The Bear & The Rat

What The Bear & The Rat does

The Bear & The Rat is a privately held, US-based pet food company headquartered in Hygiene, Colorado, founded in 2010-2011 and operated by co-founders Matthew Meyer and Meg Meyer. The business operates two distinct product lines built on a shared human-grade, oven-baked food platform. The original line, launched 15 years ago, is a portfolio of frozen dog treats (Bacon Peanut Butter, Banana Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Cinnamon, and related SKUs) distributed through national and regional retailers. The newer line is a subscription-based oven-baked meal kit business — Oven Baked Beef Recipe and Oven Baked Chicken Recipe — sold as 28-pouch boxes with portions calibrated to a dog's weight, delivered on a flexible cancel-anytime subscription and supported by a quiz-driven plan selector on the company's direct e-commerce site.

The core technology is a shelf-stable, gently oven-baked preparation process that delivers human-grade ingredients in pouches requiring no refrigeration or freezing, differentiating the meal kit from both kibble and frozen fresh-dog-food competitors. Marketing claims "up to 5x nutrient retention compared to traditional kibble" and emphasizes zero prep (under 30 seconds from pouch to bowl). Distribution is hybrid: a substantial retail footprint across Petco, Whole Foods, Publix, HEB, Wegmans, PetSmart, and King Soopers for treats, complemented by a January 2026 partnership with Independent Pet Supply for Pacific Northwest and California expansion, Instacart for online grocery delivery, and a direct-to-consumer subscription website. The company has been featured on ABC's Shark Tank and maintains an organic social presence on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

The business model combines recurring subscription revenue (meal kits, with ARPU determined post-quiz) with one-time retail purchases (treats, baking mixes under the Barley's Bakes sub-brand). Total disclosed external capital is approximately $330,000 across two early-stage rounds in 2013 and 2015; no subsequent institutional funding is reported. The team is small (1-10 employees per firmographics), and revenue is not publicly disclosed. Customer focus is on dog owners seeking fresh, human-grade nutrition without home-prep effort, with particular emphasis on small-breed owners (French Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Dachshunds) where portion precision matters most.

Name

The Bear & The Rat

Legal name

The Bear & The Rat

Website

https://cooltreatsfordogs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Bear & The Rat is a privately held, US-based pet food company that sells frozen dog treats and subscription oven-baked, human-grade meal kits for individual dog owners, with distribution across 4,000+ retail stores and direct-to-consumer e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Food / Dog Food

NAICS

Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111), Animal Food Manufacturing (31111)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Treats & Chews (CRADAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pet Treats & Chews (AFADAFAF), Functional & Veterinary Diet Pet Food (CRADAFAF)

Keywords

• Dog frozen treats
• Pet meal kits
• Dog baking mixes
• Human grade pet food
• Natural dog food

Headquarters

HQ city

Hygiene

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Meal Kits: Recurring subscription model delivering 28-pouch meal boxes. Customers choose plans based on dog size. Flexible subscription with cancel anytime option. Each box provides 2-8 weeks of meals depending on dog size.
2. Retail Frozen Treats: One-time purchase of frozen dog treats and baked goods (cupcakes, frozen treats) through retail partners including Petco, Whole Foods, Publix, and other major retailers.
3. Direct E-commerce: One-time purchases of meal kits and treats through the company's own e-commerce storefront.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Bear & The Rat manufactures and sells human-grade dog food products including frozen yogurt-style treats, oven-baked meal kits, and cupcake baking mixes. The products are designed for health-conscious dog owners who want to feed their pets fresh, natural, human-grade food made in the United States. The company's offerings are sold directly to consumers through its own e-commerce site, a subscription program, and major retail chains.

