Being part of a global acceleration initiative led by one of the most influential companies in the pet industry has been a truly unique privilege.

Over the course of 20 weeks, the Unleashed program was an incredibly enriching and challenging experience. Backed by a world-class team, we dove into a high-impact collaboration that led to a bold, ground-up solution for the Brazilian pet market, despite natural ups and downs, we’re proud to have delivered a strong, future-ready MVP with the potential to elevate both Hubii and Purina and reshape the industry landscape.

We are honored to have taken part in this journey and deeply grateful for the trust, insights, and meaningful connections gained throughout the process.

Joining the Unleashed by Purina Accelerator was one of the best decisions we made at Petsy. Over the intensive 20‐week program, the Purina team’s unwavering commitment was clear from day one. We were paired with four dedicated ‘champs’ Purina employees who guided us through every challenge, celebrated each milestone, and pushed us to think bigger than we ever had before.

From weekly onboarding sessions to the high-stakes Demo Day, where senior Purina leaders were present, offering strategic insights and an inspiring level of engagement. Program empowered us to roll out a nationwide awareness campaign something we never thought possible in such a short timeframe that catapulted Petsy to one of the top pet-care platforms in Poland.

Beyond brand awareness, the program’s structured research modules helped us craft a comprehensive playbook for rapid, effective market expansion. We executed sample distributions, hosted community education events in partnership with Purina’s nutrition experts, and even designed and distributed gift-pack vouchers to engage pet parents. All of this was accomplished in just 20 weeks, and the impact on our growth trajectory has been tremendous.

The Unleashed by Purina Accelerator isn’t just a program it’s a launchpad for ambitious pet-tech startups. The people at Purina genuinely care about innovation, the pet community, and the future of our industry. I highly recommend this program to any startup ready to up-level their vision and execution.

From the very first day, we realized the significance of the opportunity we had been given. Learning that AITEM was one of only seven startups selected for the Unleashed By Purina Cohort 2025, from a large international pool, was both humbling and energizing: it set the tone for what would become a transformative 20-week journey.

Unleashed became much more than acceleration: it was a true deep dive into vet industry, guided by exceptional experts. Working closely with Purina’s corporate teams and the Purina Institute gave us a sharper understanding of the context we operate in, helping us better position our solution within the complex veterinary landscape and connect the dots between our work and the real needs of the industry.

Each meeting wasn’t just a check-in: each session brought together people from different backgrounds and mindsets. It was never just about feedback—it was about exchanging ideas, questioning assumptions, and growing together. Those moments shaped not just our product, but also how we think about our role in this space.

We’re deeply grateful to the Unleashed team for this unique opportunity and to our fellow cohort members for the stimulating conversations and shared ambition. To all future participants: be ready to grow fast, think differently, and leave with a clearer sense of where you’re headed.

Participating in the Unleashed program was a transformative experience for Umami Bioworks, a validation of our vision to redefine ethical nutrition through cultivated seafood. Being chosen among a highly competitive cohort reaffirmed the relevance and urgency of our mission.

Over six months, we collaborated closely with Purina’s brilliant team to test bold ideas, pressure-test assumptions, and fine-tune our strategy. From decoding modern pet parent needs to refining our product prototypes, the journey was as rigorous as it was rewarding. We saw firsthand how breakthrough innovation in pet nutrition demands cross-functional collaboration, across science, marketing, and commercial strategy.

The program gave us the opportunity to engage directly with pet owners, gain critical feedback, and co-develop a narrative around trust, sustainability, and health, three pillars that now shape our product roadmap. Together with Purina, we explored the potential of cultivated fish to offer clean, consistent, and traceable proteins that can elevate premium pet food to a new frontier.

Looking ahead, we’re energized to build on this momentum, from scale-up to commercialization , and continue unlocking the future of pet nutrition. We are deeply grateful to the Unleashed team for their support. We’re proud of the strides we’ve made and even more excited about what comes next.

Unleashed 2025 was a roller coaster—in the best way possible. We came in with a broad vision and left with real clarity on what resonates in the market. Through the program, we conducted our first customer insight survey in Europe and uncovered strong validation for multiple use cases. The Unleashed team helped us stress-test our value proposition, refine our positioning, and identify where we can deliver the most value in the pet ecosystem. It was an intense but incredibly rewarding journey, made even better by sharing it with some of the most inspiring pet tech founders we’ve met.

It has been an honor to participate in the Unleashed program. Throughout this journey, we’ve gained new business insights and experiences while exchanging perspectives with pet tech startups from around the world. Over the course of 20 weeks, through strong collaboration — and with the support of Nestlé’s expertise and dedicated coaches — we successfully developed an MVP of an AI health consultation solution, which we believe will significantly contribute to improving pet health in the near future.

Being selected for this unique global program, tailored to our target industry, among a large pool of applicants, was an immense privilege and validation of the years of hard work we've dedicated.

Throughout the 6-month acceleration program, we've harnessed an array of resources,including tools and data insights. Partnering with the exceptional Purina associates, we've pursued a common objective with a growth-oriented mindset.This allowed us to revisit our core principles, professionally test our digital assets, conduct user interviews, and, most importantly, address our riskiest assumptions to unlock substantial growth.

