When Renaldo Webb began researching which foods would work for his dog Winston with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the results were dismal. He found that most of the products on the market would not only aggravate his pet’s condition, but could lead to other health issues. For years Webb worked as a business analyst helping pet food companies keep up with the demand for their premium pet products for consumers, so he had first-hand knowledge of what was really going into the meals.
“While I was on the factory floor, I saw all the ingredients go into what was supposed to premium kibble, but they were anything but that,” Webb told ESSENCE. “What was actually being put into the food were the four D’s: dead, dying, diseases and disabled animal parts. Pretty much scraps of the human food chain. Think cows that have mad cow disease or cancer that you’re not allowed to feed the people, is what ends up in pet food.”
Fed up with the lack of healthy options, Webb started to cook for his dog, leading to his knowledge of the power of whole food nutrition.
“From that point on, I realized that there are pet parents across the country that would want the same things for their dogs,” Webb said. “Whether their dogs are suffering with some of the similar ailments that my first dog was suffering with, or they were dealing with the dog being a picky eater or themselves, were very passionate about what they put in their bodies and wanted to do the same for their pets. So, that was really the thesis and the motivation for me to launch PetPlate.”
Ever the animal lover and curious scientist, he took his knowledge of the industry and founded the company in 2016, a subscription-based data-driven startup that curates healthy meals for dogs based on their physical needs. It’s essentially the Hello Fresh for canines.
To date, the company has raised more than $21 million in funding but the road was bumpy along the way.
“In the beginning I cooked and hand delivered the meals from my bike,” Webb shared. “But I didn’t much care about the hard work because I knew the end goal would be worth it.”
As a Black founder, Webb is a unicorn in the $147 billion pet food industry that has largely been dominated by non-minorities and geared towards marketing to white consumers.
“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,” Webb said. “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.”
An average Black family spends just 0.3 percent of their income on their pets, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Washington Post points out. This could stem from a myriad of reasons including household income, inflation or even cultural values but nonetheless, Webb is focused on promoting inclusive pet nutrition.
“I think overall 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 you see across raises, which is pretty unfortunate,” Webb said. “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.”