Learn from a Local: Anne Carlson, CEO of Jiminy’s (alt-protein pet food)

About Our Speaker: Anne Carlson

Anne Carlson is the Founder and CEO of Jiminy’s, and has spent her entire career working in consumer brands across many categories, although her passion is the pet category, in which she’s worked for the past thirteen years. Anne’s business background leverages her M.B.A. from NYU and stints at Anderson Consulting and Diageo before founding Secant, an information technology startup around the beverage industry that Anne sold to Information Resources in 2006. Anne pivoted into pet food brands at Del Monte Foods before founding Jiminy’s in 2016, with a focus on using insect protein as a more-sustainable alternative to protein sources used for human food. Anne was the recipient of a 2019 Stevie Award, Entrepreneur of the Year – Food and Beverage, from the American Business Awards for her work on Jiminy’s.

Anne has two rescue pups at home, a Great Dane named Derby and a lab / border collie mix named Tuco. You can describe Anne as a retired marathon runner, new pilates junky and a film lover.

About Jiminy’s

Jiminy’s is a Northern California-based maker of sustainable pet food and treats using cricket protein. Jiminy’s products nourish our pets and promote long-term stewardship of the earth. Jiminy’s products are human grade; made with the best ingredients that are carefully chosen to enhance our pets’ health and happiness.

Jiminy’s is among the leaders in using alternative protein in the pet food industry. Pet nutrition is a $50B annual industry in the U.S., and pets currently consume 30% of the meat produced in the U.S. Jiminy’s seeks to make an impact in reducing the environmental impact of protein used in feeding our pets while improving pet health and nutrition. Jiminy’s products are distributed nationwide through pet retailers like Petco and online direct-to-consumer channels such as Chewy. Jiminy’s was number 289 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2022.

About The Series: Learn From a Local

Learn from a Local is an on-going speaker series hosted by AgStart, a non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs advancing innovation in agriculture, food, and health. On the 1st Thursday evening of every month, AgStart hosts a local speaker from the agriculture, food, and health world to speak on a topic relevant to our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our goal is to offer a space to connect with local individuals while learning from others about topics relevant to our AgStart AgriFoodTech community. Events take place in our AgStart Event Center: 1100 Main St., Suite 170, Woodland, CA 95695. An approximate event agenda is detailed above.

Learn more at www.agstart.org