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00:00:01
Laura Simonson | Virchew
43 Plays1 month ago
This episode is all about happy, healthy dogs thriving on a plant-based diet! Yep, vegan dogs are a real thing and you’ll be glad you learned why.
I chat with Laura, founder of Virchew, a Vancouver-based brand pioneering plant-based, hypo-allergenic dog food.
Laura shares her vision for transforming pet nutrition with a product that not only nourishes dogs but also helps alleviate common health issues like allergies, digestive problems, and skin conditions.
We dive into the research and development process behind Virchew, including their collaboration with veterinarians and nutritionists to ensure the formula meets all essential dietary requirements. The result? A first-of-its-kind, rehydratable plant-based dog food designed to support the long-term health of the dogs we love!
To learn more go to https://virchew.com/
To learn more about who’s behind this podcast and how we help food and beverage brands grow faster, visit https://www.ethicalfoodgroup.com/.
Here’s a summary of this interview:
Virchew’s Mission – Laura Simonson aims to revolutionize pet food with a plant-based, hypoallergenic diet that supports dog health and reduces common veterinary issues.
Health Benefits – Virchew’s formula helps address digestive problems, skin conditions, and allergies commonly linked to traditional kibble diets.
Development & Research – The product was developed with the guidance of veterinary nutritionists to ensure a complete and balanced diet that meets industry standards.
Unique Product Format – Unlike kibble, Virtue is a rehydratable plant-based diet that offers the benefits of a wet food while maintaining convenience.
Ingredient Transparency – The formula includes pea protein, hemp, oats, potatoes, and nutrient-rich ingredients like golden algae for optimal nutrition.
Veterinary Approval & Consumer Testimonials – Many veterinarians support the product as a hypoallergenic alternative, and pet owners report significant improvements in their dogs’ health.
Addressing Behavioural Changes – Some pet parents have noted behavioural benefits, including calmer and more balanced dogs after switching to Virchew.
Sales & Distribution – Virchew follows a direct-to-consumer model with a starter kit approach, allowing pet owners to transition their dogs gradually.
Marketing & Outreach – The brand focuses on strategic partnerships with veterinarians, groomers, and plant-based communities to build awareness.
Future Vision – Laura envisions Virchew expanding its impact, helping more dogs live healthier lives while reshaping the pet food industry with sustainable and nutritious options.
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Transcript
Introduction to Plant-Based Diets for Dogs
00:00:00
Speaker
This is Aisle 42.
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to the show. This episode is all about happy, healthy dogs thriving on a plant-based diet. Yep, vegan dogs are a real thing, and you'll be glad you learned why. ah chat
Meet Laura: Founder of Virtue
00:00:18
Speaker
with Laura, founder of Virtue, a Vancouver-based brand pioneering plant-based hypoallergenic dog food.
00:00:24
Speaker
Laura shares her vision for transforming pet nutrition with a product that not only nourishes dogs, but also helps alleviate common health issues like allergies, digestive problems, and skin conditions.
00:00:36
Speaker
We
Research & Development at Virtue
00:00:37
Speaker
dive into the research and development process behind Virtue, including their collaborations with veterinarians and nutritionists to ensure the formulation meets all essential dietary requirements.
00:00:48
Speaker
The result, a first of its kind, rehydratable plant-based dog food designed to support the long-term health of the dogs we love. Let's get into it. The future of dog food starts now.
00:01:02
Speaker
Laura, we've connected over the last year or so, year and a half maybe, and we've had some really great conversations and now we finally get to hit the record button and share this conversation with others. I'm glad we're able
Challenges and Solutions in Pet Nutrition
00:01:16
Speaker
to finally connect.
00:01:18
Speaker
You know that I'm not currently a pet owner, but I am an aspiring dog owner, maybe one day again. And so this conversation is going to be really fun for me personally.
00:01:29
Speaker
But the work that we've been able to do with you guys through EFG and some of the great collaborations that are in the works, I'm really glad we're able to finally connect. So to kick things off, I'm going to get you going on the first big question, and that is this.
