November 17, 2025, 3:23 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
With glittering stickers, colorful comic-style cans, and a clear stance, Strayz has been shaking up the pet market for over five years. What looks playful has a serious core: Every product supports stray animals worldwide with food donations. The social pet food brand was founded in Berlin in 2020. In an interview, the founders reflect on the first five years of their work, setbacks, and successes, and reveal to PETBOOK how Strayz plans to move forward.
With their pet food brand, founders Madeline Metzsch and Saskia te Kaat combine animal welfare with high-quality pet food–and a clear mission. “I had a beloved pet at home–and at the same time, millions of strays worldwide are fighting for survival,” Madeline shares in the first part of the PETBOOK interview about how the idea for Strayz came about in 2019 in the Seychelles when she rescued a heavily pregnant street cat. “That’s when I first truly became aware of the suffering of these animals.”
Back in Germany, the emotional experience turned into a concrete business model. Following the “buy one, give one” principle, Strayz donates food to stray animal aid projects with every purchase. The team places particular importance on high-quality products with minimal animal suffering and transparency: “If we’re going to do this, then only in organic quality. That way, we know the living conditions are at least better.” The team consciously avoids questionable additives and focuses on open declaration of ingredients.
Consistent Line and Criticism
But Strayz is not only colorful and transparent, it’s also challenging–especially for established brands. They find it questionable that many advertise with claims like ‘good for the joints’ or ‘boosts the immune system.’ Such so-called “health claims” are only allowed under EU regulations if they are scientifically proven and officially approved.
For their consistent line, the founders have had to endure criticism: An initial evaluation by “Stiftung Warentest” rated them as “poor.” However, the team used the opportunity to educate and further develop their product range. How they responded to the testers’ criticism and what has changed since then is revealed by the founders in the second part of the extensive PETBOOK interview.
To date, Strayz supports sixteen animal welfare organizations–and a seventeenth is soon to be added. The organizations are selected together with the community and are rigorously vetted. The goal for the coming years: “We definitely need to continue growing to be able to save even more animals.”