About Us
About ChefPaw
ChefPaw was created by longtime pet product innovators Matthew Terrill and David Louvet, the founders behind Innovet Pet Products. For nearly two decades, their work has been driven by one simple idea: create pet products they would be proud and confident to use with their own animals.
Meet the Founders Behind ChefPaw
Matthew Terrill
Co-Founder, ChefPaw & Innovet Pet Products
Matthew Terrill is a founder of Innovet Pet Products and ChefPaw. A mechanical engineer and inventor, Matthew earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His experience developing, formulating, engineering, and patenting products for pets has helped turn real-world pet care challenges into practical solutions designed for everyday pet parents.
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David Louvet
Co-Founder, ChefPaw & Innovet Pet Products
David Louvet is a founder of Innovet Pet Products and ChefPaw. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Certificate in Nuclear Medicine from Charles Drew University.
His background in science, combined with a lifelong passion for health, wellness, and animals, has helped guide the development of pet products designed around real problems faced by pets and the people who care for them.
```From an Idea to a New Way to Feed Fresh
Watch ChefPaw co-founder Matthew Terrill share the story behind ChefPaw and the vision that led to its creation.
Built by Pet People Since 2005
ChefPaw didn't begin with an idea to simply build another pet product. Our story goes back to 2005 with Innovet Pet Products, where David and Matt began developing solutions inspired by the real needs of their own pets.
Over the years, that work grew into a pet wellness company serving pet parents around the world. Along the way, David and Matt gained experience across pet wellness, product development, formulation, engineering, and nutrition.
Many of the products they created started with a problem they experienced personally with one of their dogs. Instead of accepting that problem as something pet parents simply had to deal with, they looked for a better solution.
ChefPaw represents the next chapter of that journey: bringing together fresh food preparation, personalized pet nutrition, technology, and practical product design into one system built for everyday pet parents.
```Why We Created ChefPaw
We believe pet parents should be able to understand and control what goes into their pet's food without feeling like they need a degree in animal nutrition to do it safely.
Pet parents increasingly want fresh, recognizable ingredients and more control over how their pets are fed. But preparing fresh food at home can be time-consuming, messy, and difficult to balance nutritionally. Commercial fresh food can make the process easier, but the ongoing cost can become significantâespecially for larger dogs or multi-pet households.
ChefPaw was created to bridge that gap.
The ChefPaw Pet Food Maker helps weigh, prepare, mix, and gently cook fresh ingredients, while the ChefPaw nutrition app helps pet parents create personalized pet profiles, follow guided recipes, and better understand the nutritional makeup of the meals they're preparing.
You choose what goes into the bowl. ChefPaw helps you do the rest.
```Our Approach to Pet Nutrition
We don't believe there is one perfect way to feed every pet.
Pets are individuals. Their age, size, activity level, preferences, dietary needs, and their family's budget can all influence how they should be fed.
That's why ChefPaw is built around personalization, transparency, and control rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Our goal is to give pet parents practical tools that make preparing fresh food easier while helping them feel more informed and confident about what's going into their pet's bowl.
```The Pets Behind Our Products
Long before ChefPaw existed, our own pets were helping shape the products we created. Many of the ideas behind Innovet and ChefPaw began with Matt or David encountering a real problem with one of their pets and asking a simple question: Is there a better way?
These dogs aren't mascots added to our story after the fact. They're part of the reason our story exists.
Gordon
One of the inspirations behind ChefPaw.
With a name like Sir Gordon Winston II, there's a lot to live up toâand Gordon has never disappointed. This bulldog has always brought plenty of strength, personality, and enthusiasm to the family.
Like many bulldogs, Gordon had specific dietary needs related to allergies and skin sensitivities. Finding food that worked well for him meant paying closer attention to ingredients and having more control over what went into his meals.
Gordon's experience became one of the inspirations behind ChefPaw: creating a system that gives pet parents more control over ingredients and the ability to prepare meals around the individual needs of their dogs.
Maverick
Another inspiration behind ChefPaw.
Maverick is an all-black Lab with seemingly endless energy. Even as the youngest of the group, it didn't take long for him to surpass his older stepbrother Gordon in height and strength.
His high activity level created a very different nutrition challenge. Maverick needed higher-calorie meals that could provide more energy without requiring excessively large portions.
His needs helped inspire ChefPaw's personalized approach to feeding: giving pet parents the ability to build recipes around factors like activity level, calorie needs, and portion size instead of relying on the same meal for every dog.
Gordo
The inspiration behind PurEyes and Heal Wag Balm.
Gordo was an unforgettable member of the Innovet family. His childlike energy and personality could brighten just about any room, and his spirit continues to be part of the motivation behind what we build today.
Gordo struggled with noticeable tear staining as well as recurring skin issues. Those everyday problems became another opportunity for Matt and David to look for practical ways to support their own dog.
His tear stains helped inspire PurEyes, while his skin issues helped lead to the development of Heal Wag Balm.
Maximus
The inspiration behind Purotic and Tracerz.
Maximus was the dog who helped ignite the passion behind what would eventually become Innovet Pet Products. His larger-than-life personality, strength, and unforgettable presence made him a central part of the family's story.
As Maximus got older, he dealt with recurring ear infections and eventually became blind. Those challenges pushed Matt and David to think differently about the kinds of products pets needed to stay comfortable and independent.
His ear issues helped inspire Purotic, while his loss of vision helped inspire Tracerz scent markers, designed to help visually impaired dogs better navigate their surroundings through scent.
Maggie
The inspiration behind the STAT Syringe.
Maggie may have been the peacemaker of the group, but she also had a habit of getting into things she wasn't supposed to. As a puppy, that included everything from cash and wallets to pills and supplements.
After Maggie had to be rushed to the veterinarian multiple times, Matt and David developed the STAT Syringe as a practical tool designed to help pet parents administer emergency treatments in poisoning situations under appropriate guidance.
What began as a frightening problem with one of their own dogs became a product created to help other pet parents facing similar emergencies.
Pearl
The inspiration behind ChefPaw's small dog meal approach.
Pearl is David's all-white Chihuahua and the resident diva of the family. Small in stature but never in personality, Pearl has always had an appetite for adventureâand for the finer things in life.
Her small size highlighted a different feeding challenge: smaller dogs often need meals and portion sizes that are better suited to their bodies and appetites.
Pearl became the inspiration for thinking more intentionally about small dog meals within the ChefPaw system, helping reinforce the importance of recipes that can be adjusted for dogs of different sizes and nutritional needs.
Our Pets Have Always Been Part of the Process
Our pets have been there from the beginningânot just beside us at home or around the office, but at the center of many of the problems we've tried to solve.
Their experiences have challenged us to ask better questions, develop better products, and think differently about how pet parents can care for the animals they love.
Sometimes the solution became an Innovet product. Other times it changed how we thought about nutrition, ingredients, product design, or the everyday challenges pet parents face.
That same problem-solving mindset ultimately helped lead us to ChefPaw.
```Our Promise
The standard we've followed since 2005 hasn't changed.
If we wouldn't use it with our own pets, we wouldn't ask you to use it with yours.
Our pets have inspired products, challenged us to solve problems, and helped shape the companies we've built.
ChefPaw continues that tradition by making fresh feeding more approachable, more personalized, and more practical for pet parents everywhere.
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