Shameless Pets was founded by James Bello and Alex Waite. Formerly a corporate food buyer at Target, James witnessed firsthand the massive amounts of food that would go unsold and unused every week. Over time, he grew increasingly concerned about this issue. When he decided to do some more research, James was shocked to discover that 63 million tons of food went to waste each year in the US alone. During dinner one night, James suddenly had his “aha” moment when his puggle, Mina, tried to steal some of his meal. He decided to try rescuing unused ingredients and turning them into healthy, delicious dog treats.

It was a match made in heaven when James, who had never created a food product before, met his eventual co-founder Alex at a startup event. Alex turned out to be a dog lover with a passion for the environment, and she also happened to be a food scientist who had previously developed dozens of commercialized products for large food brands. With her depth of experience, Alex worked on creating 4 all-natural, grain-free dog treat flavors using upcycled ingredients. James and Alex launched their first line of products in October 2018, and today, the Shameless Pets team continues on their mission to transform surplus foods into tasty and high-quality treats for pets.