I and love and you names Dan Waters chief executive officer
Bottom line
“I and love and you” has named Dan Waters as chief executive officer, putting a consumer packaged goods executive with experience at Hu, Enjoy Life Foods, and Bel Brands at the helm of the natural pet food company. Waters succeeds Michael Meyer, who will move into the chairman role, according to trade publication reports. The leadership change comes a few months after “I and love and you” expanded its cat portfolio by acquiring Made by Nacho, the Bobby Flay-co-founded cat food brand, in March 2026. (petfoodindustry.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the appointment is less about a title change than what it may signal about strategy. “I and love and you” has been positioning itself as a premium, natural brand with growing reach in grocery, natural, and omnichannel retail, and the Made by Nacho deal sharpened its focus on the cat category. A new CEO with mainstream CPG scaling experience could mean faster product expansion, broader distribution, and more marketing around premium nutrition claims that veterinary teams may hear about from pet parents. (prnewswire.com)
What to watch: Watch for whether Waters ties the leadership transition to new product launches, deeper feline nutrition investment, or wider retail distribution over the next 6 to 12 months. (prnewswire.com)
“I and love and you” has appointed Dan Waters as chief executive officer, marking a leadership shift at the independent natural pet food brand as it looks to build on recent expansion in premium cat food. Trade reports say Waters succeeds Michael Meyer, who becomes chairman, and arrives with a background in scaling consumer brands including Hu, Enjoy Life Foods, and Bel Brands. (petfoodindustry.com)
The timing matters. In March 2026, “I and love and you” acquired Made by Nacho, the cat food brand co-founded by Bobby Flay and Elly Truesdell, in a move designed to strengthen its position in the premium cat segment. That deal also brought Flay into the business as chief culinary officer, investor, and board member, extending the company’s push to broaden both its product portfolio and consumer reach. (prnewswire.com)
The company has been building toward this kind of scale play for years. “I and love and you,” founded in 2012, previously took growth investment from Winona Capital and Revelry Brands in 2014, then announced a Series C investment led by L Catterton in February 2022 alongside Meyer’s appointment as CEO. At that time, the company said the capital would support omnichannel growth and product expansion, particularly as it targeted millennial and Gen Z pet parents in grocery and natural channels. (winona.blob.core.windows.net)
Against that backdrop, Waters looks like an operator brought in for the next phase. Public profile information ties him most recently to Hu, where he has been listed in a strategy and category leadership role, and trade coverage says his earlier experience includes Enjoy Life Foods and Bel Brands. While the company’s full announcement was not readily available in primary-source form during this search, the consistency across trade reports suggests the core succession details are settled: Waters takes the CEO post, Meyer shifts to chairman, and the company is pairing a leadership change with a broader brand portfolio that now includes Made by Nacho. (linkedin.com)
Industry reaction in the available coverage has been more directional than critical. The company’s earlier statements around the Made by Nacho acquisition emphasized complementary assortments, premium positioning, and a chance to deepen relevance with multi-pet households. That framing suggests Waters is stepping into a business that sees white space in premium feline nutrition, not just incremental growth in dog food. (prnewswire.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, executive changes at pet food companies can shape what shows up in the exam room. A CEO with a strong CPG background often signals renewed emphasis on commercialization, retail expansion, innovation pipelines, and sharper brand messaging. In practice, that can translate into more premium diet launches, more cat-specific claims, and more questions from pet parents about ingredient quality, functional benefits, and how these products compare with therapeutic or veterinary-recommended diets. The recent Made by Nacho acquisition makes the feline angle especially relevant. (prnewswire.com)
There’s also a broader market context. “I and love and you” has repeatedly described itself as a leader in the natural channel, and the company said the combined “I and love and you” and Made by Nacho business reaches more than 30,000 retail doors nationwide. If Waters accelerates that distribution footprint, veterinary teams may see stronger consumer awareness of the brand, especially among pet parents shopping across grocery, mass, e-commerce, and specialty channels rather than only in pet stores. (prnewswire.com)
What to watch: The next signals will likely be operational rather than ceremonial: whether Waters outlines a formal growth strategy, whether the company expands its feline lineup or functional nutrition claims, and whether additional leadership, retail, or product announcements follow in late 2026. Given the March 17, 2026, Made by Nacho acquisition and Meyer’s move to chairman, this looks like a transition aimed at scaling a larger multi-brand platform, not simply filling an executive seat. (prnewswire.com)