CHANGING THE WORLD
ONE GRUB AT A TIME
HELLO WORLD,
I’m Tom Neish, and this is Dolly and my monkey Elliot. We’re proud to present the world’s most ethical and sustainable pet food. It‘s been a long and fascinating journey and I feel like our product can really make a difference for our pets and the planet.
I've been working with the pet industry for over 20 years as a designer and product developer, and over the years I've learned a lot about what makes a great pet food, and how much people care about their pets’ wellbeing.
I became concerned with the rise of pet foods containing ‘human grade’ meat. These premium pet foods are great products, but as the earth warms and resources dwindle should we really be feeding so much meat to our pets? I worked out that the 500 million pet cats and dogs in the world consume something like 23 billion tons of meat each year.
I love dogs (and cats), but their diet is just not very good for the environment! As a parent, I’m concerned about climate change and I do my best to reduce my family’s meat intake, but pets are carnivores so I set out to find a solution. I had my eureka moment when I tried an energy bar made from cricket flour. It was delicious and I wondered if insects could provide the perfect protein for pets.
I reached out to some of the world’s top experts in animal nutrition and entomophagy (the study of edible insects) and after a lot of research we settled on Hermetia Illucens larvae as the most nutritious and environmentally friendly option.
I LOVE DOGS BUT THEIR DIET IS JUST NOT VERY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!
OUR EXPERTS
We couldn’t have created Yora without the expertise of these brilliant people and businesses.
ARIQUE ARSIWALLA
AND EVERYONE AT PROTIX
Protix is the high tech farm that produces our delicious grubs. We decided to work with them because they have the most energy efficient farm around, and they’re passionate about the quality of their grubs.
Formed by Kees Aarts and Tarique Arsiwalla in Holland, Protix is one of the world leaders in insect farming. They started the company to produce healthy sustainable feed for fish farms.
Their team of experts have analysed the nutritional make-up of hermetia illucens larvae for years and have found that it has incredible health benefits for many animals. They have refined and perfected every stage of the farming process to make it as efficient and humane as possible.
WILL BISSET
NUTRITIONIST & OUR CEO
Will has an encyclopedic knowledge of pet nutrition, and his education includes a degree in biology that focused on Animal Physiology and Cell Biology.
He also has an infectious enthusiasm for experimenting in the kitchen. He cooked, baked, tweaked and seasoned 29 recipes until he was satisfied he had achieved biscuity perfection with our first food, and watch this space to see what treats he's cooking up for Yora next!
THE MEANING OF YORA
WALK SOFTLY ON THE EARTH TAKING ONLY WHAT YOU NEED
ANcient proverb
Lots of people have asked where the name comes from. We're named Yora in honour of one of the last uncontacted tribes in the Amazonian rainforest. Tribes like these, who have always lived in harmony with nature, are the most at risk from the damage caused by human's appetite for meat.
If we can wean the world's pets off meat and onto insects, then we'll make a huge positive change for our planet's future. It’s up to us to take the steps we can to change the world for the better.