Purina Better with Pets Prize

Here at Purina, we’re passionate about great nutrition, which is at the heart of what we do. But, we’re also a company of pet lovers who believe people and pets are better together.

There´s a magic and a strength in the pet-human bond that we think has the potential to be a positive force for change within society.

At the same time, we know innovators and social entrepreneurs are some of the first to unleash dynamic, new, creative solutions to foster positive impacts for individuals and communities. For that reason, in 2018, we partnered with Ashoka to launch the Purina BetterwithPets Prize.

Ashoka, is a pioneer in the field of social entrepreneurship. They identify and support the world's leading social entrepreneurs, learning from the patterns in their innovations, and mobilizes global communities that embraces these new frameworks to build "everyone a changemaker world.”

The BetterwithPets Prize, valued at £100,000, is a search to support social innovators that focus on harnessing the power of the pet-human bond for the health and wellbeing of society, across Europe. The Prize is split into two categories: one, rewarding entrepreneurs who have put forward a piloted innovation and one rewarding an idea-stage innovation. This second category is specifically focused on young innovators with innovations in an early stage to help support them in taking their project to the next step.

We´re inspired by social innovators and entrepreneurs who are leveraging the pet-human bond to help develop further key emotional and behavioural competencies; enabling positive impact in communities; enhancing physical health and wellness, and reimagining the role of pets in society. We want to help support those who believe as we do, that people and pets are better together and that the pet-human bond has the power to transform society! Nutrition is what we do! But our passion for pets extends beyond the bowl and we want to do more of what matters for pets in society. We could not be prouder of the Purina BetterwithPets Prize! Find out about our winners below!

BWPP Winners - 2020

In 2020, we had two prize categories. The Piloted Innovation Category, and the Idea Stage Category.

Piloted Innovation Category: Winner

StreetVet Accredited Hostel Scheme was our winner of the piloted innovation category and was awarded £40,000 to support and accelerate their initiative. StreetVet focuses on providing free, accessible veterinary care to pets whose owners are experiencing homelessness on the streets or in hostels and has unveiled a creative new way in which we can harness the positive and impactful power of the pet-human bond within society.

Idea Stage Category: Winner

Homely Home is the winner of the idea-stage category for young change makers between 18 and 25 years old and has been awarded £8,000 to develop their vision into a piloted project.

Homely Home is based in Russia and reimagines rehabilitation programs for people and pets that create meaningful, lifelong bonds and increased wellbeing.