Some rooms let you introduce an idea. Others make the idea stand up, answer questions, and earn its place.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Sierra Obioha, Co-founder & CEO of Raw Dawg, took the Emerging Brands Stage at SUPERZOO in Las Vegas for the 2026 Next Wave Pitch Competition, presented by Black Pet Business Network.
Raw Dawg won first place.
The room
Sierra’s post-event notes describe a room filled with buyers, distributors, press, independent pet-store owners, judges, and prize-partner representatives. The questions got practical fast: nutritional completeness, how to explain green tripe, pre-launch audience growth, and how Raw Dawg would use the prize funds.
That is the kind of room Raw Dawg came to meet. The pitch made the vision clear, and the questions showed where the work goes next.
The win
PETS+ reported a $10,000 grand prize. Sierra’s event materials also list $5,000 in legal support from Wilson Dutra Innovation Law, consulting and media support from BSM Partners, and mentorship from the Pet Sustainability Coalition.
Sierra’s words after the win:
Winning at SuperZoo wasn't just a check. It was a room full of the pet industry's biggest distributors and buyers telling us that raw feeding isn't a trend, it's the future. Raw Dawg is bringing dog food back to what dogs were built to eat, and now we get to prove it at scale.
What comes next
Winning the room was one moment. Building Raw Dawg is the work after it: keep listening, keep answering the hard questions, and make the experience as clear at the freezer and bowl as it was on stage.
Read and watch
- Read the PETS+ report on the Next Wave Pitch Competition
- Read the SUPERZOO organizer recap at American Tech Today
- Watch Sierra's August 15 founder debrief
- Watch Sierra's August 15 business-plan milestone reel
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