It began with Lipo.

A childhood with Lipo

Dogs were part of my childhood. We had five, but I had a special bond with Lipo, our German Shepherd. We spent hours playing in the garden, where I would hide toys and treats for him to find. He loved those games, and I loved spending time with him.

When I was four, my father opened a veterinary pharmacy in partnership with veterinarians. As I got older, I helped there and watched people turn to them for answers about the animals they loved. That was where my curiosity began: I wanted to understand what animals need and how to care for them well.

Lipo died of heart disease at ten. At the time, we did not know what had caused it. Losing him left me wishing I had understood more while he was still with us. That feeling has stayed with me throughout my career: behind every question about animal health is someone who wants more good years with a much-loved companion.

A research journey to Berlin

That early curiosity grew into a career. After earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in animal genetics and breeding, I went on to complete my first PhD in animal nutrition. The more I learned, the more I wanted to understand how nutrition shapes animal health.

My interests increasingly moved towards the nutrition and physiology of companion animals. In 2010, that brought me to Berlin and the Institute of Animal Nutrition at Freie Universität Berlin. There, I completed my second PhD in Biomedical Sciences under the guidance of my mentor and doctoral supervisor, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zentek, before continuing as a researcher and animal nutritionist. I remain deeply grateful for his guidance and support.

What I had imagined as a temporary stay became a new home and a lasting commitment to companion-animal nutrition. Berlin is where I continued my research and began turning that knowledge into products for everyday life.

Bringing the science home

The more I learned, the more I wanted that knowledge to reach the people caring for animals at home. A carefully developed nutritional idea only makes a difference in everyday life if people can use it and their pets accept it.

An earlier chapter of Dr. Healthew focused on personalised fresh dog nutrition. I developed an algorithm-based platform that calculated individual nutritional needs and generated tailored recipes. The technology was later commercialised through Cola’s Kitchen in Canada.

Working on personalised meals taught me to look beyond a formula on paper. Preparation, taste and the owner’s daily life all matter. Those lessons now shape how we develop complementary nutrition at Dr. Healthew.

Daily care, made drinkable

Today, that work has a new form: functional drink concentrates that mix with water. Our first range for dogs brings together daily oral care, digestive support and support for calmer moments.

For me, taste belongs in the development process from the start. We have explored more than 80 flavour concepts with dogs, selecting leading profiles for our proprietary flavour databank. It helps us develop drinks with both nutritional purpose and willingness to drink in mind.

We use this approach for our own products and, in close consultation with partners, for theirs. Flavour, functional ingredients and format are developed together around the people and pets the product is intended for. Work on feline flavour profiles is now underway, too.

The ambition is simple: make thoughtful nutritional care easier to offer, easier to accept and easier to keep up, day after day.