Omni Raises £1.1M to Feed Dogs Better With Plant-Based Nutrition

Omni, a UK pet nutrition company, has raised £1.1 million to develop and scale its range of plant-based dog food products. The company produces nutritionally complete dog food formulated from plant-based protein sources, designed to meet dogs' full dietary requirements without the environmental cost of conventional meat-based pet food — which, at scale, represents a significant contributor to the global food system's carbon and land use footprint.

Pet food is a larger contributor to environmental impact than most pet owners realise. Dogs and cats in the UK and US consume an enormous quantity of meat-derived protein each year, much of it from the same supply chains that produce human food. The production of meat for pet food — including the land, water, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock farming — accounts for a significant fraction of the total environmental footprint of pet ownership. As consumers have become more aware of the environmental cost of their own diets and have sought out plant-based alternatives, a growing segment has begun applying the same thinking to what they feed their pets.

The scientific case for plant-based dog food is stronger than many pet owners assume. Dogs are omnivores rather than obligate carnivores (unlike cats), and are nutritionally capable of thriving on well-formulated plant-based diets that provide all the essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals they need. The key challenge in plant-based pet food formulation is ensuring complete and balanced nutrition: achieving the correct profile of essential amino acids, adequate levels of omega fatty acids, and appropriate vitamin and mineral content without relying on meat as the primary input. Omni's formulations are developed with veterinary nutritionist input and are designed to meet the same nutritional standards as conventional dog food.

The funding will be used to develop new product formats and flavour variants, expand distribution through pet retail channels and online, and invest in the veterinary and nutritional science that underpins Omni's product claims.

Sources

• Omni — company website