Nulo

Nulo

Type	Private
Industry	Pet food
Founded	2009 (2009) in Austin, Texas, United States
Founder	Michael Landa
Headquarters	Austin, Texas, US
Area served	North America; Italy
Products	Dog and cat food, treats
Owner	Apax Partners (majority)
Website	https://nulo.com

Nulo is a premium pet food brand based in Austin, Texas, that produces high-protein, low-carbohydrate food and treats for dogs and cats. Its recipes emphasize high animal-based protein content and low-glycemic ingredients. The company was founded by Michael Landa, a former competitive swimmer and biomedical engineer, and has been majority-owned by the private-equity firm Apax Partners since 2021. Much of Nulo's public profile is tied to its Fuel Incredible marketing campaign, which pairs the brand with Olympic and other elite athletes and their pets.

History

Nulo was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2009, though one independent account gives the founding year as 2010 and dates its retail launch to 2011. Founder and chief executive Michael Landa has said he started the company after focusing on his own dog's nutrition and growing concerned about diet-related health problems in pets.

The company raised outside capital over the following decade. Cavu Venture Partners invested $9.5 million in 2016, and Main Post Partners invested about two years later. In June 2021, Apax Partners acquired a majority stake by buying out both investors; terms were not disclosed, and Nulo said at the time that it planned to expand internationally.

For the 52-week period ending January 18, 2025, Nielsen data cited by the company reported Nulo's sales up 2.1 percent to $261.8 million and unit volume up 13.4 percent to 40.3 million units, figures that exclude e-commerce sales through Chewy and Amazon; according to the company, Nulo was one of only three brands among the 15 largest tracked to post year-over-year gains. For the 52-week period ending February 28, 2026, Nulo reported sales growth of 8.1 percent, which trade coverage citing Nielsen and Stackline data described as the largest gain among the top 15 pet specialty brands across retail and e-commerce.

Products

Nulo positions its dog and cat food around high animal-based protein, low carbohydrate content, and low-glycemic ingredients.[3] Many formulas include a patented probiotic, marketed as BC30 (GanedenBC30), for digestive and immune health. The product range spans dry kibble, wet food, freeze-dried raw, gently cooked meals, toppers, bone broth, supplements, and treats, with core kibble lines including FreeStyle and the grain-inclusive Frontrunner.

Nulo has periodically introduced new product categories. It launched Challenger, a kibble line positioned around sustainability and made with ethically sourced proteins and organic ancient grains, in 2020. In August 2024, the company introduced a functional treat and Yak-milk dental chew line at the SuperZoo trade show. Also in 2024, it debuted Cold Pressed, a shelf-stable line developed under food scientist Greg Aldrich and positioned to fill a price gap between premium kibble and freeze-dried raw food. In March 2026, Nulo launched Silky Mousse, a wet kitten line that uses egg-based ingredients to achieve a mousse texture in place of the grain- or starch-based binders common in the category.

Marketing and sponsorships

Nulo's marketing centers on partnerships with elite athletes who are also pet owners, an approach the company traces to 2013, when Landa began advising Olympic swimmer Aaron Peirsol on feeding his dog. Over time the brand worked with more than 30 Olympic athletes, including Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Gabby Thomas.

Nulo launched Fuel Incredible, its first national advertising campaign, in October 2023 with gymnast Simone Biles as lead ambassador. Around 2024, Landa shifted its positioning from nutrition alone toward the emotional role pets play in athletes' lives. Around the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the company reported a 17 percent rise in Google searches and a 21 percent rise in site visits after a sponsored athlete won gold, and an approximately threefold return on the investment.

For the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Nulo raised spending 10 to 15 percent over Paris, became the official pet nutrition partner of Team Canada and the official pet food of U.S. Figure Skating, and sponsored 11 athletes, seven of them U.S. winter competitors. It produced custom enamel pins of the athletes' pets for the Olympic Village pin-trading tradition and reported more than 46 million television impressions for the campaign. The first Fuel Incredible iteration won honors from the Digiday Streaming & Video Awards, the MarCom Awards, and the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards.

Nulo has extended the athlete model internationally, signing British figures including rugby player Ellie Kildunne and Winter Olympic champion Matt Weston in 2026, and naming the Italian chef Valerio Braschi as its first chef partner in Italy in May 2026.

Through its Paws for a Cause initiative, Nulo donated 100,000 meals to the nonprofit Humane World for Animals in 2025, pledging one meal for every bag of dry food sold at roughly 450 independent retailers between April and June.

Operations

Nulo's products are largely manufactured in the United States, with some wet food produced in Thailand; the company sources ingredients internationally, including duck from France and lamb from Australia and New Zealand.[3] One consumer review reported U.S. manufacturing facilities in Nebraska, Kansas, and North Dakota. As of 2026, consumer pet-food review sites reported that Nulo had no product recalls on record.[3]

Leadership

Michael Landa is Nulo's founder and chief executive officer. Greg Aldrich, a pet food nutrition scientist, joined as chief operating officer in January 2023. Other named executives include Eric Emmenegger, head of retail and product marketing, and Jen Rottenberg, head of consumer and brand marketing.