HelloFresh launched The Pets Table to sell fresh, human-grade dog food by subscription

Premium pet food brand from the meal-kit company, delivering human-grade fresh and air-dried dog recipes to customers' doors

HelloFresh's direct-to-consumer subscription model, technology, manufacturing and marketing can transfer to a recurring, bulky purchase like dog food

HelloFresh, a prepared meal-kit company, launched The Pets Table as it diversified into a new category. CEO Laurent Guillemain said the brand leverages HelloFresh's direct-to-consumer expertise, especially subscriptions, plus its technology, manufacturing and marketing, and that subscriptions suit pet food because it is a recurring, bulky purchase.

The Pets Table offers minimally processed, low-heat-cooked, human-grade recipes for dogs, delivered like HelloFresh meals. In the near term it focuses on scaling operations and gathering customer feedback, with treats and other adjacent products planned later. Axios noted competing startups such as Maev, Bond Pet Foods and Bundle x Joy had raised venture funding, but also that fresh pet food faces margin pressure, citing Freshpet and its activist investor Jana Partners pushing for a sale.

About 51% of pet owners consider their pets human family members, per Pew Research cited by Axios

Human-grade dog food startups had taken off, showing demand

Pet food is a recurring, bulky purchase that suits a subscription model

HelloFresh's existing logistics, manufacturing and marketing could be reused

A subscription-meal company extends into pet food because its logistics and subscription machinery transfer; the thin-margin fresh pet food category is the risk Axios flagged.

As of 2023-08-01, The Pets Table had launched with four dog food plans and planned to focus on scaling and customer feedback before adding treats.