This animal lover is shattering glass ceilings in the pet food industry.
Renaldo Webb needed solutions for Winston, his dog who was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While working as a business analyst for pet food brands, Webb learned that a lot of them did the opposite of providing pets with a proper diet. As a result, he began to educate himself on whole food nutrition and started making his own dog food, which soon grew into PetPlate. According to Webb, his company is committed to quality, safety, science, and exceptional taste while providing inclusive pet nutrition.
The devoted pet owner said, “I think in the overall space, given the fact that having a pet, just like having a child, is expensive, there are some stats that kind of get skewed based on the general income disparities, which is pretty unfortunate.”
Pet supplies add up quickly and quality food is not always readily available. Webb started PetPlate delivering meals on his bike; today, it’s a subscription-based service that brings healthy pet food to customers’ doorsteps nationwide!
“We’re really focused on getting human grade nutrition in the hands of folks that may not be able to afford our current, standard, fresh-cooked products. That’s something that we always think about. But I think at first we’re trying to approach the problem of realizing that there are many pet parents that look exactly like me, and our goal is to make sure that they know that there’s space for them and products for them developed by folks that look like them as well, which I think is just important. We love our pets like family. It’s time to show that love through their food.”
PetPlate has been a huge success! A Black pioneer in the $147 billion pet food industry, he’s secured more than $21 million in funding and delivered over 15 million meals and treats to dogs all over the country.
“I think that representation matters, right? And a lot of times when you look at the marketing materials used and how some of these pet companies are looking to speak to their consumers, they may not really resonate in some ways with folks of our color. We’ve really tried to take a different approach on that in PetPlate in terms of the folks that we have on staff, the things we talk about, and the things we highlight in our marketing material.”
We can’t wait to see what else he has in store for our fur babies. Congratulations, Mr. Webb!
Photo: PetPlate