00:01:44
Speaker
What's the one change in the pet food system in the future that would excite you the most? Oh, to see a food that's available to the masses that would also help the veterinary industry and their goals.
00:02:00
Speaker
That would be the the global thing I'd love to see. I'd love to see that we're no longer going to the veterinarian with our ah dogs having issues related to diet. that
Benefits of Plant-Based Nutrition for Dogs
00:02:12
Speaker
the veterinarians, you know, have they have to do their work for other things that the dog needs.
00:02:16
Speaker
So for me, that would be the ultimate goal that that everybody has got a super healthy dog because they're they're eating a plant-based food, hyperallergenic food like Virtue, and it affects the veterinary industry and the costs that are associated with that.
00:02:33
Speaker
That's a great answer. And that means we have to dive right in. What is it about dog food that is making, and pet food that's making them sick? To me, it makes sense that dogs did not evolve on kibble.
00:02:46
Speaker
They did not evolve on ah on a dry diet. They evolved on, for the most part, and most domesticated in the last even 10,000 years where they've been walking with us, if not more, is that they really have been evolving with us.
00:03:02
Speaker
And so basically whatever is in many of the pet foods today ah could be things that are inside the foods that really dogs cannot really thrive on. It maintains their health when they're younger, but not necessarily helps them to live long and healthy lives. there It's a deep question, Corwin. Like you you, know, again, you can go and find so much information on what's inside most pet foods.
00:03:26
Speaker
But for us, it's like, why wouldn't we just feed them a beautiful plant protein protein diet that is hypoallergenic, that naturally solves so many issues that dogs are having through a ah wet diet.
00:03:40
Speaker
Unreal.
Developing Rehydratable Dog Food
00:03:41
Speaker
Now you'll have to walk listeners through what it is that you guys make, because I think people are going to be leaning in a little bit on this one because you guys bring something really special to the market. We knew when we first started, there was no question we were not going to make a kibble.
00:03:55
Speaker
We knew that we wanted to go with as close as possible to a whole foods plant-based diet for a dog. That is not necessarily an easy thing because the the big F word, another one is fiber.
00:04:07
Speaker
And um so many dogs, of course, you can't have such a high fiber diet for many reasons. It's not necessarily great for for many health reasons as well. So we needed to go with a a diet that was not a kibble, that was convenient, that gave a feeling to be the dog's human, that they're really excited about making that dinner and yet be very, very convenient and easy to do.
00:04:31
Speaker
And so we knew as we started to go down the process, we worked with the Saskatchewan Food Development Center and we were starting to make like a a wet morsel of food diet. And the food scientists there said, oh, okay, I'm gonna do another run and I'm going to order in some powders, some food powders.
00:04:48
Speaker
And I said, hang on, what did you say? Cause we'd already done a feeding trial with a wet diet but that we had literally made, you know, for the for the veterinary clinic and would deliver every week. And she said, oh, i just I'm i' going to order in the supplies.
00:05:02
Speaker
So what had happened during the time that we'd been developing Virtue, it took it took quite a while to get to where we were in development stages. And I said, hang on, I can get and get all these products that are now available in the human supply.
00:05:14
Speaker
chain i can now
Virtue's Impact on Dog Health
00:05:15
Speaker
you know get and and use here for virtue so we immediately went into developing a dry product that can be rehydrated and when we did that it created a whole opportunity for us to to have all of the uh the check you know all the right checks were happening which would be it's a wet diet great for the dog it's got ah mostly a whole food beautiful um highly digestible proteins and the right kind of carbohydrates, the right kind of fats, all in a dry form.
00:05:45
Speaker
And we can create something that the dogs can easily digest. And the smell was great. Everything worked. And so we ended up developing the first rehydratable plant-based diet for dogs.
00:05:57
Speaker
Unreal. And I know that some dogs struggle. like let's We could probably go a thousand directions with this, but let's just take some of the ones at the top of the list. Gut issues.
