PetPax Co, a start-up focused on redefining everyday pet wellness for modern pet owners, has been named the grand prize winner following a live pitch competition at Global Pet Expo, the pet care industry’s largest annual trade show held in Orlando, Florida. Five innovative pet care start-ups from across North America presented their businesses to leading industry executives and investors, competing for the US$25,000 grand prize as part of the 2026 Pet Care Innovation Prize.
Based in Boston, PetPax Co was founded by two dog owners with a focus on pet wellness. Its flagship product line, SupplaMelts™, uses a proprietary fast-dissolving oral thin-film delivery system to provide veterinarian-approved supplements that are easy to administer and gentle for dogs. With targeted solutions such as ZenMelts® for calming and DentalMelts™ for oral health, the company’s patent-pending method is designed to improve absorption by bypassing stomach acid, while reducing stress for both pets and their owners.
“At PetPax Co, we believe pet wellness should be simple, effective and practical in everyday life. As dog owners ourselves, SupplaMelts® were developed to improve compliance and outcomes by rethinking supplement delivery, based on our own experiences. We are incredibly honoured to win the grand prize of the 2026 Pet Care Innovation Prize, powered by Purina. As a leader in pet health and nutrition, this recognition validates both the problem we are addressing and the platform we are building with SupplaMelts,” said Anthony Gatti, CEO and co-founder of PetPax Co.
The company had previously received US$25,000 in non-dilutive funding, along with mentorship from Purina and Active Capital, through the Pet Care Innovation Prize programme, having been selected from more than 200 applicants worldwide. With this latest win, PetPax Co secures an additional US$25,000 grand prize.
“The panel of judges who selected PetPax Co as our 2026 Pet Care Innovation Prize grand prize winner sees significant potential in the business,” said Patrick Mullen, co-lead of Purina’s 9Square Ventures group and Vice President of Strategic Planning at Purina. “We are proud to support PetPax Co on its growth journey and look forward to seeing how all finalists continue to innovate and shape the future of pet care.”