Sprinkle on top: The 1% has a new premium dog food brand

The pet food aisle has never been more crowded, which is why Hillary Coles says she was skeptical when Atomic Labs called.

“I had the same reaction as you,” Coles said when he called me on Monday afternoon, the day before his new company. The Golden Childis open for business. “It certainly can’t be what people need.”

Coles co-founded Hims & Hers with Andrew Dudum, Jack Abraham and Joe Spector in 2016 and spent seven years overseeing brand, physical products and consumer strategy there before taking a year and a half off to have children. He describes himself as the “first human consumer” who happened to be in the healthcare field. Dog food wasn’t on the “bingo card,” as he put it.

The pitch that won it was rooted less in dog food than methodology. Atomic, the startup studio founded by Abraham, runs what it calls “painted door tests”—light experiments designed to discover what consumers actually do, not what they want. When Atomic conducted these trials in the pet food space, the interest was clear. The team then examined 11,000 reviews of existing fresh dog food products and found recurring complaints: discomfort, dogs getting sick, and food that was difficult to prepare and serve. “We started peeling the onion,” Coles said.

He and his co-founder Quentin Lacornerie claim what they’ve found is an industry that hasn’t innovated in nearly 12 years — a claim that strains credibility no matter how you consider it. crowded into the premium and human-grade segment – but they say it’s linked to 11,000 customer reviews that show persistent complaints about the fresh food options available, while dramatically changing the expectations of people who feed their dogs.

Lacornerie, who was part of Hims & Hers’ founding team and led its personal development strategy, says there are many parallels to the company’s early days. “Wellness outperformed Big Pharma by 4x market cap,” he said. Pet parents who take collagen for joint health, read ingredient labels and watch their nutrition increasingly want the same rigor to be applied to what goes into their dogs’ bowls.

Golden Child currently offers two “five-star” direct-to-consumer products: a fresh-frozen food system and, more interestingly, a “drizzle” – a liquid topper that can be added to whatever the dog is already eating. A bottle of Drizzle retails for $19.95. The feed system starts at $3 a day and is primarily sold by subscription, though a starter box is available for people who want to take things easy.

Rain is a newer idea and probably higher margin. I asked Coles if the company was considering focusing on this product. “Like all entrepreneurs, we have many opportunities to build worlds,” he replied. “This is only the first shot.”

Lacornerie, the food itself, is made in multiple manufacturing facilities in the U.S. using human-level supply chains—a harder thing to set up than it looks. The recipes were developed by a PhD in animal nutrition; Megan Sparkle is one of only about 80 board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the country; and (naturally) a classically trained chef, one with working relationships with Ina Garten and Guy Fieri, says Lacornerie.

The company has also developed what it calls a “protein block,” a way to deliver chicken and beef with an improved amino acid profile that standard cuts of meat don’t provide, Coles says.

Golden Child is announcing $37 million in funding today as it comes under wraps – a round and a Series A led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Atomic and A-Star. That’s a reasonable amount for a dog food company, but Lacornerie says getting it right requires real experts who don’t just pack it. Indeed, among the company’s 12 employees, and nutritionists and a chef, all are on staff, not consultants.

The brand name is broad in design. When asked if the Golden Boy could eventually have access to shampoos, travel gear, even veterinary care — getting medicine for a dog is a bureaucratic headache of its own — Coles didn’t deny it. “There’s a lot of interest and excitement from pet parents to involve their dog in all areas of his life,” she said. The goal is to eventually gain a foothold as a household brand, not just a food company.

Atomic has had notable successes, along with some stumbles. Now 10 years old, Hims & Hers is a public company with a market cap of nearly $7 billion. OpenStore, an e-commerce conglomerate founded in 2021 by Abraham and venture investor Keith Rabois, tells a different story: it recently shut down after years of coverage and more than $150 million in venture funding.