Dogged determination breeds 1.5m meal pet food empire

A young entrepreneur wanted an alternative to the supermarket pet food that seemed to be making her dog sick. Here’s what she did.

Anna Podolsky gave up a lucrative career with Bain & Co after realising there had to be an alternative to the supermarket pet food that was making her border collie Lyka ill.

Three years later and the 29-year-old is at the helm of a multimillion-dollar pet food company named after Lyka that has home delivered more than 1.5 million freshly cooked meals to pooches around the country.

The former Brisbane woman uses human-grade meat and vegetables in the company’s products as opposed to highly processed traditional pet food which she claims has increased cancer rates and other diseases among pets.

Lyka Pet Food recently attracted $6.5m in a capital raising including from Wattle Hill Capital, Shearwater Capital and Petbarn founder Paul Wilson as it continues to expand into the lucrative $2.8bn pet food market in Australia.

Lyka plans to use the funds to expand its distribution network and increase capacity at its Sydney facility where the meals are made in consultation with co-founder and veterinarian Dr Matthew Muir. The company employs about 50 people, with numbers set to increase.

Ms Podolsky said about 80 per cent of pets in Australia continue to be fed processed food that can legally contain diseased animals and blood.

Anna Podolsky with a friendly pooch.

“Traditional pet food is cooked at very high temperatures, which not only destroys the nutrients but creates carcinogens,” she said. “We cook our food using human grade meat and `vegetables at lower temperatures.”

IBISWorld analyst Blair Li said consumers were increasingly seeking out high-quality products for their pets, with manufacturers responding by releasing “gourmet varieties” including olive oil kibble for cats and grain-free products for dogs. Mars Wrigley is the market leader in Australia with the Pedigree, Whiskas and Royal Canin range.

Ms Podolsky said that since processed pet food became popularised in the 1960s, the life span of several dog breeds had been reduced by up to 40 per cent, putting them at higher risk of cancer and other health issues.

“In some breeds, the risk of cancer has been increased by as much as 60 per cent,” Ms Podolsky said. “People should not try and normalise their pet’s condition so if they have digestive issues, gas or itchy skin there could be a dietary factor.”

She said her career with Bain & Co took her to five different countries with dog Lyka, including the US, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

“As I travelled around with her, I found her health was deteriorating,” she said. “So I started to cook food for her myself and her health improved remarkably. She is now 12 years old and people remark on how young she looks.”

Lyka has just launched a healthy snack product for dogs with further plans to expand its range over the coming years.

Lyka co-founders Anna Podolsky, Matthew Muir and Lyka. Source: Supplied.

“Just as there has been a move away from processed food in humans the same thing will happen with pets,” she said.

The latest wave of Covid-19 lockdowns had increased demand for its range of turkey, beef, chicken and lamb meals that were delivered frozen and cost on average $4.50 a day.

“That is the cost of a cup of coffee,” said Podolsky. “Demand for our products is being driven by the humanising of our pets. Dogs are like family so it’s only fair they eat like us too.”

Originally published as Dogged determination breeds 1.5m meal pet food empire