Breaking Down Smalls' Series B Pitch Deck That Won $19B for Cats Fresh Food
Reviewing Smalls pitch deck that helped secure $19 billion in Series B funding.
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Welcome to our first deck breakdown!
Today, we’re looking at a pitch deck that helped Smalls raise $19 billion in Series B funding. Smalls is a direct-to-consumer pet food company that makes fresh, human-grade food for cats.
Their meals are made with quality ingredients and tailored to each cat’s nutritional needs. They offer options like chicken, beef, turkey, and duck, as well as freeze-dried treats. Everything is delivered straight to your door, making it easy for pet owners to keep their cats healthy.
Smalls was founded in 2017 by best friends Matt Michaelson and Calvin Hughes and is based in New York City.
Background
Company: Smalls founded in 2017 is a direct-to-consumer pet food company that produces human-grade and fresh food for cats.
Problem: For over a century, cats’ needs have been secondary to their canine counterparts, as pet brands tailor products to capture the dog-minded consumer, resulting in a product that isn’t nutritionally sound for felines.
Solution: Smalls offers a subscription service providing monthly deliveries of vet-formulated fresh cat food made with at least 80% animal proteins, ensuring full hydration and no preservatives.
Smalls has cracked the code on creating fresh, minimally processed meal food plans that cats love, and we are excited to be part of their growth story.
Most Recent Funding: $19M Series B on may, 2022. Six rounds raised.
Founder info: Matt Michaelson, Co-Founder and CEO of Smalls
Competitors: www.iandloveandyou.com, www.catperson.com www.stellaandchewys.com www.sojos.com
Notable Investors: Companion Fund with additional investors including Left Lane Capital, Valor Capital, 301 INC, General Mills’ venture capital arm, and Ohio State University’s endowment fund.
Website link address: https://www.smalls.com/
Our Analysis
First impressions
The smalls team behind this pitch deck did an excellent job. The branding, content, and structure of the pitch pages are truly impressive. If you’re working on your own pitch deck, this one is definitely worth studying.
Here are some important things to note:
Fascinating Things
One of the most interesting things about Smalls is how they’re addressing an underserved market. While most pet food brands focus on dogs, Smalls is catering to cats, which are notoriously picky eaters.
“Cats have been chronically underserved and underinvested in, despite being in 25% of US households,” said Matt Michaelson, Co-Founder and CEO of Smalls. “Smalls is dedicated to focusing solely on cats, bringing innovation to a market that desperately needs healthier options.”
What Sets Them Apart
What sets Smalls apart is their unwavering dedication to improving feline health and well-being for cats.
Market Opportunity
The pet industry is expected to surpass more than $277 billion by 2030, as pet parents increasingly invest in products to care for their pets in a way that mirrors how they would care for themselves or a child. Smalls is capitalizing on the opportunity to be the leading voice for cats providing humane and nutritional fresh food solutions for the more than 45.3 million cat parents in the U.S.
Good Problem Statement:
The Smalls team nailed it by highlighting the common challenges pet owners face when searching for quality cat food. They backed this up with clear analysis and customer testimonials, supported by coverage from well-known media outlets like CNN, HuffPost, and the St. Louis Dispatch.
A Good Market Opportunity Slide:
The Smalls team clearly demonstrates how they are the only ones focused on dominating the cat food market, claiming an $11 billion share within the larger $38 billion pet food market.
Product Display Packaging:
This slide shows the team’s thorough research, explaining their product in simple terms while sharing key numbers that showcase their progress. It’s clear they’ve refined and improved their approach over time to find what works best.
How It Works Slide:
The use of illustrations and a step by step process to receive a trial box is great. I really like their flow.
Traction:
The smalls team did a great job on the traction slide to show how much subscribers they have, and how much they have made.
Customer Acquisition Slide:
This slide clearly explains how they acquired customers and what’s working for them. It’s an important slide for highlighting what’s been successful in your business so far.
Fundraising Ask Slide:
The Smalls team did a great job with this slide by covering key points:
How much they are raising
How they plan to use the investment
Future business plans
Marketing strategies for their growth across channels
Other Deck Pages
Relevant links
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Smalls’ Series B pitch deck.
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