00:06:09
Speaker
Some dogs struggle with digestion. They struggle with absorbing nutrients. you know they're big they're They're given the same food that they've been given forever because the big 40-pound bag comes from Costco, but they're just not able to retain that vitality and that energy and have a digestive system that's working for them instead of against them.
00:06:30
Speaker
What is it about your product that helps solve that problem? What I love about just using food, not having to add probiotics because a lot of foods have natural pre and postbiotic abilities.
00:06:43
Speaker
And if you're giving that, that tummy, that microbiome, the foods like fiber, a beautiful high fiber or the right kind of fiber, the right kind of of animal of plant protein rather than animal protein, you end up helping to populate the bacteria inside the mic inside the the dog's stomach and digestive system that naturally works. The key is just give them whole, pure food.
00:07:07
Speaker
when we do that, we've had, you know, one, i just had put a testimonial last evening where she said my dog was bleeding from its butt and they they recommended to look at a ah vegan diet. And she said, I found you, it just completely healed my dogs. And they felt it might've been some sort of IBS or colitis the dog had.
00:07:28
Speaker
Anyway, so that was just one. We have we have dozens and dozens of of digestive stories that the dogs have literally turned around. And a shiny coat is what we see. It's printed on every almost every dog food bag that you could ever find. A shiny coat, you know, great, healthy skin.
00:07:45
Speaker
But the reality is that it doesn't work. You know, those things don't work for a lot of dogs and they need extra support. ah What is it about virtue
Nutritional Strategy and Ingredients
00:07:53
Speaker
that really helps address the skin and the dander and the coarse fur or the, you know, losing hair, those types of things?
00:08:01
Speaker
Right. So the reason when we first started this, we started to interview veterinarian friends at first. And one of the main issues that kept coming up was with regards to skin issues, you know, the hyperalbogenic diets that that weren't available at the time and that skin issues are one of the main problems that they deal with in their you know veterinary practice every day.
00:08:23
Speaker
And it's it's a constant. Some can be environmentally caused and some can be food and diet related. And there's an estimation 30 to 40% could be diet related.
00:08:34
Speaker
We knew at that point, if we were all we're doing then and is taking a plant based protein and replacing using that instead of an animal based protein, the animal based protein and so and many proteins dogs can become sensitive to.
00:08:49
Speaker
And that's essentially what has been happening. And many animals are fed the same, same protein every day, every day. Not only what we were just talking about is affecting their microbiome and their immune system, but it also was affecting the skin health.
00:09:01
Speaker
And that is one of the first things that is shown, you know, like hy ah food sensitivities. The first thing that you can most likely will see will be a skin issue. It'll be hot spot. It could be paws. It could be in the ears.
00:09:14
Speaker
It could be, you know, the belly area and that sort of thing. And then there's also digestion. So that's another food sensitivity issue is if there's constant diarrhea or the dog's having difficulty with digestion.
00:09:25
Speaker
ah Even vomit can be a food sensitivity. So that's why you'll see it that a dog is healthy with that nice shiny coat, et cetera. Yes, usually they are.
00:09:36
Speaker
The part is it's
Reaching Pet Owners and Market Presence
00:09:37
Speaker
when you add in the right fats, the right fiber, the right type of plant proteins, you actually give the dog all of the nutrients that it needs in order to have a very, very strong immune system.
00:09:50
Speaker
And also the odds of them developing a sensitivity to a plant-based protein is extremely low. You may have a soy issue. There could be wheat.
00:10:01
Speaker
There could be, not in the gluten world, but definitely a wheat allergy can happen or a dairy allergy. This is where the dog can use these foods so well and so easily and get all of that beautiful, shiny, healthy coat that you want.
00:10:17
Speaker
And this isn't brand new. You've been at this for a bit. I know there's already been thousands of dogs that have ah tried this. What's been the, and it's probably all the listeners are thinking, what will their vet say? So what are you hearing from veterinarians about this formulation that you've put together?
00:10:36
Speaker
Well, I'm going to go back to 1991. Nine on that one, talking to a veterinary friend in Calgary. And I you know i said to her talk to me about vegetarian foods. We didn't use the word vegan.
