Share the Health

Listen to this article

We spoke with Michael Landa, founder and CEO of Nulo Pet Food (and proud owner of Max, a black English lab) about the company’s relationship with retailers, athletic-inspired nutrition and merchandising.

Rebekah: Can you tell me a little about the history of Nulo?

Michael: I have a long history in professional pet care and education. Nulo Pet Food started when I began to see an escalation in overweight pets, unhealthy lifestyles and an increase in at-home insulin shots for diabetic cats and dogs. A study of 6,000 households and 11,000 dogs and cats confirmed the alarming trend—pets were essentially living in a “fast food nation.” Just like many of our human counterparts, dogs and cats continue to be significantly overfed and enticed with nutritionally inferior food products.

Determined to take a better approach to pet nutrition, I worked hand-in-hand with leading scientists to develop Nulo’s nutritional platform and grain-free formulas—all with high animal-based proteins, low glycemic ingredients and a patented probiotic.
Being a former All-American swimmer and lifelong athlete, I know how valuable quality nutrition and a healthy lifestyle can be, so we built Nulo to inspire people to think differently about how they see pet food.

Rebekah: Nulo is completely grain-free. What is your nutritional platform?

Michael: Being grain-free without using high-glycemic carbohydrates like white potatoes or tapioca—or going too heavy on legumes—isn’t easy. But there are other differences to Nulo’s nutritional platform that make us quite unique.

First, protein. We’re an industry leader in animal-based protein percentage in all of our recipes. Our dogs and cats thrive on meat, fish and poultry and it’s the only way they can get the amino acids they need to build and repair their bodies. They simply can’t get these vital amino acids from high amounts of vegetable-based protein sources.

Second, carbohydrates. Besides being completely grain-free and low in carbs, we also consciously select low-glycemic ingredients like chickpeas, lentils and sweet potatoes, not white potatoes or tapioca, which are high on the glycemic index. Our platform ensures low levels of carbs and also supports steady energy delivery.

Third, our probiotic. The patented BC30 probiotic survives the cooking process and helps aid digestion, making sure more nutrients can be absorbed by the dog or cat.

Rebekah: What sort of relationship does Nulo have with retailers?

Michael: Retailer relationships are very personal for us. Our retailers are an extension of our brand and of our relationship with the consumer. The better trained our retailers are on our nutritional platform and how Nulo’s products fit, the more effectively they can communicate our differences to consumers. The more retailers allow us to help merchandise and participate in their community events, the more we can help increase their sales.

We’d like to think Nulo’s rapid success at numerous independent retailers isn’t by accident. It comes down to good people, good partnerships and the willingness to help each other succeed.

Rebekah: What kind of merchandising can retailers expect from Nulo?

Michael: Nulo’s brand identity stands for something nutritionally relevant and attracts a different type of pet consumer demographic that we feel is currently buying pet food in grocery and mass, simply because they don’t know any better. And who can blame them with all of the “creative” marketing’ going on?

Nulo’s packaging, our merchandising, our active ambassadors and even the types of events we attend are all part of our assets and allure. The retailers that choose to bring us in recognize this—even look forward to it—and allow us the latitude to shake things up and position our products the way they were intended in order to drive new consumers into their store.

We believe fitness and nutrition go hand-in-hand. Once someone starts to care about fitness, they begin to pay attention to nutrition, too—for themselves, their family, even their dog or cat. Pet nutrition isn’t a complicated discussion when you talk to individuals and families that already share these lifestyle values. Being “Healthier Together” is at the heart of Nulo. It’s about celebrating the people committed to making healthy choices for their pets every day.