BETHLEHEM, Pa., Oct. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Pet Innovation Challenge, hosted by Factory and sponsored by New Hope Network, took place in Bethlehem, PA on October 2nd and 3rd. Hundreds of attendees, including entrepreneurs, investors, pet industry experts and local community members, gathered to highlight innovative and emerging pet health brands and tackle some of the pet health industry’s biggest challenges.
The first night of the event included a live pitch slam, where ten pre-selected pet health brands competed for the attention of investors and over $50,000 worth of prizes. TEEF, a drinkable dental prebiotic for dogs, won the pitch slam competition, with Chippin, the “Beyond Meat of Pet Food” and Because Animals, a biotechnology company creating pet food made with cultured meat, coming in second and third place respectively.
Celebrity veterinarian and animal health expert Dr. Katy Nelson opened the second day of the event, which focused on finding real-time solutions to the biggest problems that each of the ten presenting brands are facing in their missions to disrupt the global pet care industry.
“We’re excited we were able to bring cutting-edge entrepreneurs, industry leaders and investors to Factory to ideate solutions for some of the challenges the entrepreneurs are facing,” said Rich Thompson, Managing Partner of Factory, LLC. “All of the companies walked away with some actionable steps to help them grow their businesses.”
The success of this event highlights the growing start-up culture of Bethlehem, PA, and a shift in the pet care industry toward smaller, artisan brands. “The Pet Innovation Challenge demonstrated that innovation is thriving in the global pet products industry and that the same consumer-driven trends fueling opportunity in the broader CPG market—such as growing demand for personalization and sustainable protein sources—are driving pet products innovation as well,” says Carlotta Mast, market leader for New Hope Network. “This event, which was designed to allow entrepreneurs to solicit support and ideas from the pet products and CPG community to help them address a business challenge, also demonstrated the deep expertise and generous spirit of the industry leaders gathered.”
About Factory
Factory is a team of experienced operators with $250M of investable capital who acquire meaningful equity stakes in high potential food, beverage and pet health companies, and partner with them to rapidly build value. Factory’s 31 team members have expertise in sales, marketing, product development, food science, manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, logistics, package engineering, food safety, consumer insights, social media, finance, and legal. Factory is based in a one-of-a kind, custom-built, 40,000 sq. ft. innovation and scale-up facility in Bethlehem PA, where the team is able to provide partner companies with support and resources so invested capital can be used for growth, not SG&A.
About New Hope Network
New Hope Network, by Informa Markets, is at the forefront of the healthy lifestyle products industry. With solutions for the complete supply chain from manufacturers, retailers/distributors, service providers and ingredient suppliers, the network offers a robust portfolio of content, events, data, research and consultative services. Through its mission of growing healthy markets to bring more health to more people, New Hope Network helps businesses identify the people, products, partnerships and trends that create better opportunities and connections. For more information visit www.newhope.com.