Vegdog: German Plant-Based Dog Food Firm Raises $10M After Sales Grow by 66%

Munich-based vegan pet food startup Vegdog has raised €9M ($10.2M) in Series A funding to expand its European presence, after seeing sales hike by 66% in 2024.

While startups working on alternative proteins for humans continue to face fundraising hurdles, those targeting our furry friends are enjoying more success.

Vegdog, known for its wide range of vegan dog food and supplements, has secured €9M ($10.2M) in a Series A round led by the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF VC) and existing investor the Green Generation Fund.

Angel investors Dominique Locher, Attollo SA, and Andrea Skersies, financing platform Select Alternative Investments, and existing shareholder SFO also participated in the round, which took the decade-old company’s total raised to $13.7M.

The investment will be used to expand Vegdog’s footprint across Europe, and comes on the back of a highly successful year for the business, where it reached €10M ($11.4M) in sales in 2024 (a 66% rise from the previous year). Now, it is aiming to achieve a growth rate of up to 80% in the coming years.

Vegdog looks to conquer Europe with the fresh capital

Founded by Tessa Zaune-Figlar and Valerie Henssen, Vegdog’s lineup includes both dry and wet food, snacks, and dietary supplements, which use ingredients like pea protein, lentils, and vegetables. They’re developed in collaboration with veterinarians to ensure high nutritional quality.

Last year, it teamed up with fellow German food tech startup MicroHarvest to roll out Pure Bites, a line of dog treats made from the latter’s biomass-fermented microbial protein.

Its products are available via its website and Amazon in Germany and Austria, as well as Futterhaus, Zoo&Co, and DM Drogerie stores. During Veganuary, they were listed in Aldi Suisse and Hofer in Austria too.

This year, Vegdog is planning to double its workforce, as part of its planned expansion into the entire German, Austrian and Swiss region, as well as the Netherlands. It has a wider European rollout earmarked for 2026.

“Our vision is a world in which healthy dog nutrition is no longer at the expense of other animals or the environment. This financing round enables us to accelerate innovation and growth,” said Henssen, who is co-CEO of the company alongside Zaune-Figlar. “The bigger Vegdog is, the greater our impact on dog health and animal welfare.”

Vegdog says it will use the capital to refine its production process, scale its operations across Europe, and explore new blends that address diverse dietary needs across different canine breeds and life stages.

“As consumer demand for ethical and environmentally friendly products rises, VEGDOG is well-positioned to challenge the status quo for the European pet food industry,” said Mathias Brink Lorenz, investment director at ECBF.

Pet food bucks the alternative protein trend

The investment in Vegdog contrasts with what has otherwise been a tough landscape for plant-based food companies, which raised 64% less money in 2024 than the year before.

That said, alternative pet food has enjoyed a fruitful 12 months. The British Veterinary Association has ended its long-standing objection to plant-based dog food, while studies have shown that vegan food is the most effective measure to cut the climate footprint of cats and dogs.

Meanwhile, the UK became the first country where consumers could buy cultivated meat for their cats and dogs off the shelves, while Germany’s Marsapet rolled out a kibble product for dogs using Calysta’s gas-fermented FeedKind protein in Europe.

British vegan pet food maker The Pack was acquired by Prefera Petfood, and fellow London-based startup Omni saw sales shoot up by 130% with 20,000 new customers in the three months after securing an investment from Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden on Dragons’ Den.

Elsewhere, one US startup has conducted feeding trials in pursuit of regulatory approval in the US, and California’s Friends & Family Pet Food Co has inked two deals to launch stateside and in Singapore.

And last month, Meatly made several breakthroughs to dramatically lower the costs of its cultivated chicken for pets, and BioCraft Pet Food revealed that its mouse meat generates 92% fewer emissions than conventional beef.