Customized Fresh Food for Dogs Conquers the Market
Vienna, January 2025 – The Vienna-based startup HelloBello has been making waves in the pet care market since 2021 with its innovative nutrition concept for dogs. The company has already won over numerous dog owners with its freshly cooked, customized, food-grade meals. Despite the challenging economic situation, HelloBello has achieved significant growth in Austria and Germany. Now the company aims to expand into Switzerland and strengthen its distribution network through partners such as selected pet retailers.
The young company has just closed a successful Series A financing round, securing more than €4 million. This substantial influx of capital emphasizes the confidence in HelloBello and its exceptional team. Investors include renowned entrepreneurs such as Michael Hurnaus (founder of Tractive), Johann Hansmann and Hans Peter Haselsteiner. HelloBello is now also supported by aws Gründungsfonds and a Swiss family office, marking an important milestone for growth in new markets and the further development of the product range.
Fresh, Individually Customized Meals for Healthy Dogs
HelloBello offers dog owners a new way of feeding: instead of standardized dry or wet food, they provide freshly cooked, balanced meals. The recipes were developed by specialized veterinarians to meet the complex nutritional needs of dogs. The start-up relies on regional ingredients that are carefully prepared and processed in food quality - without artificial additives, sugar or genetic engineering.
An online feeding advisor developed by HelloBello calculates each dog's individual nutritional needs based on breed, weight, activity level, and special requirements. This ensures every dog gets exactly what they need – conveniently delivered via a subscription service. Since its launch, HelloBello has prepared and delivered nearly two million meals to its customers.
Veterinarian-Tested, Veterinarian-Approved
Veterinarian Eva Schmal-Filius was involved in developing the recipes from the very beginning and is convinced: “Fresh food can make a significant difference to a dog’s health compared to conventional dry or wet food. Individual portion calculations and high-quality ingredients promote optimal nutrition at every stage of life.”
Many dog owners express that they want to give their pets the best but are unsure how to find the right balance. HelloBello removes this uncertainty, ensuring that every dog stays healthy and happy.
The Secret to Success: Innovation and Trust
With a strong focus on quality and transparency in its ingredients, HelloBello resonates with the needs of modern pet owners. The company sources meat exclusively from regional farms in Bavaria and Upper Austria to ensure short transportation routes and ethical animal husbandry. Even the vegetables come from local suppliers.
Markus Jandrinitsch, Managing Director of aws Gründungsfonds, emphasizes: “At HelloBello, we were not only impressed by the compelling figures but also by the high quality and sustainability standards the founding team applies to their products. With their range of fresh-frozen food, HelloBello has positioned itself very promisingly in the rapidly growing PetTech sector. We look forward to continuing this journey together with our co-investors.”
HelloBello's concept has proven successful because people are convinced of the high quality of the dog food. Some were so impressed that they even tried it themselves to see how delicious it tastes.
For those interested in learning more about proper dog nutrition, the free feeding advisor is available at www.hellobello.de. HelloBello is setting new standards in the pet food market, offering species-appropriate, healthy and tasty food for our four-legged friends.
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About HelloBello
The five-year-old Food-Tech startup HelloBello was the first company to introduce customized fresh dog food to the German-speaking market, becoming the market leader in this segment. HelloBello delivers personalized frozen dog food to customers every 14 or 28 days.
In 2024, HelloBello’s fresh-frozen dog food was awarded by FutterTester.de as “Product of the Year,” received a “Very Good” rating, and earned 9.5 stars - the highest score ever recorded. HelloBello is a premium dog food provider focused on regional ingredient. The vision: to give dogs a healthy and longer life through freshly cooked and then frozen food.
About aws Gründungsfonds
The aws Gründungsfonds is an Austrian venture capital fund with a fund volume of approximately MEUR 70. As an investor, the aws Gründungsfonds accompanies startups from their first growth phase through subsequent funding rounds (Series A/B) up to exit. The aws Gründungsfonds positions itself as a long-term, stable partner with a hands-on approach, actively supporting founder teams as sparring partners. Since 2013, in collaboration with the predecessor fund and national and international co-investors, more than MEUR 500 has been invested in over 45 investments, with numerous successful exits realized.