Ollie has announced a $4.4 million seed round co-led by Primary Ventures and Lerer Hippeau Ventures, with participation from Canaan Partners.
Ollie, the brand delivering more nutritious food for pets, announces the launch of its line of fresh food made with real, human-grade ingredients for dogs to provide the exact nutrition they need. Starting today, pet parents can sign up on the Ollie website to have freshly made food delivered to their door, complete with nutritional information and a tailored feeding plan for their dog.

Founders Alex Douzet, Gabby Slome and Randy Jimenez shared a love of athletics, health, wellness, and of course dogs. They conceptualized the idea with seasoned entrepreneur and investor Ben Sun, who runs NYC-based venture capital firm Primary Venture Partners and who was among the first investors in unicorn ecommerce giants Jet.com and Coupang. Primary helped them incubate Ollie when Alex and Gabby realized their recent rescue dogs were both suffering from weight gain and there wasn't a convenient alternative to overly processed kibble or canned food.

Additionally, Ollie announces a $4.4 million seed round co-led by Primary Ventures and Lerer Hippeau Ventures with participation from Canaan Partners, and others. The funding will be used to further build out Ollie's product line, expand the team and continue to create the best possible experience for customers and their pets.

'The $25 billion pet food market is growing every day, but has long been plagued with issues of massive recalls, poor ingredients, and lack of transparency,' said Alex Douzet, co-founder and CEO of Ollie. 'After extensive research and understanding what really goes into the food that the majority of dogs eat, we saw a huge opportunity to improve what we feed our pets in a healthy, sustainable way. By addressing many of the misconceptions people have about over-the-shelf mass market kibble and canned food, we can help pets live better, longer lives and develop richer bonds with their families.'

'Dogs eat the same thing every day, which makes it even more important for them to get exactly the right nutrition with every meal,' said Gabby Slome, co-founder and CXO of Ollie. 'As pet parents, we learned first hand that the industry perpetuates opaque feeding guidelines, which means we could be feeding our dogs twice as many calories than they actually need. In order to tackle this issue, we assembled the best possible team of veterinary nutritionists, technologists, and coupled that with extensive industry and product formulation research to set a new standard for what we should feed our pets. By leveraging data and technology, we can ensure the food portions match the exact needs of individual pets so they maintain the ideal weight for healthier lives.'

The Food
Ollie's recipes are vet-formulated and gently cooked to preserve the right amount of nutrients. Made using 98% natural, human-grade ingredients and 2% supplements, the food is fairly sourced and prepared in a USDA inspected and FDA regulated facility, alongside human food that is sold at top tier retailers. Ollie's chicken and beef recipes are full of the vitamins and amino acids that dogs need and are missing from most human-grade pet food.

The Process
Every pet is put on a tailored program to account for allergies, health-concerns, their weight and activity, as well as age and size. Ollie delivers weekly or bi-weekly in a package which contains your pet's food, a tailored nutrition and feeding plan, and other tips for how to keep your dog healthy. Using customer data and feedback, Ollie constantly updates its formulas to ensure that each pet is always getting exactly the right portion, ingredients, and food for them.

Once cooked and refrigerated, the freshly made food is then shipped to your door within two days. Ollie also has flexible shipping options to account for multiple addresses, vacations, and last-minute changes seamlessly, while eliminating the need for any rushed trips to the store.

'Far beyond a group of accomplished entrepreneurs, Ollie is a team of passionate pet owners, health advocates, and athletes driven by the demands of pet owners who want a convenient way to give their pets much better food. We are proud to have been a part of this journey from the very beginning, and we see a bright future ahead for Ollie,' said Ben Sun of Primary Venture Partners.

About Ollie
Ollie delivers pets the exact nutrition they need with fresh food made with real, human-grade ingredients. Gently cooked and prepared in a USDA inspected and FDA regulated facility, Ollie meals are vet-formulated and made with carefully and thoughtfully sourced ingredients that pets love and with the nutrients they need. Ollie makes it convenient for pet parents to give their pets nutritious, freshly made food by bringing the food right to their door, complete with instructions, nutritional information, and a tailored feeding plan. Ollie was started by a group of founders with a love for animals and the belief that all pet parents should feel proud about what they're feeding their pets. For more information, please visit myollie.com
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