株式会社バイオフィリア

株式会社バイオフィリア (Biophilia Inc.) is a Japanese pet food company that develops and sells fresh (non-dry, non-retort) pet food under the dog brand CoCo Gourmet (ココグルメ) and the cat brand Miao Gourmet (ミャオグルメ), plus a cat puree product called にゃっち. It also operates 'ぺっとる', a free family pet photo album service used by a cumulative 10,000 households. CoCo Gourmet meals are formulated under the supervision of veterinarians and animal nutrition specialists to meet complete-and-balanced (総合栄養食) nutritional standards aligned with AAFCO criteria, and use only domestically sourced human-grade meat, fish and vegetables prepared by low-temperature cooking, with no antioxidants, colour fixatives, pH adjusters, preservatives, colourants, seasonings or fragrances.

The product line spans frozen main meals (recipes including chicken & vegetable, pork & broccoli, fish & pumpkin, venison & beet, and beef & sweet potato), an ambient retort line, a small-portion 'プチ' line, a therapeutic-diet 'ケア' line (early kidney support, digestive support, skin and coat care), a puree line for oral, joint, gut and immune care, and side items such as deer-hide chews and freeze-dried natto and vegetables. Frozen products keep about 18 months from manufacture and retort products about two years. The company also runs the WAN I NYARU (わににゃる) project, which redirects surplus and near-expiry food to rescue dogs and animal welfare groups and supports 'zero euthanasia' and SDGs-related activity; cumulative donations to rescue dogs and animal welfare organisations reached 58,000 meals.

Biophilia is known internally for pet-inclusive workplace policies, including allowing employees to bring their pets to the office (the 'わんダフル・ワーキング' scheme), pet dependent allowances and bereavement leave for pet deaths, with company dogs and cats participating in product development and marketing.

Founding story

CEO Kota Iwahashi, a 1989-born graduate of Keio University's Faculty of Economics, joined SMBC Nikko Securities and spent about four and a half years on IPO preparation and underwriting work for unlisted companies. After losing two dogs — miniature dachshunds Riv (15) and Pino (14) — to illness, and reflecting that better nutrition might have extended their lives, he founded Biophilia with Hiroyuki Yahagi, a University of Tokyo graduate school alumnus and former Oracle Japan engineer, in August 2017. The team launched the pet album service 'ぺっとる' in 2017 and released CoCo Gourmet in June 2019.

Business model

Direct-to-consumer manufacturing and sale of fresh pet food, sold primarily through the company's own e-commerce site on a recurring subscription (定期便) basis, complemented by wholesale distribution to retail and pet-related businesses.

Product sales. On the Japanese site a first-time trial box (500g) is offered at ¥980 against a regular ¥3,980, single purchases start at ¥3,100, subscription packs (1.2/1.6kg) are discounted 20% from ¥6,238 to ¥4,990 and up, retort sets start at ¥4,980 and the therapeutic ケア line at ¥6,990. At the 2019 launch a box was priced at ¥4,480 excluding tax and shipping. Wholesale pricing is negotiated per account with no minimum order lot, ordered via a dedicated retailer web portal and paid by bank transfer or credit card. A money-back guarantee applies to a customer's first shipment if packaging is returned within 15 days.

Traction

Reported revenue of ¥1.4bn in 2022 with 150,000 members, growing to ¥2.3bn in 2024 with more than 400,000 members. Cumulative meals sold surpassed 120 million as of 1 October 2023, and cumulative registered dogs reached 200,000 as of end-August 2023. Subscription retention is reported at 95%, sales growth at 200%, and distribution covers over 1,000 stores nationwide. Cumulative donations of 58,000 meals have gone to rescue dogs and animal welfare organisations.

Latest developments

In January 2024 the company announced a ¥370m Series B first close led by W fund with DIMENSION, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Adlib Tech Ventures and KxShare (renamed fundnote), taking cumulative funding including borrowings to about ¥1.2bn, earmarked for overseas channel development starting in Taiwan, hiring, new product development, advertising and supply chain strengthening, with a stated target of ¥5–10bn annual revenue within several years. A retort (ambient) line launched in October 2023, and the site lists newer items including the CoCo Gourmet Puree line and a therapeutic ケア line. Customer support telephone numbers changed on 21 October 2025.