Vegan pet food brand Wild Earth secured a $550,000 investment from Mark Cuban during a March 18 Shark Tank TV show appearance. He made the investment for two reasons: his belief in technological solutions to modernity’s challenges, and his concerns for environmental sustainability.
Ryan Bethencourt, the CEO and co-founder of Wild Earth, said they are prototyping the dog food and gearing up to release its treats. The main ingredient in its treats is koji, a fungi superfood, which is its lab-grown protein that includes the 10 essential amino acids that dogs need, according to the company.
Source: Livekindly, March 18, 2019. Link.Cuban joins Felicis Ventures, Mars Petcare, VegInvest, Stray Dog Capital, Founders Fund, Blue Horizon and Thiel Capital in supporting the pet start-up, which has already raised $4 million.
There’s an enormous potential market for lower-cost, sustainable protein to feed the growing worldwide pet population and Wild Earth is now the alpha dog in this space.” – Mark Cuban
Source: CNBC, March 18, 2019. Link. Kevin O’Leary, skeptical of the valuation, said he was out — along with Lori Greiner and guest judge Matt Higgins.
Source: ABC, March 17, 2019. Link. Stream the broadcast here depending on your providers. The Wild Earth footage begins at 12:35 minutes into the recording.
INSIGHTS: For more information, visit the Wild Earth website <link>. The Good Protein Dog Snacks with Koji were offered on a BOGO for a few days following the airing of the TV show.