"I and love and you," a Boulder, Colorado-based natural pet food brand, announced Dan Waters has joined the company as chief executive officer.
Waters will lead "I and love and you" and its recently acquired cat food brand, Made by Nacho, as the company expands its omnichannel footprint. Waters succeeds Michael Meyer, who has been appointed chairman of the board.
Waters joins the company from Hu, a natural chocolate brand in the U.S. and UK, where he served as CEO. He previously served as CEO of Enjoy Life Foods and held chief marketing officer roles at Bel Brands in the U.S. and Europe.
"The 'I and love and you' team saw the clean-label pet food shift coming years before the rest of the category did," Waters said. "The health-conscious pet owner is as careful about what's in their pet's bowl as they are about their own plate. They want real, high-quality ingredients. That's especially true in cat, where premium options still haven't caught up to how much pet parents love their cats — a category that already makes up more than half of our combined business. With 'I and love and you' and Made by Nacho, we are providing cat parents nationwide the options and variety they've been missing."
Founded in 2010, "I and love and you" sells pet food products featuring meat as the first ingredient, along with grain-free options. The brands are sold in more than 30,000 combined doors nationwide across natural, grocery, mass, pet specialty and e-commerce channels.
Earlier this year, the company acquired Made by Nacho and named Made by Nacho co-founder Bobby Flay as chief culinary officer. Waters will work with Flay and the rest of the team on the company's product strategy.
"Dan has spent his career turning brands into category leaders, from scaling Babybel and The Laughing Cow globally at Bel Brands, to growing Enjoy Life into one of the leading names in allergen-free food, to leading Hu's next stage of growth," said Cara Hoy, managing director at L Catterton, which holds a majority stake in "I and love and you." "He knows how to drive growth and profitability without losing what makes a brand beloved. His experience and track record make him the right person to lead this next phase of growth."
