Top tip: new premium dog food brand comes in at 1%

The pet food industry has never been more crowded, which is why Hillary Coles says she was skeptical when Atomic Labs came calling.

“I had the same reaction you did,” Coles said over the phone Monday afternoon, a day before his new company, Golden Child, opened for business. “That’s really not going to be what people need.”

Coles founded Hims & Hers with Andrew Dudum, Jack Abraham, and Joe Spector back in 2016 and spent seven years directing brand, body products, and consumer strategy before taking a year and a half off to have her children. He describes himself as a “consumer first person” who came into the health care space. Dog food was not on the “bingo card,” as he put it.

The voice that won him was less focused on dog food and more on the way to work. Atomic, the startup studio Abraham founded, conducts what it calls “painted door testing” – lightweight tests designed to reveal what consumers will actually do, not just what they say they want. When Atomic ran those tests in the pet food space, the interest was clear. The team then studied 11,000 reviews of existing new dog food products and found recurring complaints: discomfort, dog sickness, food that felt like a chore to prepare and serve. “We started peeling onions,” said Coles.

Their findings, he and his co-founder Quentin Lacornerie argue, an industry that has not been established for almost 12 years – a claim that suppresses enthusiasm, given how crowded the segment of premium and population level – but which they say is linked to 11,000 customer reviews that show continuous complaints about the existing food of the expected dogs.

Lacornerie, who was part of Hims & Hers’ founding team and spent years leading its personal growth strategy, says there are many similarities to that company’s early days. “Wellness has surpassed Big Pharma by 4x in market share,” he said. Pet parents who take collagen for joint health, read ingredient labels, and consistently track their diet want the same consistency in what goes in their dog’s bowl.

Golden Child is introducing two “five-star” direct-to-consumer products right now: a new frozen food system and, more interestingly, “drizzle” — a solid liquid topper that can be added to whatever the dog is already eating, whether that’s Golden Child food, kibble, or something else. Drizzle costs $19.95 a bottle. The meal plan starts at $3 a day and is sold primarily by subscription, although the first box is available for people who want to be free from the relationship.

Drizzle is a very new idea and, perhaps, high margin. I asked Coles if the company had considered focusing on that product. “Like all entrepreneurs, we have many opportunities to build the world,” he replied. “This is just the first inning.”

The food itself is made in the US across multiple manufacturing facilities, using human supply chains — something that’s harder to establish than it sounds, Lacornerie said. The recipes were developed by a PhD in animal nutrition; Megan Sparkle, one of approximately 80 board-certified veterinarians in the country; and (naturally) a professional chef, with working relationships with Ina Garten and Guy Fieri, says Lacornerie.

The company has also developed what it calls a “protein block,” a way to deliver chicken and beef with an improved amino acid profile that only standard cuts of meat offer, Coles said.

Golden Child is announcing a total funding of $37 million today as it exits a seed round and Series A led by Redpoint Ventures, with Atomic and A-Star also participating. That’s a reasonable price for a dog food company, but Lacornerie says doing it right requires real professionals who can just call you. Indeed, among the company’s 12 employees, nutritionists and chefs are all employees, not consultants.

The brand name is broad in design. When I asked if Golden Child might eventually expand into shampoos, travel supplies, and even some form of vet access — getting a dog medication is its biggest headache — Coles didn’t deny it. “There is a lot of interest and excitement from pet parents to involve their dogs in all aspects of their lives,” she said. The goal, ultimately, is to find a place as a household brand, not just a food company.

Atomic has had some notable successes and some stumbles. Hims & Hers, now 10 years old, is a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of approximately $7 billion. OpenStore, an e-commerce roll-up founded in 2021 by Abraham and business investor Keith Rabois, tells a different story: after years of splashy installations and more than $150 million in funding, it has just closed.