73. Grub Club Pets Grub Club makes pet food made with insect protein, delivering hypoallergenic, gut-friendly nutrition that is also kinder to the planet. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founders: Alessandro Di Trapani and Hugh PetitYear founded: 2020Website: mygrubclub.com“Pets consume 20% of the world’s meat and fish, fueling more than 100 million tonnes of CO2eq. emissions annually,” share founders Alessandro Di Trapani and Hugh Petit. Their venture, Grub Club Pets, set about changing this by replacing meat with insect protein.The UK has been their initial focus, where 59% of households own pets. Here, the duo explains, they are tapping into three trends. “Climate-conscious consumption, rising pet humanisation, and booming demand for sensitive and functional pet diets.”The latter, the founders claim, is an underserved market with one in five dogs now claimed to suffer from allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities in their lifetime.With the three pillars in mind, the founders created Grub Club Pets, which delivers “insect-powered nutrition that’s hypoallergenic, highly digestible, and packed with all the essential nutrients dogs need to thrive”. Having worked directly with vets and nutritionists to get the formulations right, they report that 76% of customers now buy the products because of the gut-health and allergy-friendly properties; and vets even recommend them.Mother Earth is also being kept happy. One tonne of insects can be grown in two weeks, using 20sqm of land, and with less than 30 litres of water, they share. We found that each dog switching to Grub Club from a meat-based diet can save 1.5 tonnes of CO2eq. emissions per year, “We found that each dog switching to Grub Club from a meat-based diet can save 1.5 tonnes of CO2eq. emissions per year,” they quantify, adding that, “if just one percent of the UK’s 12 million dogs made the switch, that’s 180,000 tonnes of CO2eq. saved, which is the equivalent of 75,000 homes’ annual electricity usage”.Since we last featured Grub Club in 2025, the brand is now on the shelves at 460 Pets at Home stores nationwide, and is also listed with Abel & Cole, Planet Organic and Daylesford Organic. The team has also racked up several awards, including being named a Sky Zero Footprint Fund Grand Prix Winner.Revenue growth has doubled from 2023 to 2024 and the brand is now aiming to be the go-to for pooches with sensitivities. Have you joined Grub Club yet?View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.