From Certified Organic Pioneer to Industry Provocateur: Phivo on Building Augustine Approved
About this episode
Phivo discusses his journey in the pet industry and the challenges of creating certified organic dog food.
In this episode of Pet Business Disruptors, host Clayton sits down with Phivo, founder of Augustine Approved and creator of the Canine Masters natural pet health event in Melbourne, Australia. Fivos shares how he stumbled into the pet industry after his own dog fell ill, and how that led him to become the first in the world to certify a dog food/supplement range to human organic standards — a process regulators initially thought was absurd. The conversation ranges widely: the shift from "pet food only" to "human-grade" marketing (and how that term has since been diluted), the realities of selling into big retail chains, the launch of his new "Great Dog Health Debate" podcast series, and this year's Canine Masters lineup including Dr Judy Morgan and fermentation expert Billy Hoekman. They also get into meatier (literally) industry issues — MDM vs. whole cuts in pet food, the overuse of flea/tick and probiotic products, the limits of AI-generated content, and why "natural" and "sustainable" have become close to meaningless as marketing terms. Building the First Certified-Organic Dog Food Brand : Phivo explains how Augustine Approved began as an attempt to make fresh…
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