Cornucopia
Cornucopia is a pet food company from Huntington, NY, that wants to improve your pet's diet. Started by a vet and his daughter, these entrepreneurs want to take their pet food brand nation-wide.
Currently, Cornucopia is only being sold at the veterinary office but they make two kinds, a "super food" and a "phyto food" that are good for dogs and cats. It contains herbs and anti-oxidants, and is made out of human grade food stuffs. In fact, the vet demonstrates this by popping a bit into his mouth.
Unfortunately, the vet makes some claims that are hard to back up, such as the idea that this food is designed to extend the life of a pet by up to 50%. It's both hard to prove and to disprove but one leans toward not believing it.
Also, the entrepreneurs state that they haven't patented their pet food because, in order to patent it, one must disclose the ingredients and they're worried about copycats.[1] Unfortunately, the claims and the lack of protection were enough for the sharks to take a pass on this deal.
Notes
- ↑ Interesting fact: most candies aren't patented for this same reason. A patent must always be disclosed because the purpose of a patent is not to stop copycats forever. Rather, it is to encourage more development in the arts and sciences that will eventually benefit all of society with new knowledge in exchange for a limited monopoly on the discovery. This works fine, in theory, for something like the cotton gin but for candy confectionaries, they want their secret to be a... secret for long past the monopoly period so they trademark the names but they don't disclose the recipes and protect them instead through non-disclosure agreements and other trade secret laws.