We continue to collaborate with the Nestlé MENA team on joint initiatives, leveraging our collective resources and networks to create a meaningful impact, drive savings,and foster growth as a united front. An exciting joint dog event is on the horizon for November, with a multitude of captivating initiatives yet to be unveiled.

Our sincere gratitude o the Unleashed team for making this journey possible. To all future participants entering this esteemed group of startups, we wish you the best of luck!

Participating in the Unleashed Program of 2023 proved to be an extraordinary journey for DOGAMÍ, enabling us to seamlessly connect web2 andweb3 audiences, fostering remarkable engagement within both the DOGAMÍ and Purina communities. The program's insights into growth hacking techniques were invaluable, propelling us forward with newfound wisdom. Moreover, it unveiled a promising path for us to incorporate product placement within DOGAMÍ's media experiences – an avenue that amalgamates education, amusement, and captivation for our audience. We eagerly anticipate the continued expansion of our collaboration with Purina, as we join forces to transcend conventional boundaries, pioneering innovative ways to engage with the gaming realm and its vibrant communities.

Unleashed is not like the other acceleration programs out there. The first day, you define a goal together, the goal that is already on your roadmap, the one that your startup needs to achieve; and then Purina becomes a hands on partner. Their best professionals work with you side by side, day after day, for months. Until you reach that goal. And you can imagine they know quite a lot about pet food and pet parents. No need to say the impact this can have on a pet food startup. What about all the other things, like money, connections, investors, recognition and so on. Well you get all of that as well. But to me the most important thing is the real acceleration your project gets.

I can only recommend the Unleashed program to all pet startups. The Unleashed team is ready and willing to put all their heart and soul into it and I am pretty sure you will not regret it. It is so great how you are supported here.

I can seriously recommend the Unleashed accelerator to any pet tech startup, or any startup looking to expand into the pet space. Purina's support and experts have been amazing throughout the program.

We encourage all startups that feel passionate about pets to apply and join the Unleashed program. You'll be able to receive all the support you need to make your project reach all of it's potential. Thanks to Nestlé, Purina and all of our great partners, we turned our idea into a reality, and we hope that you can do so too.

"For us, Unleashed has really functioned as a structured platform from which we can engage with Purina to the full. Startups joining the Unleashed program can expect a well-resourced and transparent co-development process with Purina across multiple business functions. From my experience, this is actually quite unique when starting a new relationship with a large corporate, and it's been an absolute joy to participate in"

What's impressed me the most has been the team, and how well suited they are to our project. Not only do they bring the expertise and the experience, but they've provided a huge amount of attitude and a brilliant enthusiasm, which has really meant that we've been able to deliver something special in our time at Unleashed.

I’ve been so impressed with the Unleashed program, and rate this as an A++ among incubator models! It’s relevant to note that I’ve spent many years evaluating, building and leading business incubation programs worldwide, and serving on the board of a global network of business incubators too, and I’ve never seen a program as stellar as this one. The immersion and engagement by the Purina leadership team, working in close collaboration with leadership from each of the companies in the cohort, have enabled significant learning and the accomplishments of key milestones in a very short amount of time. Truly a win-win for all parties involved!

It's been great working with Purina. The Unleashed program is very well structured, and it is such an enjoyable experience working with the whole team. A big thank you for this opportunity. During the program, we progressed with some of the projects we wanted to push forward for sometime, in particular, with regards to developing our B2B business further. We have so much potential in that area, and it is exciting to see how much more we can do with Purina in the future, given we share so many of our basic beliefs. Unleashed has been a very useful opportunity to accelerate the development of our products together with the leader in pet care.

Participating in Nestle Purina's Unleashed accelerator has been one of the best strategic decisions our startup took so far! Unleashed is a program that is action-packed: we were assigned a great team of experts from Purina that perfectly complemented our needs, we connected with top-level industry partners, and we were able to stress-test our business model in the real world of the pet care industry. Unleashed has been a very useful opportunity to accelerate the development of our products together with the leader in pet care.

The program has been extremely valuable for us because of 2 reasons: Operationally we could not have done it this way without the program and the huge support from the team. In terms of timeframe, it helped us to move the project, otherwise we will have it in the back drawers and say someday we will move it… If we were alone, we probably would have a harder time getting started. We really look forward to the next steps. We know that your team over here in Portugal is very excited about this and hopefully we can expand it to other countries as well.

Having worked for many years with large corporations in marketing before becoming an entrepreneur -  I do know the scale and nature of companies like Nestlé and Purina which can make it difficult for innovators to connect with them. I am hugely impressed how Unleashed enabled the introduction and support for small start-ups to work with Nestlé and Purina and allow cross-pollinating engagements. I have never seen this before in my professional life as a marketer and entrepreneur. This program is great and so well organised. We really appreciate the whole experience and the great professionalism behind it.

I have been really impressed by Unleashed. I have been looking for different types of corporate programmes and this is something really unique. We have been able to work with the professional management team from Purina and their real customers, and that has been very valuable for us. Our Purina team is extremely fun and engaged and inspiring to work with!