TV vet Joe Inglis is seeking seed investment for his latest venture – a platform devoted to home-prepared meals for pets that involves the development of a high-tech kitchen gadget.
The co-founder of subscription pet food brand tails.com has now launched VetChef in response to the burgeoning fresh-feeding movement, which is based on the premise that home-prepared meals are best for pets.
“Joe was among the first to spot the potential of personalised pet nutrition when in 2014 he established tails.com, which Nestle Purina made a majority stake investment in four years later.”
Now his latest VetChef venture is a smart web app that syncs to an automated, all-in-one, time-saving kitchen pet food maker, which is currently in development.
Joe said: “There is a revolution under way among pet owners around the world with up to a quarter of them – an estimated 200million globally – feeding fresh food.
“They’re increasingly concerned about what a diet of ultra-processed kibbles and wet food does to our pet companions.
“Through 15 years building successful brands in the commercial pet food world, I have an extensive understanding of what goes into these products and I have now come to share these concerns.
“As humans, we’re constantly reminded of the health risks associated with processed foods. Why then would we expose our pets to these same dangers?”
Joe is well-known on the nation’s TV screens. After starring in BBC documentary Vets In Practice for seven years he went on to become Blue Peter’s resident vet as well as regularly appearing on The One Show, This Morning and Daybreak.
VetChef’s AI-powered web platform uses Joe’s expertise in nutrition to create bespoke menu plans based on individual pet profiles, lifestyle data, owner preferences and feedback.
These menus will then be synced to the VetChef pet food maker, which provides an all-in-one solution that weighs, chops and cooks the nutritionally-balanced meals.
Joe adds: “VetChef provides a simple, straightforward means for pet owners to care for their animals better.
“We’re currently at an incredibly exciting point in the development of this platform and we’re now ready to welcome early-stage investors to help us drive this process forwards.
“Initial investment will allow us to refine the technology and continue to develop working prototypes of our all-in-one kitchen pet food maker.”
