Tortured by the tantalizing smells of our own fresh-cooked meals, dogs will go to just about any length to get a bite of whatever you’re having. And who can blame them? But human food is often unhealthy for dogs, tempting or not. Which human foods are safe to serve your dog? What should the portion size be? Feeding dogs human food is tricky business, because we all want our dogs to eat a nutritionally balanced diet that is just right for them.
PetPlate Founder Renaldo Webb began cooking for his dog himself because of concerns about the ingredients in the kibble his dog Winston was eating, coupled with Winston’s sensitive stomach. Webb’s background as a consultant in the pet food industry exposed him to some of the “dirty secrets” in the industry. For example, some manufacturers overprocess foods and add various “palatants”—ingredients that make pets want to eat the product. These palatants may range from a smelly chemical usually found in rotting meat (yuck!) to a flavoring agent called sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP), which is commonly added to potatoes to stop them from discoloring after cooking.
He knew he wasn’t the only pet parent concerned about kibble. Webb explains, “I started working with our veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Renee Streeter, to expand on the meals she developed for my dog Winston. I started making meals for my clients in a commercial kitchen. I bootstrapped the business initially and would show up every day to the commercial kitchen to make our human-grade meals and then bike to deliver them to our small customer base. We’ve since been able to scale exponentially and now deliver to every zip code around the country to tens of thousands of pet parents.”
Veterinarian Cuisine
Formulated by Dr. Renee Streeter (DVM, DACVN), the company’s fresh-cooked meals offer a complete and balanced diet with a taste that dogs love. Every meal is perfectly portioned to meet a dog’s nutritional needs, and each recipe is made with human-grade ingredients in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) kitchen, following the same food safety protocols used for human food. Being certified as a USDA facility means PetPlate adheres to the strictest regulations to ensure the foods it produces and consume every day are of the highest food quality. PetPlate chefs prepare and cook the meals in USDA kitchens, the same way human food is made. Every meal produced is hot-filled to ensure safety and flash-frozen to lock in freshness.
“I bootstrapped the business initially and would show up every day to the commercial kitchen to make our human-grade meals and then bike to deliver them to our small customer base.” — Renaldo Webb
PAW Patrol Approved
This past summer, PetPlate collaborated with Paramount Pictures to celebrate the launch of “PAW Patrol: The Movie,” produced by Spin Master Entertainment. Throughout the summer, PetPlate delivered its meals to hungry pups looking for adventure in the first-time execution of co-branded, special edition, movie-themed boxes featuring the “PAW Patrol: The Movie” logo, characters and a QR code that unlocked the movie trailer.
The partnership was an ideal match. “We help dogs live longer, healthier, happier lives through better nutrition,” said Webb. “I can think of no better way to showcase the energy that our food provides our furry friends than to team up with the most heroic dogs of all, the PAW Patrol.”
Improving Relationships is the Goal
Webb is no stranger to Hollywood, having made his TV debut on “Shark Tank” in 2016, plus a follow-up appearance with his team in 2018, catapulting the direct-to-consumer brand to nationwide popularity.
But fame is not what Renaldo Webb is seeking. His mission at PetPlate is simple: to enable longer, deeper, and more meaningful relationships between people and their dogs. “We do this through exceptional quality human-grade dog food that is rooted in veterinary science,” he explains. “I’d say our stance on being truly human-grade (our ingredients and supply chain) set us apart, as well as the lengths we go to in crafting our food— from the finest ingredients to our humanizing packaging.”
PetPlate’s kettle cooked meals are proven to win over even the pickiest dogs. “Because we only use premium ingredients you’d feed your family,” Webb says, “our food is far more digestible than the average fresh pet food.” Its packaging also helps owners portion meals by making clear exactly how much to feed your pup to keep him in a healthy weight range. And it’s BPA free and recyclable!
Pet parents can order meals for their dog at petplate.com.
