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Pet Nutrition Company Growing in St. Louis, Missouri

  • April 06, 2022

Native Pet, a St. Louis-based pet nutrition company, recently announced plans to add to its team and expand the distribution of its products. Founded in 2017 by longtime friends Dan Schaefer and Pat Barron, Native Pet has developed a range of all-natural and limited-ingredient pet supplements.

“From a business standpoint, we’re in a very good position to look to scale into new sales channels,” Schaefer said.

The growth comes on the heels of a new $6 million investment round, led by CAVU Venture Partners. Native Pet believes its lead investor, CAVU, will be key to its strategy to enhance its branding initiatives.

“That’s the reason why we picked CAVU to lead this round. There was a lot of interest, but we just felt like the CAVU was the perfect partner for us because of their skill set in consumer brands and their ability to scale brands,” Schaefer said.

“With the significant rise in pet ownership over the past two years, today’s pet parents are increasingly focused on the health and well-being of their beloved animals,” said Brett Thomas, Co-Founder of CAVU. “Native Pet is answering the call of modern-day pet owners who are looking beyond traditional kibble to enhance their pet’s well-being with highly nutritious and differentiated products. We are thrilled to partner with Dan and Pat as they reimagine pet nutrition to improve the health and happiness of pets everywhere.”

Since the St. Louis company’s launch, Schaefer said it has emphasized research and development efforts to build out its product line. It now plans to use its new funding to better market itself and further penetrate the market with its products.

“What this money is going to allow us to do is really push our storytelling, our brand awareness and get Native Pet out into the market in a way that we haven’t been able to before,” Schaefer said.

The pet supplement market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% between 2021 and 2028 to become a $2.32 billion segment, according to a report from Grand View Research.

In addition to expanding its product line and distribution, Native Pet expects to use its funding to expand its headcount, which currently includes 10 employees. The company, which is headquartered in Downtown West, plans to add up to six additional employees this year.

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