Focused at pet owners with an active lifestyle, Nulo founder and CEO Michael Landa said his company’s pet food provides dogs and cats with the nutrition also sought by their owners.

Nulo’s recipe is grain-free and formulated high in animal-based protein, he said. Landa created the brand after seeing what really goes into developing today’s pet food, he said.

While operating a pet sitter service he created in Los Angeles, Landa said he noticed an increase in the need for sitters who could administer insulin shots to pets. Landa said he realized something negative was going on in the pet food industry he wanted to change.

“I started calling scientists around the country that were educated on what was happening in the pet food industry,” said Landa, who was trained as a biomedical engineer. “The number of [carbohydrates in pet foods] was high and only getting higher.”

Landa said he began working with a top U.S. scientist to formulate a new kind of pet food that ultimately became the Nulo product.

Each Nulo product has a nutritionally identical platform and omits potatoes, tapioca, corn, wheat, soy, glutens and genetically modified organisms, he said. Since dogs and cats are natural carnivores, Nulo foods, which are made in the U.S., contain 80-85 percent animal-based protein, he said. Vegetable protein sources alone, which Landa says many brands contain as filler, will not provide the amino acids pets need from animal meat.

Nulo’s recipes use only low-glycemic ingredients such as chickpeas, peas and sweet potatoes, he said.

Although Nulo was first marketed to natural food stores, Landa said his staff shifted its focus to independent pet food stores across the country. Locally, the brand is available in Tomlinson’s and Natural Pawz, and Nulo recently stocked an exclusive line—Nulo Medal Series—on the shelves of PetSmart.

“Retailers see us as doing something different,” Landa said.

Forbes magazine agrees as Nulo was pegged as one of its 25 Most Innovative Consumer Brands of 2016.

Unique to the company is its use of elite sports figures as the brand’s “athlete ambassadors.” Landa said. These individuals—including several Olympians—provide endorsements for a small fee. This roster features decathlete Trey Hardee, swimmers Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Piersol, ice dancer Charlie White and gymnast Carly Patterson.

“Athletes are concerned about what goes into their bodies and what goes into their pets’ bodies,” he said.

A Nulo employee, Olympic swimmer Ricky Berens leads the athlete ambassador and field marketing programs.

“I was excited about the brand and asked Michael how I can be a part of growing the company,” Berens said.

Because of its association with creating healthy and active pets, Nulo representatives attend athletic events around the country, including Rock and Roll marathons and Ironman competitions.

“We are the only pet food company represented at these [public] events,” Berens said.