00:10:47
Speaker
And she said, well, I've got them in my clinic. So this is not new to the veterinarian industry, right? The veterinary industry. Of course, they'' there's been food allergies have been around for a long, long time.
00:10:59
Speaker
And so at this point, basically, if if we're talking about a hypoallergenic issue, a veterinarian right away They're going to either recommend vegetarian form that they have in their practice, or now they're being introduced to virtue.
00:11:15
Speaker
And that is our goal for them to understand that we are right here in Vancouver, we will bring you the, like we just talked about some of the best food possible for a hypoallergenic diet for dogs.
00:11:26
Speaker
And so we have, we have great responses. There's, there's nothing, you know, that because veterinarians, again, they, they, they already sell the products of vegetarian, not very many vegan products in in the market, but vegetarian, because there will be, it's interesting. They will add chicken fat into a hypoallergenic diet and chicken fat can still cause a, you know, a reaction.
00:11:48
Speaker
So anyways, yes, no, we're we're having great responses from veterinarians. That's so great. And are we talking about little dogs? Are we talking about big monster dogs? Like what's the, is there a type of dog that really responds well to virtue? What's the, what's the gamut there?
00:12:05
Speaker
You know, all dogs, you know, like us, when we, when we eat a great diet, will all respond well, right? Something that we just talked about, you know, plant-based at least and great fiber and great fats and all those things that our body wants. The same thing happens for all breeds.
00:12:21
Speaker
When we're looking at what we, you know, we're trying to address our best with regards to hypolyphogenic issues, Dogs like Retrievers and Labradors and Frenchies and Bulldogs, Boxers, Pit Bulls, they tend to have some more food sensitivity issues than than other breeds.
00:12:40
Speaker
And so we, you know, those are the the main main dogs. But no, it's big, small. We have 130
Ensuring Nutritional Balance and Transitioning
00:12:46
Speaker
pound mountain, Swiss blue mountain dogs. You know, we have like big, beautiful little Bulldogs and and no, we have little Yorkies.
00:12:56
Speaker
So it really doesn't matter. Does virtue help those little ones be less yappy? Wouldn't that be great? It's anecdotal. we I think they are starting to show that theyre there is some basis behind why dogs do have some behavioral issues because of diet.
00:13:12
Speaker
There's some interesting things we've had where my dog is calmer. My dog isn't is a different dog since going on to virtue. I love hearing those because we're also touching on you know the important part of the dog not being so maybe aggressive or maybe nervous and that sort of thing. But we've had some really good feedback on that.
00:13:30
Speaker
I love it. That's so good. And at this point, it's a direct to consumer play. People are able to go to your website. They're able to buy a starter kit. They can introduce the food to their dog. And it sounds like it's more of like a gradual entry is what you guys encourage. Or what's the process for someone to get their dog to eat something like Virtue?
00:13:51
Speaker
For us, what's really important is that we are reaching out to find the dog parents that have dogs with hypoallergenic issues because it's, you know, and it and it is easier for them because they want to find a solution faster. So what we felt was when we started to the concept of a starter kit, but some people do like to start their dog on something. They don't know if the dog will love the food right away because many dogs have what I call discern and taste buds.
00:14:17
Speaker
And so you want to, they want to be sure about that. And the model that worked well for us, having a starter kit, say if when we're working with veterinary partners, that starter kit starts the process. So literally they don't feel like they're going home with a big bag of food that's been recommended. They can you know take the starter kit, have, depending on the size of the dog, a week to 10 days worth of food in the starter kit, along with the toppers and the different treats and things that we offer.
00:14:47
Speaker
And that way they can they can get a really good feel for how the dog will react to it. And the other is we always recommend to do a slow transition because if some dogs have been on a like a kibble diet, a dry diet, or they've been on a a lower fiber diet, or they've been on a raw diet, we just recommend to do a slow transition so that they just have the best experience possible during the transition.
