NC pet food brand seen on ‘Shark Tank’ files for bankruptcy. How this affects customers
A Durham-based pet food company featured on “Shark Tank” has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Several factors contributed to the financial status of Wild Earth, the company co-founded in 2017 by Ryan Bethencourt, who set out to produce sustainable, plant-based pet food.
According to documents filed in February in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in North Carolina:
- The company’s supply chain was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The brand also saw a drop in sales, attributed to a rise in inflation and consumers’ resulting cut in spending, especially on more expensive purchases. (An 18-pound bag of Wild Earth’s performance formula dog food costs $99, according to the company’s website. To compare, a 24-pound bag of a vegetarian dog food from Natural Balance is available for about $73 on Amazon.)
- Seeking to expand into retail stores, Wild Earth began an expensive rebrand that included new package design.
Despite Wild Earth’s profitability, the company “was unable to generate sufficient capital to address its outstanding secured debt” with creditors and its former landlord, according to the documents.
Triangle Business Journal first reported news of Wild Earth’s bankruptcy.
Can you still buy Wild Earth pet food?
Court documents suggest that while bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing, the business will continue and “shall be the primary source of funds” to complete the reorganization plan and pay off debts.
“We do not expect that customers will see any disruptions during this period, and Wild Earth’s products will still be available for purchase,” Laurie Biggs, an attorney at Raleigh’s Biggs Law Firm, who is representing Wild Earth, told The News & Observer in an email.
Bethencourt, who did not immediately respond to The N&O’s requests for comment on this story, told Triangle Business Journal that he hopes to stay with Wild Earth.
What is Wild Earth?
Known for its plant-based pet food, Wild Earth started out with the goal to reduce waste in the pet-food industry and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, The N&O previously reported.
“You know everyone’s worried about who’s gonna feed the next several billion humans, and I was like no one’s thinking about feeding the next billion animals,” Bethencourt, the CEO, previously told The N&O.
The company, which was founded in California, primarily sold its products to customers through online retailers including Amazon and Chewy, as well as its own website. Dog food, cat food, supplements and treats — all plant-based — are available online and in select stores.
According to a court filing, the company struggled with generating brand awareness early on but grabbed national attention after appearing on the ABC show “Shark Tank” in 2019 and gaining an investor in billionaire Mark Cuban, who promised $550,000.
The company had raised millions from investors and said it had about 40,000 customers in the U.S. as of September 2021.
During the pandemic, Bethencourt moved to the Triangle, where he believed it would be easier to hire employees, compared to the Bay Area.
Reporting by Zachery Eanes, formerly with The News & Observer, contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 10:56 AM with the headline "NC pet food brand seen on ‘Shark Tank’ files for bankruptcy. How this affects customers."
