Lucky & Prince: Human-grade pet food at affordable prices

The premium European pet food company Lucky & Prince focuses on providing an affordable, ethical option for pet owners looking to feed high-quality and human-grade dog food.

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Lucky & Prince Founder and Owner Philipp Staudacher, here with one half of the company’s namesake duo, Lucky, the British Bulldog, wanted to create dog food that was nutrient-dense as well as convenient. | Photo courtesy Lucky & Prince
Lucky & Prince Founder and Owner Philipp Staudacher, here with one half of the company’s namesake duo, Lucky, the British Bulldog, wanted to create dog food that was nutrient-dense as well as convenient. | Photo courtesy Lucky & Prince

Lucky & Prince began with a desire to help. More specifically, Founder and Owner Philipp Staudacher wanted to ensure that his best friend’s two British Bulldogs, Lucky and Prince, had access to nutritious food that their sensitive digestion and health could handle while they were on the road for dog shows.

“I really wanted to help solve my best friend’s problems by creating an affordable, human-grade, nutrient-dense dog food that was not only delicious, but easy to carry and store,” said Staudacher. “After discussing the idea with my neighbor (a high-end dog food producer), an idea was born: Lucky & Prince.”

Staudacher set off with a simple ethos — quality, affordability, portability, environmentally friendly and delicious — and landed on a human-grade, affordable alternative to feeding raw or homemade.

‘Raw To Go’ — creating an eco-friendly alternative

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Lucky & Prince dog food formulas are human grade and nutrient dense, focusing on health as well as nutrition. | Courtesy Lucky & Prince

Prior to Lucky & Prince, Staudacher’s friend was often making food for his show dogs himself, something that was difficult if not impossible to keep up while on the road. “Not only did he not have anywhere to cook, but storing canned food safely was a challenge in itself,” says Staudacher. That’s why, in addition to providing a nutritionally complete raw alternative formula, Lucky & Prince focused on packaging from the start.

“Each recipe is high in a premium single protein, hypoallergenic and free from ‘nasties’ like sugar, salt and artificial flavors, colors or preservatives,” says Staudacher. “We see our premium Lucky & Prince sausages as close as one can get to raw feeding — that’s why we like to call it ‘Raw To Go’ — in eco-friendly and easy-to-handle packaging that does not take up space.”

The dog food’s casing is “Kunstdarm” (loosely translated to “artificial gut”), a specially developed seven-layer synthetic casing. It’s an eco-friendly container option that produces almost no waste and is convenient for on-the-go feeding, according to Staudacher.

Bavaria-bred and locally sourced

Lucky & Prince’s headquarters is in London, England, but its products are made in Bavaria, Germany, “fresh – from the heart of Bavaria to bowl,” as the company claims.

All formulas use fresh meat locally sourced from small regional slaughterhouses, game and poultry farms, with no freezing or long-term storage involved. The company strives to keep its production-to-delivery time as short as possible, and that includes keeping all the ingredients close by.

“All of our ingredients are ethically and locally sourced to avoid long transportation times,” says Staudacher.

Right now Lucky & Prince has four formulas available: venison with zucchini; beef with potatoes, apples and cottage cheese; poultry with carrots and rice; and lamb with carrots and potatoes. The company’s next steps include a range of puppy food and a line of on-the-go snacks, all formulated with the same ideas of quality, convenience and affordability in mind.

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Lucky & Prince’s current line has four formulas, and the company has plans to expand into puppy food and on-the-go snacks. | Courtesy Lucky & Prince

Keys to growth and market opportunities

Lucky & Prince has leaned into the same growth patterns many high-end, smaller pet food companies have found success in: direct online sales and word-of-mouth advertising. The company’s products are available in independent stores, but many customers order online directly from the website. Lucky & Prince has a social media presence, and some of the company’s top recommenders are veterinarians, dog walkers and of course other pet owners.

According to Staudacher, it definitely helps that his company is aiming to hit some of the “high demand” segments of the premium pet food market: single-protein formulations, eco-friendly packaging and alternatives to raw feeding. But being a smaller company in the superpremium space has its challenges, too; namely market awareness and competing with more established brands (and their corresponding larger marketing budgets). Still, Staudacher says he predicts success for his company’s path.

“[There is] strong growth in the dog food industry, as dog owners are more focused on pet food nutrition and willing to spend the extra dollar on healthy food,” he says. “Dogs have become members of the family and are treated that way.”

According to Staudacher, the strong demand for exactly what Lucky & Prince provides will keep his company growing for the foreseeable future.

 

Fast Facts

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Headquarters: London, England

Officers: Owner and Founder Philipp Staudacher

Brands: Lucky & Prince

Website/Social Media: www.luckyandprince.com; @luckyandprince on Facebook, @luckyandprince.com_uk on Instagram

Notable: Staudacher and his best friend/partner-in crime Richard Willmerdinger, the inspiration for the origins of Lucky & Prince, are childhood friends who grew up together in the Bavarian countryside.

 

Quick thoughts

Q: What do you believe there is a strong demand for in your segment of the pet food industry?

A: Premium, single-protein food; alternatives to raw feeding; eco-friendly packaging; and honest, transparent pet food.

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