00:15:09
Speaker
So that's, that's why we
Transparency and Vision of Virtue
00:15:10
Speaker
we do the starter kit. And can you nerd out for a moment on the ingredients list here? Like, what is in this? I mean, of course, we know in the pet industry, there's things like, you know, bug protein. We know that there's lentils. There's all these different ways in which protein and other nutrients can be delivered. Can you share with us what's what's in this, Matt? You know if it's a trade secret, then of course, tread carefully.
00:15:35
Speaker
But we'd love to know. That's the part around, no you know, the trade secret is is how we treat people. And how we treat the dogs. That's our trade secret. Other than that, there's really no way for us to say, you know, we we don't want to go down that road of, oh, we have the intellectual property of this. are we It's really important to us that we are just being as transparent as we can.
00:15:57
Speaker
And so, and not as we can, transparent. There is no other way. you ah Either are you aren't. And what was important to us is, number one, just a really great quality protein that the dog would thrive on.
00:16:09
Speaker
And I started to do it years and years ago. I i was cooking lentils and barley, things like that for my dog. And then we ended up going down the the commercial part of finding these powders and what was happening again, pea proteins were becoming you know very, very well known and and recognized for her being a really great protein.
00:16:30
Speaker
And so we started with the the basis of a pea protein and because we are Canadians and we're from the Prairie, you know sort of pulse and hemp belt, Hemp foods are absolutely wonderful. So we use Canadian hemp food and the hemp hearts are beautiful balance of fats, of the omega-3s, the omega-6s, all those things that are really important. And it also has a really important amino acid that other plants don't have. And so it's ah like a superfood amino acid, which is great.
00:17:00
Speaker
And then we use really easy to digest um foods like Canadian oats. Yay. Oats are wonderful. It's like, um I want to bring back, you know, i want to bring whole food, the sexiness back to whole foods, you know, were they ever there? I'm not sure if they're really always sexy, but you know, really these beautiful foods and then potatoes, potatoes are great. Dogs love the scent, smell and the taste of potato and, um you know, carrots and kale and pumpkin and spinach.
00:17:28
Speaker
things like that. And we use a special algae that's been, it's not harvested from the sea. It's actually grown on land and it's called golden algae. And it really is phenomenal. It's got the high DHA, which really assists the dog with conversion of to EPA and all of the good things they need for those, for your joints and for their eyes and their ears and all of those important things. So yeah, that gives you an idea of what's inside of our first formula called the love bowl.
00:17:55
Speaker
The love ball. Yeah. Good zip folder on that one. I like it. Let's go back to symptoms for a second. Kind of just say that that one of the things that always drives me crazy about, you know, meeting a lovely dog is that its breath is less than lovely.
00:18:08
Speaker
a lot of dogs seem to struggle with oral issues and wretched breath. Some of the those most amazing dogs I've ever met have been the smelliest when they get close. What does your food do for them in that regard?
00:18:22
Speaker
You know, I've had two Border Collies that have been ah vegan dogs and there is no smell. There's no scent, like none from ah body scent, none.
00:18:34
Speaker
Their breath is wonderful. You would not, it's not anywhere near a typical kibble breath. And when they, what's interesting, we've had some some customers that have cameras in the back and they're actually showing, know, the dog's gone and the you know, where they go and and do their thing.
00:18:50
Speaker
And that the the wildlife is eating their virtue poop. And I go, I just love that. Like we're, we're, we got this full cycle here going. So it's your fault that there's more raccoons digging up for bugs in the grass. I know it sounds crazy, but even the poop does not have the smell like you would, you know, the scent, you know, when you pick up a regular kind of,
00:19:11
Speaker
big dog just went by and they go, my God, the smell of that. And you get on your shoe. It doesn't happen with, you know, it means certainly there's a scent, but it's nothing like, absolutely nothing.
00:19:22
Speaker
like a typical dog food poop. That's amazing. So when a we call them pet parents, is that what you said? pet parents. When pet parents try virtue for the first time, they're in in it for a week or two, maybe longer, depending on their transition.
00:19:39
Speaker
What is their experience after that? Is it sort of, do they go all in and just serve this style of food or do they maintain a bit of a, you you know, smorgasbord? what What do you see?
