Years lands growth backing for cupboard-stable fresh dog food
Bottom line
UK dog food startup Years said it has taken a growth investment from Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures, giving the ambient fresh-food brand new backing as it pushes further into retail and international expansion. Trade coverage described the deal as a multimillion-pound investment for a significant minority stake, with founders Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki remaining shareholders and both investors taking board seats. Years, founded in Nottingham in 2023, markets what it calls a “Cupboard Fresh” format: gently cooked dog meals made with fresh ingredients that can be stored at room temperature, a proposition aimed at removing the freezer and refrigeration hurdles that often come with fresh feeding. (thegrocer.co.uk)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the deal is another sign that fresh and less-processed pet food formats are moving beyond direct-to-consumer niches and into broader retail distribution. Years’ pitch centers on convenience and shelf stability, which could make fresh-style diets more accessible to pet parents who are interested in wholefood positioning but not in frozen logistics. It also lands as larger players continue investing in fresh, including Blue Buffalo’s 2025 entry into the category, underscoring that fresh pet nutrition is becoming a more competitive and more mainstream segment. (years.com)
What to watch: Watch for whether Years can translate investor backing into wider retail placement, international rollout, and clearer evidence that cupboard-stable fresh formats can scale alongside refrigerated and frozen competitors. (thegrocer.co.uk)
UK pet nutrition company Years has secured new growth backing from Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures, a deal that positions the young brand to expand its retail footprint and push its shelf-stable fresh dog food concept more aggressively. Trade reporting says the investors took a significant minority stake in the Nottingham-based company, while founders Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki stayed on as shareholders and the new backers joined the board. (thegrocer.co.uk)
The hook here is less about a routine funding round and more about the format Years is trying to build. Since launching in 2023, the company has been selling gently cooked dog meals that it says can be stored in a cupboard rather than a freezer or refrigerator before opening. On its retail pages and help materials, Years says its meals can stay fresh for up to three months at room temperature, while trade coverage of the investment described the company’s proprietary ambient-distribution format as offering up to 18 months of shelf life. That gap suggests the company may be describing different channels, pack formats, or commercial shelf-life standards, but either way, convenience is central to the proposition. (years.com)
That convenience angle matters because it addresses one of the core friction points in fresh feeding: storage and handling. Fresh and gently cooked diets have gained traction with pet parents who want less-processed options, but frozen and refrigerated formats can be harder to stock, ship, and store. Years is trying to bridge that gap by presenting fresh-style nutrition in an ambient format that can work in e-commerce and on standard retail shelves. The company is already selling through UK partners including Just for Pets, Pets & Friends, and Pets at Home, according to its website. (years.com)
The investor lineup adds more context. Verlinvest highlights pet exposure through Chewy and Tom&Co among its brand portfolio and alumni, while Five Seasons Ventures has prior experience in fresh pet food through Butternut Box, where it previously backed European expansion. In other words, this is not generalist capital wandering into pet care. Both firms have existing familiarity with premium consumer brands, pet retail, and the broader premiumization trend in companion animal nutrition. (verlinvest.com)
Public comments around the deal reinforce that thesis. Verlinvest managing director Ben Black said the firm sees an opportunity to help Years bring “nutritionally complete, fresh food in a scalable, convenient, ambient format” to a wider audience, while Five Seasons co-founder Ivan Farneti pointed to the firm’s earlier belief in fresh pet nutrition and subscription models. Those remarks line up with broader category movement: in June 2025, General Mills said Blue Buffalo would enter fresh pet food nationally and described the U.S. fresh pet food subcategory as a $3 billion market. (thegrocer.co.uk)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, Years’ funding is one more signal that the pet food conversation is shifting from whether fresh can grow to which fresh models can scale. A cupboard-stable format could lower barriers for trial, improve merchandising flexibility, and make fresh-style diets more accessible to pet parents who are curious about minimally processed feeding but unwilling to manage frozen inventory at home. At the same time, convenience claims do not answer the bigger clinical questions on their own. As these products spread, veterinary teams may see more questions about nutrient adequacy, digestibility, feeding transitions, caloric density, and how these diets compare with traditional therapeutic and life-stage nutrition strategies. (years.com)
There is also a retail and competitive implication. If ambient fresh formats gain traction, they could blur the lines between kibble, wet, refrigerated fresh, and topper-style feeding. That may create more mixed-format feeding habits among pet parents, not just full replacement of dry diets. Years itself frames its products as suitable as a complete diet or as a boost alongside kibble or raw, which fits a broader market trend toward hybrid feeding rather than strict category loyalty. (petproductmarketing.co.uk)
What to watch: The next markers will be distribution growth, any disclosure on the size of the investment, international market entry, and whether Years publishes more detail supporting the nutritional and commercial case for its cupboard-stable fresh model as competition in fresh pet food intensifies. (thegrocer.co.uk)