Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures Invest in UK Pet Food Innovator Years

Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures announce a strategic growth investment in Years, a Nottingham-based pet nutrition company pioneering the Cupboard Fresh® category on July 1, 2026. Founded in 2023 by Darren Beale and Ivan Barashki, Years specializes in personalised, chef-cooked wholefood dog meals that combine fresh ingredients with ambient storage technology, enabling up to 18 months of shelf life without refrigeration.

The investment aims to accelerate Years’ expansion across retail channels and European markets, meeting rising consumer demand for premium, health-focused, and convenient pet nutrition solutions. Years has already shipped over 12 million personalised meals tailored to dogs’ weight, age, and nutritional needs, and recently expanded its retail presence through a partnership with Pets at Home, making its products available in more than 460 UK stores and online.

Years’ proprietary Cupboard Fresh® technology allows the company to deliver nutritionally complete meals designed by veterinary nutritionists, focusing on healthy ageing, digestion, and tailored caloric intake. This innovation addresses common challenges in fresh pet food by combining quality with ambient convenience, eliminating the need for cold chain logistics.

Darren Beale, Co-Founder of Years, states, “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 adds, “66% of our subscribers previously fed their dogs kibble or wet food, meaning we are successfully redefining how pet owners approach their pets’ nutrition. This partnership enables us to take a giant step towards giving dog owners more years together with their dogs.”

Verlinvest, an international family-backed investment company with over €2.5 billion in assets under management, and Five Seasons Ventures, a specialist European venture capital firm focused on food, nutrition, health, and sustainability, will collaborate closely with Years’ leadership. Ivan Farneti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Five Seasons Ventures, and Anaïs Jollivet, Senior Principal at Verlinvest, will join Years’ Board to support its next growth phase.

Ivan Farneti comments, “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. Years joins our premium pet portfolio, which began over a decade ago with our investment in Chewy.com.” Anaïs Jollivet adds, “Years is creating the Cupboard Fresh® category on an international basis, unlocking more years with our pets.”

Five Seasons Ventures highlights Years as the natural evolution in fresh pet nutrition, combining the benefits of fresh food with ambient storage convenience. This approach enables omnichannel distribution through direct-to-consumer subscriptions and retail partnerships, broadening access to premium pet nutrition.

Years offers a range of personalised recipes, including seasonal meat dishes, breed-specific functional toppers, and superfood supplements, all inspired by leading research in canine wellbeing and healthy ageing. The company’s mission is underpinned by ongoing scientific research and a commitment to advancing pet nutrition through quality and convenience.

Raymond James acted as financial advisor to Years in connection with the transaction. The investment will support Years in scaling operations, deepening retail partnerships, and navigating regulatory requirements as it expands across Europe.

As Years embarks on this growth trajectory, the partnership with Verlinvest and Five Seasons Ventures positions the company to strengthen its leadership in the fresh ambient pet food category and meet increasing consumer demand for innovative, health-focused pet nutrition solutions.