Product overview

The Bear & The Rat is a pet food company that offers two distinct product lines: frozen treats (the company's original product line started 15 years ago, including Bacon Peanut Butter, Banana Peanut Butter, and Pumpkin Cinnamon frozen treats) and meal kits (Oven Baked Chicken Recipe and Oven Baked Beef Recipe meal kits featuring human-grade, shelf-stable pouches with 28 portions). The company also offers baking products under the Barley's Bakes sub-brand including Bone Broth Cupcake Mix and Peanut Butter Cupcake Mix for dog birthdays and special occasions. Meal kits are portioned by dog weight and offered via subscription. The company gained prominence after appearing on ABC's Shark Tank and is available at over 4,000 stores nationwide including Petco, Whole Foods, Publix, HEB, and Wegmans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oven Baked Beef Recipe Meal Kit
• Oven Baked Chicken Recipe Meal Kit
• Bone Broth Cupcake Mix
• Barley's Bakes Peanut Butter Cupcake Mix
• Bacon Peanut Butter Frozen Treat
• Banana Peanut Butter Frozen Treat
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Frozen Treat

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 5x nutrient retention compared to traditional kibble
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Independent Pet SupplycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Independent Pet Supply for distribution expansion. The Bear & The Rat is expanding its frozen treats distribution across the Pacific Northwest and California regions through this regional distribution partner.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Milk-Bone (J.M. Smucker): Milk-Bone is a mass-market dog treat brand sold across virtually all US grocery and mass channels. Comparable to Bear & The Rat on the dog treat category and broad grocery/pet retail distribution, though commoditized and at dramatically lower price points.
• Freshpet: Freshpet is the leading refrigerated fresh dog and cat food brand, sold in tens of thousands of US grocery and pet retail stores. Directly comparable to Bear & The Rat's fresh-food positioning but at vastly larger scale, with refrigerated (vs. shelf-stable) technology and national marketing.
• Blue Buffalo (General Mills): Blue Buffalo is a mass-market premium pet food and treats brand owned by General Mills with deep retail penetration including Petco, PetSmart, and grocery. Comparable to Bear & The Rat on pet treats retail presence and premium positioning, though at vastly larger scale and with kibble-heavy mix.

Emerging players

• Open Farm: Open Farm produces ethically-sourced pet food, treats, and raw food sold through pet specialty retail including Petco and Whole Foods. Comparable to Bear & The Rat on premium positioning, retail channel overlap, and human-grade/sustainably-sourced ingredient narrative.
• Stella & Chewy's: Stella & Chewy's produces freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food and treats sold through pet specialty retail. Comparable to Bear & The Rat on the premium treat and frozen/fresh-pet-food positioning, with overlapping retail partners like Petco and PetSmart.

Direct peers

• Ollie: Ollie is a DTC subscription fresh human-grade dog food brand with portion-controlled plans tailored to dog size. Closely comparable business model, target customer (small-dog owners seeking fresh food), and human-grade positioning to Bear & The Rat's meal-kit line.
• Spot & Tango: Spot & Tango offers fresh and 'UnKibble' dry-fresh hybrid dog food via subscription. Comparable to Bear & The Rat in targeting fresh-feeding dog owners seeking portion-controlled, human-grade nutrition with quiz-driven onboarding.
• PetPlate: PetPlate is a DTC fresh human-grade dog food subscription brand with vet-formulated meals. Directly comparable subscription model, portion-controlled by dog weight, and fresh-food positioning to Bear & The Rat's meal-kit offering.
• JustFoodForDogs: JustFoodForDogs makes fresh, human-grade whole food for dogs sold via retail kitchens, online subscriptions, and veterinary channels. Overlaps directly with Bear & The Rat on human-grade positioning and meal-kit format, though with a different distribution emphasis on vet clinics and store kitchens.
• The Farmer's Dog: The Farmer's Dog is a venture-backed direct-to-consumer fresh human-grade dog food subscription brand. Competes head-on with Bear & The Rat's meal-kit subscription for the same 'fresh human-grade' positioning, though delivered frozen rather than shelf-stable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheBearandTheRat
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebearandtherat
• TikToktiktok.com/@THEBEARANDTHERAT
• Xx.com/CoolTreats4Dogs

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Bear & The Rat