ALPHAPET STRENGTHENS ADVISORY BOARD

AlphaPet Ventures, Europe’s leading digital brand platform for premium pet food, has expanded its advisory board by appointing two experienced industry experts: Dr. Mischa Ritter and Stefan Pfannmöller.

AlphaPet Ventures (AlphaPet) is at the forefront of digitizing the pet care market, successfully developing and distributing premium brands across Europe. Its portfolio includes well-known premium brands such as Wolfsblut, Wildes Land, Arden Grange, Herrmann’s Manufaktur, and, more recently, JR Pet Products. AlphaPet’s multi-channel strategy integrates a strong direct-to-consumer (D2C) presence with a customer-centric approach through proprietary platforms and partnerships with leading B2B retail partners.

Since January 2025, Dr. Mischa Ritter and Stefan Pfannmöller have actively joined AlphaPet’s strategic advisory board, guiding the company in its next phase of growth and international expansion.

The advisory board now consists of Fritjof Franz (capiton), Hans-Christian Perle (Reimann Investors), Martin Junker (Venture Stars), as well as Mischa Ritter and Stefan Pfannmöller. Together with the management team, they support AlphaPet's ongoing organic scaling and the execution of its successful Buy-and-Build strategy.

Mischa Ritter served as COO at Zooplus, the leading online pet food retailer, for over a decade. He played a pivotal role in scaling the company to over EUR 2 billion in revenue and expanding operations to 24 countries. His expertise lies in operations, supply chain management, logistics, and internationalization. At AlphaPet, Mischa Ritter will focus on further optimizing efficiency across the entire value chain, supporting the final implementation of the new Single-Hub-Own-Warehouse strategy, and further driving international growth.

Stefan Pfannmöller, founder of Venture Stars and Co-founder as well as former Co-CEO of AlphaPet, is an experienced entrepreneur with extensive expertise in business model development, digital marketing, and innovation. After his tenure as Co-CEO, Stefan Pfannmöller continued to support AlphaPet in an advisory role. His formal appointment to the advisory board solidifies his role, where he will continue to drive business strategy, foster innovation, and support acquisitions.

“We are thrilled to have Mischa and Stefan on board. Their expertise will provide strong, sustainable support for our growth and strategy on multiple levels,” says Marco Hierling, CEO and founder of AlphaPet Ventures.

This reinforcement of the advisory board follows another major milestone for AlphaPet: the successful acquisition of the UK brand JR Pet Products, a leading provider of natural dog chews in the UK. This acquisition is AlphaPet’s fourth since capiton’s investment in 2020. Patria Investments, a current LP of capiton, acted as the lead investor, supported by Venture Stars and existing AlphaPet shareholders. The acquisition marks a significant step in strengthening AlphaPet’s UK business and enhancing its premium brand portfolio.

With this latest acquisition and the expansion of its advisory board, AlphaPet continues to advance its vision of building Europe’s leading brand platform for healthy and sustainable pet food.

About AlphaPet Ventures

AlphaPet Ventures is Europe’s leading technology-driven brand platform for premium pet food. Combining multi-channel distribution, digital brand building, and end-to-end technological solutions, AlphaPet is transforming the pet market. The company excels in direct-to-consumer (D2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales, leveraging expertise in technology, business intelligence, digital marketing, and logistics.

Through a combination of organic growth and a successful buy-and-build strategy, AlphaPet has built a steadily growing portfolio of leading European premium brands. AlphaPet’s subsidiaries and brands continue to advance the digitization of the pet market, driven by the vision of providing healthy food for every pet.

About JR Pet Products

JR was founded in 2012 by Jonathan and Rebecca Davies with seed investment from Stephen Tandy. Over the last years JR has become a leader in the premium dog market.

The company has a strong focus on quality and innovation and has built a successful multi-channel distribution with a strong network of B2B partners and direct consumer access (D2C). JR will remain firmly committed to the UK’s pet specialist sector.

About capiton

capiton is an independent, owner-managed private equity firm with over €1.6 billion in managed funds. Its current portfolio includes 18 mid-sized companies, supporting management buyouts and growth financing for established businesses.

About Patria Investments

Patria is a leading alternative investment firm with over 35 years of history specialized in key resilient sectors. With over USD 44 billion in assets under management and a global presence, it aims to provide consistent returns in attractive long term investment opportunities while creating sustainable value for society.

About Reimann Investors

Reimann Investors is a family office and corporate group representing members of the Reimann entrepreneurial family. The firm focuses on highly liquid capital market investments and direct investments in high-growth digital businesses in the areas of SaaS and FinTech.

About Venture Stars

Venture Stars is a Munich-based venture capital fund specializing in early-stage investments in innovative B2C and B2B digital business models. Founded by Martin Junker, Florian Calmbach, and Stefan Pfannmöller, the firm manages three funds, with investments typically ranging between €0.5 million and €5 million per portfolio company. As a former company builder, Venture Stars offers support beyond capital, including strategic know-how, networking, and operational advice in areas such as organizational development and financing. Venture Stars co-founded ePetWorld, which later merged with pets Premium to become AlphaPet Ventures.