Edgard & Cooper

Last updated
Edgard & Cooper
Edgard & Cooper Logo.png
Product type Healthy pet food
Owner General Mills
CountryBelgium
Introduced2016
MarketsInternational
Website Official website

Edgard & Cooper is a Belgian brand of pet food sold internationally, and a subsidiary of General Mills. Introduced in 2016 as a sustainable challenger to traditional pet food, the brand's products are available for cats and dogs. Current products include wet food, dry food, snacks and dental products. The brand sells both direct-to-consumer and in brick and mortar retail, and is a B Corp, having been acquired by General Mills in early 2024.

Contents

History

Edgard & Cooper was founded by Louis Chalabi, Koen Bostoen and Jürgen Degrande in 2016 with the stated mission of creating an alternative pet food to challenge the use of lower-quality ingredients in the pet food industry. [1] [2] The company was named after Chalabi and Bostoen's dogs, Edgard and Cooper. [3]

It launched its dog food domestically in March 2016, before expanding to France and the Netherlands. [4] The company can be observed as part of a wave of 'challenger brands' to traditional consumer packaged goods, as an alternative to traditional highly processed pet food. [5] [6] [3] [7] [4] It is a B Corp, and has funded research critical of ingredients in traditional mass market pet food in the past. [8] [9] [10] [11]

By 2020, the brand was selling 200,000 meals per day, and by 2022 had scaled to 185 employees. [12] [4] It expanded its product offering from solely dog food to also include cat kibble in 2019. [13]

Markets

As of 2020, Edgard & Cooper sold direct-to-consumer in Belgium as well as in retail. [5] The brand listed with Fressnapf in early 2020, and was unveiled in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Republic of Ireland. By late 2020, the brand was active in 14 countries in Europe with offices in Kortrijk alongside London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Rotterdam and Düsseldorf. [12] [3] [14] [15]

In 2020, the brand took on £16.5m from The Craftory, and DLF Ventures. [5] [12] [16] They closed a second round of €20 million in 2023. [17] [18]

Products

Edgard & Cooper's first product for dogs was launched in 2016, before expanding to cats in 2019. [19] [4] The company launched two plant-based dog food lines in 2021, and in 2022 launched a plant-based cat food line. [20] [7] Current products include dry and wet dog and cat food, as well as various treats and dental products. [21] [5] [19] [4] [12] [22]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friskies</span> American brand of cat food and treats

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Craftory</span>

The Craftory is a British-American venture capital fund headquartered in Piccadilly, London, and also based in San Francisco. Launched in early 2018 by Ernesto Schmitt and Elio Leoni Sceti as an alternative to traditional venture capital, it focuses on cause-driven investment in the consumer goods sector, investing in companies that positively impact the categories they serve. As of 2022, The Craftory has more than $600 million in permanent, early stage and growth capital to back 'challenger brands'. The company is the first UK based B Corp fund, and in 2020 Forbes characterised the company as investing in companies 'disrupting the planet for good'.

References

  1. ↑ Periódico, El (2023-06-28). "La marca de comida natural para perros que utiliza solo carne y pescado frescos, frutas y verduras". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  2. ↑ "Edgard & Cooper "They are what they eat" by We Are Pi". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Nelson, Samantha (2023-04-26). "This Challenger Brand Aims to Shake Up the Pet Food Category". Adweek . Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Geen kat in een zak". Sterck Magazine (in Flemish). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  5. 1 2 3 4 De Roo, Marc (2020). "Edgard & Cooper expands dog kibble range". De Tijd .
  6. ↑ "Le Love derrière l'esprit d'entreprise de Koen Bostoen". Belfius (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  7. 1 2 "Edgard & Cooper raises €20 million in latest funding round | Pet Food Processing". www.petfoodprocessing.net. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  8. ↑ Publicista, El (2023-06-27). "Edgard & Cooper presenta su 'comida de verdad para amigos de verdad'". elpublicista.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  9. ↑ "Doing Anything for Love - Ad Shows What Pet Owners Endure". 2023-04-26. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  10. ↑ "Thursday Stir". www.adweek.com. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  11. ↑ España, El Periódico de (2023-06-28). "La marca de comida natural para perros que utiliza solo carne y pescado frescos, frutas y verduras". elperiodicodeespana (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Mattinson, Alec. "Premium dog food brand Edgard & Cooper secures £16.5m to back European growth". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  13. ↑ "Offer your pet junk-free food". The Daily Telegraph . 2023-04-06. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2023-07-07. The brand is eco-friendly, with strong targets to be fully recyclable, renewable or compostable by 2025. It also donates 1 per cent of all sales to charity to help pets around the globe, supporting initiatives such as eradicating rabies from Kabul.
  14. ↑ "Edgard & Cooper unleashes first UK ad campaign". The Drum. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  15. ↑ Selwood, Daniel. "Edgard & Cooper lands Sainsbury's listing for grain-free dogfood". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  16. ↑ BASEKIN, ERTAN (16 Nov 2020). "Miljoenendeal na bezoek in supermarkt". De Telegraaf . Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2023.
  17. ↑ "Edgard & Cooper raises €20 million in latest funding round | Pet Food Processing". www.petfoodprocessing.net. Retrieved 2023-07-07. Edgard & Cooper, a manufacturer of premium dog and cat food, recently closed its funding round with €20 million ($21.71 million USD) in investments. The round was led by The Craftory, a consumer-packaged goods investment fund, and received participation from DLF Venture.
  18. 1 2 Mouse, Simon (2023). "Emily in Paris dog and cat food box raises 20 million euros". L'Echo .
  19. 1 2 Selwood, Daniel. "Edgard & Cooper debuts wet and dry catfood options". The Grocer. Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  20. ↑ "Edgard & Cooper debuts plant-powered dog foods | Pet Food Processing". www.petfoodprocessing.net. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  21. ↑ "Honden spelen hoofdrol in televisiespot Edgard & Cooper". www.gondola.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  22. ↑ Cortés, Marina Ortiz (2023-06-27). "Los chefs Joaquín Serrano y Jorge Velasco, sobre la tendencia gastro vegana: "Bendita moda si incluye la buena cocina"". El Independiente (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  23. ↑ Seguso, Laura (2023-03-16). "Edgard & Cooper petfood punta all'espansione del brand in Europa". Pet Trend (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  24. ↑ "Wat doet een Kortrijks dierenvoedingsmerk plots in Netflix-serie 'Emily in Paris'? "We vielen van onze stoel"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  25. ↑ "Wat doet een Vlaams dierenvoedingsmerk plots in Netflix-serie 'Emily in Paris'? "We vielen van onze stoel"". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Flemish). 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
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