• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechPointCloud

Exclusive: This Pet Food Startup Just Landed a Key Exec From Blue Apron

By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 19, 2017, 7:00 AM ET
Courtesy of Ollie

Each day there seems to be a new type of food delivery service available at the tap of a smartphone screen, whether it be fast food via Seamless and Square’s Caviar, or learning to cook out-of-a-box like Plated and Purple Carrot.

But not all of these services are meant to satisfy the taste buds and meal times for just humans. There is a growing number of gourmet and on-demand food delivery services for our four-legged friends—and one of them is bringing in some brainpower from a meal delivery brand already popular nationwide.

Ollie, a New York-based startup dedicated to making and delivering healthier dog food, has hired Matthew Cantatore, a former Blue Apron executive, as its new vice president of operations. Cantatore served in a similar role as director of operations at Blue Apron for just over two years.

“Ollie is disrupting the pet food market similarly to how Blue Apron disrupted the dinner table,” Cantatore tells Fortune exclusively, explaining how his experience in scaling business volume amid growing internal operations is “best learned in practice rather than in textbooks.”

“My experience at BA translates pretty directly in the sense that we’re dealing with a human grade food product,” Cantatore says. “Ollie faces the same operational complexity as BA in solving the logistics question around fresh perishable goods and building a robust supply chain.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

Ollie already set tongues and tails wagging after raising $4.4 million last October. Since launching in 2016, the company says it is on track to deliver 1 million meals within its first full year of business.

Similar to some other newer e-commerce brands, Ollie’s strategy is a cocktail of consumer data, a proprietary algorithm, and feedback from canine nutritionists to develop its cooking methods. Pet owners contribute to that data pool by filling out profiles to determine their pups’ exact portion sizes and nutritional needs based on body size, age, breed, body composition, activity level, and allergies.

Those dog-minded recipes include “chicken goodness” (made from chicken, carrots, green peas, chicken livers and gizzards, chia seeds, long grain rice, spinach, potatoes, eggs, blueberries, and sunflower oil, among other ingredients), and “hearty beef eats” (beef hearts, liver, and kidneys, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, carrots, spinach, chia seeds, sunflower oil, and blueberries, and more).

“As the food delivery landscape expands to accommodate a growing sector of health-conscious consumers, we’re finding that the same sentiment is being carried over to the pet health industry,” Cantatore says. “Pet owners who care about their own health, wellness, and nutrition want to translate this sense of well-being and the benefits they get from eating all natural fresh foods over to their pets’ lives.”

Related: Rover and DogVacay Merge to Create an Even Bigger Pet-Sitting Network

Up until recently, meals were only made at a USDA-regulated kitchen in Pennsylvania. They can be shipped throughout the continental United States. (Thus, no delivery to Hawaii and Alaska just yet.) When delivered, meals arrive cold or frozen in insulated, recyclable containers. Food packed in sealed trays are promised to stay fresh if unopened for up to 21 days (but only up to five days after opening).

Shipping is free, and subscription rates vary based on a dog’s size down to the exact number of calories a pup needs to consume daily. A small dog starts at $3 per day.

Ollie is already getting bigger as it just opened a second facility in Reno, Nev., which will complement the Pennsylvania site and serve as the company’s fulfillment hub for the West Coast for the foreseeable future. Cantatore said Ollie is also looking into expanding its East Coast footprint (or pawprint) to better meet demand in the coming months and years.

“These pet owners see their pets as members of the family,” Cantatore says. “As such, they care just as much about what they feed their pets as they do about what they feed themselves.”

About the Author
By Rachel King
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump may have shot himself in the foot at the Fed, as Powell could stay on while Miran resigns from White House post
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 4, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 4, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free'
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Tech stocks go into free fall as it dawns on traders that AI has the ability to cut revenues across the board
By Jim EdwardsFebruary 4, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
I've studied nonviolent resistance in war zones for 20 years and Minnesota reminds me of Colombia, the Philippines and Syria
By Oliver Kaplan and The ConversationFebruary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
In 2026, many employers are ditching merit-based pay bumps in favor of ‘peanut butter raises’
By Emma BurleighFebruary 2, 2026
3 days ago

Latest in Tech

Amodei
Big TechBattle for Talent
Tech giants are shelling out up to $400k for AI evangelists to defend against surging American skepticism
By Jake AngeloFebruary 5, 2026
2 minutes ago
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
AIEye on AI
Hey Alexa—Amazon may be teaming up with OpenAI. Here’s why that matters
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 5, 2026
56 minutes ago
Palmer Luckey,
SuccessCareers
Forget a degree—$30 billion defense startup Anduril will fast-track your job application if you can win its AI drone flying contest
By Preston ForeFebruary 5, 2026
2 hours ago
lewis, lee
InvestingMarkets
Michael Lewis and Tom Lee hold court on the $1 trillion software-stock carnage: ‘I think fear is not a bad thing to be long right now’
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
3 hours ago
Sam Altman OpenAI CEO, standing with his arms folded.
AIOpenAI
ChatGPT’s market share is slipping as Google and rivals close the gap, app tracker data shows
By Beatrice NolanFebruary 5, 2026
3 hours ago
grace
CommentaryRobotics
I’m a 25-year-old founder who loves robots but too many humanoids are militant and creepy-looking. Things need to change—just look at Elon Musk
By Grace BrownFebruary 5, 2026
4 hours ago