PHILADELPHIA — Because Animals, a pet supplement and treat manufacturer utilizing cellular agriculture technology to develop its meatless products, officially launched its gently-baked Noochies dog treats on Dec. 3.

Noochies are human-grade, USDA Certified Organic cookie treats formulated with peanut butter, banana, ancient grains, coconut oil and nutritional yeast, which the company cultures in-house. The dog treats are named after the nutritional yeast component, which provides a cheesy and umami taste to the treat as well as B vitamins, according to the company.

Because Animals has its sights set on developing a complete and balanced, meatless pet food using only cultured proteins and getting it to market by the end of 2021. The company closed a seed funding round on Oct. 29 with investments from KEEN Growth Capital, Draper Associates and SOSV. The company did not disclose the amount it raised from those investments.

In early October 2019, the company won third place at Factory LLC’s inaugural Pet Innovation Challenge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and received funding and other prizes for presenting successful pitches during the event.

Because Animals launched its initial pet supplement products in 2018. The human-grade supplements for dogs and cats contain 250 million probiotics per gram, according to the company. The startup also ditched its old, plastic packaging for 100% compostable materials in August 2019.

Read more about product development, ingredients and formulation.