AJ Patel (a founder who helped build Zesty Paws into one of the most recognized names in pet wellness), along with co-founder Mike Watts, announced a $3 million seed round for their new company, Other Half, a science-first pet wellness brand built for ingredient-savvy and results-driven pet parents. The funding round was led by Willow Growth, with participation from Habitat Partners and Off Leash Capital (a division of Chicago Pacific Founders).
How the funding will be used: The new funding round will be used to grow Other Half’s innovation pipeline, make strategic hires across marketing and product development, and scale the brand’s already high-performing direct-to-consumer and Amazon presence with Everyday and Doggie Dental.
Since launching in November 2024 with the flagship products Everyday and Doggie Dental, the brand has seen:
— Thousands of new consumers purchase the brand every month, with repeat consumers growing at +25% month over month
— Over 4K consumers sign up for subscriptions and are growing at +35% month over month (across all platforms).
— Over 400 5-star reviews for Everyday and Doggie Dental
— Millions of online store sessions
Patel is well-versed in the pet wellness space. As the founder of Zesty Paws, he scaled the brand into a category leader recognized for its functional formulas and approachable consumer voice. In 2021, Zesty Paws was acquired by H&H Group in one of the most significant strategic transactions in the pet supplement industry to date.
This experience also gave Patel a front-row seat to the downside of rapid growth: a market saturated with copycat products, underdosed formulas, and brands prioritizing marketing over meaningful, simplified outcomes. And pet parents were left confused, and with shelves full of products delivering little real benefit. It also revealed a clear gap in the market: rising consumer demand for transparency, simplicity, clean, human-grade ingredients, and science-backed wellness needs that most brands still fail to meet.
Other Half was built to change that. And the brand increases the level of active ingredients per serving to deliver multiple benefits in fewer products.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’ve been inside this category long enough to understand the real challenges pets and their owners face—and where legacy brands fall short. This is a space we helped shape, and we’re reentering it with a clear mission: to lead with transparency, simplify wellness routines, and deliver meaningful results—not marketing noise.”
AJ Patel, co-founder of Other Half
“We back consumer brands that know how to move fast, build trust, and scale efficiently. Consumers today demand science-backed, clean and effective ingredients to drive optimal pet health and longevity. With AJ and Mike, we’re backing not just great products, but proven entrepreneurs and operators who’ve already won in this space—and are about to do it again.”
Deborah Benton, Managing Partner of Willow Growth
