From ingredient innovations to streamlining veterinary care, the finalists for the 2018/2019 Pet Care Innovation Prize are making lives easier and better for pets and their owners.

The five finalists each receive $10,000 in cash from Purina with no strings attached. They will also receive transportation, accommodations, and a booth presence at Global Pet Expo, the world’s largest pet care industry trade show.

There, they will get the chance to present their businesses to an audience of industry influencers, and a grand prize winner will be chosen on-site to receive up to an additional $10,000 in cash and an opportunity to partner with Purina on a project.

The 2018/2019 Pet Care Innovation Prize finalists are:

• Shameless Pets | Chicago, IL | Founders: James Bello and Alex Waite | shamelesspets.com Shameless Pets uses upcycling to turn ingredients that may have otherwise been lost or wasted into premium pet treats that support your pet’s health. Each ingredient is carefully selected to produce unique flavors, provide the utmost nutrition, and support sustainable practices.
• Bond Pets | Boulder, CO | Founders: Rich Kelleman and Pernilla Audibert | bondpets.com Bond Pets is working with cellular agriculture technologies to reinvent pet nutrition, making nutritionally-superior dog and cat foods sourced from real animal protein – without harming any animals in the process.
• Basepaws | Los Angeles, CA | Founder: Anna Skaya | basepaws.com Basepaws is a pet genetics company out of Los Angeles, CA that has developed the first consumer genetics test for cats, which includes detailed information about breed, traits, health, and genetic markers for potential hereditary disease, and will use the rich data in areas of pet nutrition.
• GuardianVets | Chicago, IL | Founder: John Dillon | guardianvets.com GuardianVets is a B2B telehealth service and platform that allows veterinary hospitals to offer 24/7 continuous client care. Since starting in 2017, GuardianVets has expanded to over 32 states in 81 cities and serves over 600,000 pet owners through its network of veterinary hospitals. GuardianVets is the exclusive triage provider for the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and a Chicago Innovation Award Winner.
• PlayDate | New York, NY | Founders: Anthony Chien and Kevin Li | playdate.ai PlayDate’s remote-controlled smart ball has a camera inside it so you can chase your dog or cat around even when you’re not at home.

“This year’s class of Pet Care Innovation Prize finalists is a testament to how broad the pet care industry is and how much potential is out there to positively impact not only the lives of pets and pet owners but the planet,” said Blair Morgan, Co-Lead of Purina’s 9 Square Ventures Division and Vice President of Innovation at Purina.