Our investment in Years

• This partnership will help the brand set a new standard in pet food through its proprietary Cupboard Fresh® technology, research-backed veterinary nutrition expertise and omnichannel expansion across Europe.

LONDON, United Kingdom, July 1st, 2026  — Years, a UK-based pet nutrition company pioneering the Cupboard Fresh category, today announced a growth investment from Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures, two leading consumer investors with deep pet sector expertise. The partnership will support the company’s next phase of expansion as it scales across retail channels and European markets, meeting growing consumer demand for premium, health-focused, and convenient nutrition solutions.

Founded in 2023 by Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki, Years was built on a simple belief: that fresh, minimally processed wholefoods are meaningfully better for dogs’ long-term health and can be made more accessible for pet owners. Its proprietary Cupboard Fresh® technology enables the use of fresh, high-quality ingredients while delivering the benefits of ambient storage and distribution, resulting in nutritionally complete, wholefood meals with up to 18 months of shelf life. Designed by veterinary nutritionists, the meals prioritize healthy ageing, digestion, and tailored caloric needs.

Since launch, Years has shipped more than 12 million personalised meals, with each meal tailored to a dog’s weight, age and nutritional profile. Most recently, the company expanded its retail footprint through a landmark partnership with Pets at Home, making its range available across more than 460 stores in the UK as well as online.

Darren Beale, Co-founder & CEO of Years, said: “We founded Years to challenge the assumption that fresh pet food must come with logistical compromises. By combining research-backed nutritional quality with ambient convenience, we’ve created a new category that resonates with modern pet owners. With Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures as partners, we’re positioned to accelerate our mission across Europe.”

Ivan Barashki, Co-founder & CTO of Years, added: “That proposition is resonating well beyond the fresh feeding community, with 66% of our subscribers previously feeding their dogs kibble or wet food, meaning we are successfully redefining how pet owners approach their pets’ nutrition. With Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures behind us, we can take another giant step towards our mission of giving dog owners more years together with their dogs.”

Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures will work closely with Years’ leadership to accelerate international expansion, deepen retail partnerships, and bring the brand’s premium nutrition offering to new markets. Ivan Farneti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Five Seasons Ventures, and Anaïs Jollivet, Senior Principal at Verlinvest, will join the Board of Years as the company enters its next phase of development.

Ben Black, Managing Director at Verlinvest, said: “We are delighted to partner with Darren, Ivan and the Years team to accelerate their mission of bringing nutritionally complete, fresh food in a scalable, convenient, ambient format to a wider audience. We are excited for them to join our extensive premium pet portfolio which started over 10 years ago with our investment in Chewy.com, and support their creation of the Cupboard Fresh® category on an international basis – unlocking more Years with our pets.”

Ivan Farneti, Partner at Five Seasons Ventures , commented: “At Five Seasons Ventures, we have backed several successful dog and cat food brands and were early believers in the shift towards fresh pet nutrition and subscription models. We see Years as the natural next evolution of this category. By combining the nutritional benefits of fresh food with the convenience of ambient storage, Years is making premium pet nutrition accessible to a much broader consumer base while enabling true omnichannel distribution through both direct-to-consumer and retail channels. We believe Years has the potential to become one of the defining brands in the next generation of pet nutrition.”

Years serves dogs across all breeds and life stages through a range of personalised, chef-cooked wholefood recipes, including seasonal meat dishes, breed-specific functional toppers, and superfood supplements. The brand is inspired by leading wellbeing and health research and focused on advancing the next generation of pet nutrition through science, quality, and convenience. Raymond James acted as financial advisor to Years in connection with the transaction.

About Years
Founded in 2023 by Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki, Years is on a mission to give dog parents, more years together with their dog. Headquartered in Nottingham, UK, the company serves dog owners across the UK through its personalised DTC subscription platform and a growing retail presence with Pets At Home and Just For Pets. Years’ proprietary Cupboard Fresh® technology delivers nutritionally complete fresh meals with 18 months of ambient shelf life – no freezer, no cold chain, no compromise. The brand’s “More Years Together” mission is underpinned by ongoing research into canine wellbeing and healthy ageing nutrition. Further information is available at www.years.com.

About Verlinvest
Verlinvest is an international, family-backed evergreen investment company. Verlinvest identifies inflection points in consumer behaviors and partners with the businesses that are driving these consumer revolutions forward while having a positive impact. Established in 1995, with offices in Brussels, London, New York, Singapore, and Mumbai, Verlinvest focuses on the FMCG, health, consumer technology, and lifestyle categories, investing across three strategies: Venture, Growth, and Platform— from early-stage backing through large-scale brand building. The company has over €2.5bn in AuM and counts brands such as Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely, Purplle, K1 Speed, Mutti, Who Gives A Crap and Insomnia Cookies among its portfolio, alongside alumni Chewy, Sula, and Vitaminwater. Further information is available at www.verlinvest.com  

About Five Seasons Ventures 
Five Seasons Ventures is a specialist venture capital firm investing in Europe’s next generation of iconic consumer brands. The firm backs exceptional founders building category-leading brands at the intersection of food, nutrition, health and sustainability, businesses that are redefining how consumers eat, live and care for themselves. Five Seasons Ventures partners with early-stage entrepreneurs, providing long-term capital with deep scale-up expertise, strategic guidance and one of Europe’s most extensive networks across the consumer ecosystem. The firm’s investment approach is built on the conviction that enduring consumer brands are created by combining superior products, strong consumer engagement, and disciplined execution.Founded in 2018 in Paris, with ~€500m under management, Five Seasons Ventures has invested in over 25 companies, including several iconic consumer brands such as Just Spices (exit to Kraft Heinz), yfood (exit to Nestle), Butternut Box (exit to PE), KoRo, air-up and many others. Further information available at www.fiveseasons.vc.