LOONAWELL, a Swiss-based dog food company founded and led by Dr. Maria de Bettencourt Tavares, celebrates five years of crafting ultra-premium, human-grade, and organic dog wellness products. A vertically integrated company, with a global reach and omnichannel business model, LOONAWELL handles everything in Zürich, from research to product manufacturing, packaging, and shipping. Through this, LOONAWELL is not only creating an ultra-premium product, but it is also aiming to push the boundaries of the industry.
The company often sources its ingredients locally. Dr. Tavares notes that the products utilize high-quality, organic, handpicked, and human-grade ingredients. LOONAWELL is committed to making food without artificial flavors, preservatives, or colorants. “We decided early on to only use ingredients that have a positive nutritional impact for dogs. That means, no colorants, no added flavors, artificial preservatives, or other nasties,” says Dr. Tavares. “For LOONAWELL, dogs sit at the table and are an integral part of the family.” Customers can purchase LOONAWELL’s products, including food, treats, supplements, and cookbooks, online.
LOONAWELL
Recipes are a collaborative effort, involving in-house scientists, veterinarian nutritionists, and a culinary chef. “Beyond just the scientific aspect, taste was incredibly important to us. It couldn't just be good, it had to be excellent,” explains Dr. Tavares. “Anyone who visits our office is encouraged to sample our dog food, and the surprises on their faces are priceless. The result? Humans and dogs love it.”
Beyond business success, Dr. Tavares aims to spark conversation and interest around the quality and transparency of dog food. “Dogs are silent consumers,” she explains. “Unless there’s a human being that’s interested in telling the story and offering something different, the industry isn’t going to move in another direction.”
Dr. Tavares’s inspiration for LOONAWELL came after she attended a pet conference in 2019, where she learned that 50% of dogs may have the tendency to develop cancer after the age of 10. This surprised Dr. Tavares, a dog owner herself. With years of industry knowledge and a background in cancer research, she believes poor nutrition is playing a key role. “ I wanted LOONAWELL to elevate the pet food industry standards through high-quality and transparency,” she says.
Dr. Tavares combined her biomedical sciences education, cancer research, and work in vitamin and flavour companies to develop human-grade and organic dog food products with the ambition to extend dogs’ lifespans and keep cancer at bay. “LOONAWELL was born through the intersection of cancer research and food industry knowledge I have collected throughout my career and decided to use in the service of our dogs,” she says.
LOONAWELL’s team adopted a piece-by-piece approach to determining which ingredients to use and which to avoid. They examined and researched every ingredient to determine exactly which properties and qualities can help improve dogs’ health.
Dr. Maria de Bettencourt Tavares
Dr. Tavares began building LOONAWELL’s team in 2023 after closing a round of seed funding. “Now that we have an established team behind our operations, we’re prepared to scale,” she notes.
In keeping with their approach to human-grade and organic dog wellness products, LOONAWELL also keeps sustainability top of mind. Products are packaged in post-consumer recycled aluminium, compostable containers, cardboard, and recyclable tins and glass. Since cardboard is the most used form of packaging, the company plants a tree for every order that is placed, staying committed to giving back to nature more than what it takes.
Over the next five years, Dr. Tavares hopes to grow LOONAWELL’s footprint and cater to more customers internationally. “We want our ultra-premium brand to reach as many people as possible,” she explains. “Healthier food products can greatly benefit dogs’ life span and health, and we want to help achieve that.”
Across all future endeavours of LOONAWELL, Dr. Maria de Bettencourt Tavares is determined to maintain the honesty and commitment to transparent practices that first guided the company. “You can find a description and origin of every ingredient on our online page, and we often highlight our suppliers with pride,” she says, highlighting the company’s transparency, which she believes allows LOONAWELL to stand out in the industry, guiding the way for a brighter future.
Media Contact
Name: LOONAWELL Media Team
Email: [email protected]