00:19:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good question. And because we go through such an extraordinary process in order to become a complete and balanced, we had a team of three board certified veterinary nutritionists, which is, by the way, how what everybody should be looking for is so is a food that's been complete and balanced according to AFCO standards, which is the American Feeding Control.
00:20:11
Speaker
There's certain guidelines, something like our our guidelines here in Health Canada and how much we should eat per day and what we should have of nutrition. So that's really, really important.
00:20:22
Speaker
And yeah, so that's essentially what we go through is that we do a complete and balanced diet. So they can just, once the dog's comfortable with it, and they just go all in. Absolutely. Now, we recommend that they stay with one diet.
00:20:35
Speaker
So we don't know what they're be feeding if they're only feeding half. And we say, definitely, if you do choose to do that, check with your veterinarian. Are you sure you're getting the the same amount of nutrients that we know is in the full-time birth to diet?
00:20:49
Speaker
that has all the things you need the right balance of vitamin d you need all the right fats you need the right nutrients and so if they're feeding a raw diet half i'm not sure on the raw diet are they giving a supplement so you have to have a supplement that would complete and balance it because just a dog eating meat does not work it has to have other nutrients and so we just recommend that people stay either with one or the other And if they do do part-time or half-time that they make sure that they check with their veterinarian first.
00:21:20
Speaker
Makes sense. Now, a lot of the people that we have on the aisle 42 podcast, they, they do a lot of demos. They go to grocery stores, they stand at the end of the aisle and they hand out little cups.
00:21:31
Speaker
You're not likely doing this in grocery stores. So where do you find pet parents and their dogs? We started out, which was really great. You know, during COVID we, um,
00:21:43
Speaker
We just had a really good list. So we were we started basically right in smack dab in the middle of COVID and we just put it out to our list. And so they found us via you know knowing about virtue. The next was we went into events like Planted Expo here in Vancouver because we really wanted to position this as not your typical dog food.
00:22:02
Speaker
know Go into events where our first group, we call our first dancers, of course, right? Which are plant-based thinking vegan that would have a dog.
00:22:13
Speaker
That's been a really, really great kind of of process hint to to be introduced to many of them. And what we're in the process of doing is start, you know, we wanted to go with, you know, Corrin in the world of marketing is what's duplicatable.
00:22:26
Speaker
We just sort of throw out here, try this and try that and do a bunch of different things. We didn't know if that would be duplicatable or not. So for instance, we could stand at Pacific Spirit Park here and at the dog park entrance, right? And hand out treats.
00:22:42
Speaker
and samples and that sort of thing. So that's one option. We just, we haven't started that yet, but that's one option. And the other is to work with businesses like we've talked about here with regards to veterinarians could be ah way for for, of course, for them to learn about virtue.
00:22:58
Speaker
Groomers could be a way to learn about virtue, working with organizations that you and I are talking about here right now that we'll announce soon that could also be affiliates and partners and with Virtue.
00:23:10
Speaker
And so, and basically our sample shop here in Kitsilano, we have open houses and people come in and, and, and get samples and things like that. So that's, that's basically how we've been doing it so far.
00:23:22
Speaker
So people can walk by with their dog, knock on your door. Absolutely. Come on in. We got all kinds of samples here. We're going to, we want to feed, you want to feed your food. That's so good. Well, I love this chat and I love all the conversations that we have. And I'm so glad that we're able to, you know, share virtue with our 42 listeners and hopefully spread it far and wide. think the work that you and your team and your collaborators are doing, it's important work. And I think that you're making people's lives and families and their pets happier. So I think that's really cool.
00:23:54
Speaker
Thank you very much, Farwin. We're looking forward to the future of that more and more.
00:24:01
Speaker
Thanks for listening to this episode of aisle 42. Head over to virtue.com to order your puppy starter kit today. Seriously, don't wait. Click, click, bark, bark. Okay, that's it for me. I'm Corbin Heber from Ethical Food Group, and I'll see in the future.