TOPEKA, Kan. — Plug and Play Topeka, a global innovation platform that creates industry-specific accelerator programs, has selected Bimini Pet Health as its newest corporate partner. Bimini Pet Health is a Topeka-based manufacturer of pet health supplements and treats. The partnership will aim to research and develop new technologies to expand the product offerings to deliver a variety of highly differentiated options. Bimini Pet Health joins Plug and Play Topeka as the program’s fourth corporate partner, alongside existing founding partners Cargill, Evergy and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
“Bimini is excited to partner with Plug and Play Topeka and continue our long-standing relationship with GO Topeka as we start the next chapter of our journey,” said Dr. Sam Al-Murrani, owner of Bimini. “As a growing animal health company, our focus is to become an innovation leader while bringing more jobs to Topeka and Shawnee County. We look forward to continuing to serve our city and community over the coming years, together with our partners.”
The Plug and Play Topeka accelerator aims to bring global innovation to the Midwest by facilitating opportunities for business development, mentorship programs and proof of concepts between the selected startups and founding partners of the program. Since the start of the program in the spring of 2020, 65 startups have participated, leading to 17 pilot projects/proofs of concept, and there have been two successful partnerships between startups and corporate partners. Each year, the program develops two accelerator groups, each comprised of 10-12 animal health and ag-tech startups, who partake in the three-month-long program.
“We are excited to announce our new partnership with Bimini Pet Health,” said Lindsay Lebahn, senior program manager for Plug and Play Topeka. “By combining our expertise, we aim to push boundaries and develop cutting-edge solutions that bring value to the animal health ecosystem. We look forward to collaborating and driving meaningful progress together.”
Topeka is centrally located within the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, the world’s largest concentration of animal health companies and related industries. More than 300 animal health companies located between Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, including four of the top 10 animal health companies in the world, generate 56% of the total animal health, diagnostics and pet food sold globally, totaling $21.5 billion in annual sales.
“It’s exciting to see one of our local entrepreneurs come full circle, from starting up his own business and serving on our local boards to now signing on as a corporate partner of Plug and Play’s Animal Health Vertical here in Topeka,” said Stephanie Moran, GO Topeka’s senior vice president of innovation. “Bimini truly embodies the health of our local startup community, and we look forward to working with this innovator to grow the area’s prominence in the animal health realm.”
Corporations and startups interested in Plug and Play’s Animal Health and AgTech Program in Topeka can apply here: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/join/
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play is present in 35+ locations across five continents. The platform offers corporate innovation programs and helps its corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journeys, from education to execution. It also organizes startup acceleration programs and has built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where it has invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.
About GO Topeka
GO Topeka creates county-wide economic success for all companies and citizens through implementation of an aggressive economic development strategy that capitalizes on the unique strengths of the community. GO Topeka operates under the Greater Topeka Partnership and is the leading economic development agency in the area. For more, visit GoTopeka.com.
About Bimini Pet Health
Bimini is a growing American animal health company based in the Animal Health Corridor that develops and manufactures pet health products in soft chew, powder, oil, liquid, baked goods and other forms. The company’s facilities are cGMP certified for human food production (21 CFR part 117), FDA registered and USDA-inspected and approved for export to Canada. Other global markets to follow shortly. Bimini offers private/white label and custom manufacturing opportunities for new entrants into the market and existing companies as well as its trademark and patent pending Bimini’s Best branded products for large retail and export market participants.
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