What if we could give millions of pets a healthier, happier life – and in the process, make our planet healthier too? To answer that, Jiminy’s created a new, sustainable dog treat that replaces animal protein with cricket protein. Why crickets? Dogs (and humans) have been eating insects for thousands of years. But, at Jiminy’s, we are one of the first to add powdered cricket protein to our dog food and treats and have recently added recipes with grubs.
In the US, our dogs consume more than 32 billion pounds of protein each year. In fact, according to a UCLA Study, cats and dogs are responsible for 25 to 30% of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the US. Our dogs are athletes and they need high quality protein to stay healthy, but the traditional source for this protein (cow / chicken) is just not sustainable. Our solution at Jiminy’s replaces traditional animal protein with insect protein – a truly sustainable protein source with better land use and feed conversion and less water and almost no greenhouse gases. Both crickets and grubs are farmed in barns and require exponentially less land to produce an equivalent amount of protein.
If you take just your average 40 pound dog who is eating a chicken-based diet and switch to an insect based diet, we save 480,000 gallons of water per year. If you want to see more about our impacts on reducing water and greenhouse gases and improving responsible production and consumption (aligned to the UN SDGs), please read more here.
It’s not only sustainable and humane, but it’s delicious, nutritious, and hypoallergenic! We’re working with experts to better understand and unlock the many health benefits for our dogs, as insect protein is truly a superfood. This protein itself (without additives) meets or exceeds AAFCO requirements for dogs in so many areas – not bad for one of the smallest animal protein sources out there. It is also digestible with a score above 80 in digestibility studies with dogs – that qualifies these proteins as “high-quality protein.” The fact that the insect protein contains protein and fiber is the real kicker. The fiber acts as a pre-biotic supporting a healthy, balanced level of gut bacteria diversity (gut microbiome) in dogs. And insect protein is allergen free. In fact, veterinarians are already using Jiminy’s in elimination diets (eliminating all known allergens to try to determine what the actual allergy is).
Anne Carlson, Founder of Jiminy’s
More about Jiminy’s:
“Bug-Based Dog Treats Reduce Your Pet’s Carbon Footprint“ – Treehugger 5/17/21
“When I met the True Wealth Venture team, I was energized and felt immediately that they understood what we were trying to do and that they could and would help!!” – Anne Carlson
Founder and CEO: Anne Carlson
Headquarters: Berkeley, CA
Meet Anne Carlson:
Background: Anne Carlson is the Founder and CEO of Jiminy’s, the industry-leading producer of sustainable dog food and treats using insect protein. Anne was named 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Food and Beverage category by the American Business Awards for her work on Jiminy’s. Prior to Jiminy’s, Anne was the VP of Market Intelligence at Big Heart Pet Brands where she led Shopper Insights, Market Analytics, and Strategic Projects. Anne previously founded Secant, which she then sold to IRI, and has also worked for Accenture, Diageo, and Seagram’s. She holds a BA in Political Science, Economics, and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, as well as an MBA from NYU. Currently, Anne lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband (Eric), daughter (Boothe), and two pups (Tuco & Timber).
Anne Carlson, Founder of Jiminy’s
Why Start Jiminy’s? “My inspiration for Jiminy’s came directly from my daughter. She wasn’t sure she wanted to have children because of the worsening environment. This hit me hard. It spurred me to look closely at my industry, the pet industry, and see how we could be better. Despite the hundreds of foods and treats on the market, none of them addressed sustainability and climate change. These are the two biggest problems facing the planet, and they threaten our survival. I knew right away this is the path the pet industry absolutely needs to follow.
Jiminy’s combats climate change by switching from unsustainable agriculture to a sustainable solution, utilizing less land and water while reducing greenhouse gases. It’s a forward-looking shift that’s adaptable as insects can be grown in small indoor spaces, so vertical farms and cities are in play. By rethinking the way that we feed our pets, we’re providing a direct and painless way for people to learn about and grow comfortable with insect protein.
It really is a win/win solution. The dogs love the taste of our food and treats, the nutrition’s tremendous, and dogs can digest it as well as they can digest beef or chicken. The protein’s sustainability is also off the charts, as the smaller the animal, the less land and water it’ll consume. We’ve learned that switching your dog from a chicken-based diet to Jiminy’s Cricket Crave food will save over 480,000 gallons of water per year. Talk about a better choice!”
Why Seek Venture Capital? “We’re growing rapidly! We have an omni-channel sales strategy, and we just launched our full line of food and treats at Petco. We decided to seek Venture Capital to help fund our growth. We are hyper focused on building brand awareness and are spending against that objective.”
Why True Wealth Ventures? “When I met the True Wealth Venture team, I was energized and felt immediately that they understood what we were trying to do and that they could and would help!!”
Have you seen women GPs bring a different perspective to the table? “One of the things that strikes me when I meet other female founders is that the vast majority of them are purpose driven. A higher purpose was the catalyst that led them to create their environmentally or socially-driven startups. I think a sense of purpose grounds these founders and keeps them going when the road gets rough. It also inspires employees, partners and consumers.”
Do you think a woman’s perspective is valuable to this market? “I think diversity of thought is important for any business. For a consumer business like Jiminy’s, it is particularly important because approximately 75% of our consumers (the people who actually make the purchase) are women.”
Words of Wisdom: “Follow your “North Star”.”