Barkyn, a European subscription service for pets that combines food with tele-vet services, has raised a further €3 million ($3.6 million) from food tech investor Five Seasons Ventures, extending its previous Series A to €8 million, and total funds raised to date to €10 million. Five Seasons Ventures joins previous investors Indico Capital Partners, All Iron Ventures, Portugal Ventures and Shilling Capital. Barkyn is in the same space as Tails, acquired by Nestlé, and Butternut Box from the U.K., which has raised $28 million.
Launched in 2017, the Portuguese startup currently serves customers in Portugal, Spain and Italy, and is aiming to be a key “pet wellness” brand for Southern Europe.
Barkyn says its subscription service offers “healthy food using fresh meat” plus a dedicated remote online veterinarian. It says personalizing the food to match the dog’s nutritional needs is part of its attraction for customers. It has also created the “Barkyn Complex”, a trademarked anti-inflammatory supplement for pets, plus a pet insurance product for its customers in Portugal.
André Jordão, Barkyn’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement: “There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to nutrition and what the body needs, and we solve this based on our knowledge, existing products and continued research and development.”
Barkyn is pushing at an open door. It’s widely acknowledged that during the pandemic, pet ownership has gone up across the world as people fought the lockdown blues.
In 2020 Barkyn says it experienced 40% growth each quarter across Southern Europe.
Commenting on the investment in Barkyn, Five Seasons’ founding partner Niccolo Manzoni said: “Barkyn is a unique company within Southern Europe, where the region has higher levels of pet ownership but no inspiring digital pet wellness brands. Combining personalized food with tele-vet services and, in the case of Portugal, insurance, gives customers one destination for the well-being of their pets.”
Speaking to TechCrunch, Jordão said the startup had a shot at overtaking existing pet food brands because it’s “rethinking what the pet market should look like, through technology — building a pet care service and not only a pet food subscription. We’ve developed a 360 holistic experience: a subscription that aligns the best food you could ever give your dog with telemedicine. We’re able to secure a very close relationship while scaling the model.”
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