The “Animalis” edition of the World Branding Awards saw 92 brands from 35 countries named “Brand of the Year” in a ceremony held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The “Animalis” edition of the awards focused on pet and animal brands.
Animal Planet, FURminator, Hill’s Prescription Diet, Kong, Orijen, Pedigree, Petplan, Purina Pro Plan, Red Dingo, Tetra and Whiskas were announced as global winners. Equi-Trek (UK), Evidensia (Sweden), Fressnapf Maxi Zoo (Germany) and Horze (Finland) were also championed.
National tier winners from the UAE were Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo for Animal Education — Public Aquarium, and Dubai Kennels and Cattery, in the Travel Services — Relocation category.
Four NGOs — the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (Indonesia), The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Kenya), The Jane Goodall Institute (United States) and Wildlife Friends Foundation (Thailand) — were also recognized for their work.
The awards celebrate the achievements of some of the greatest brands around the globe. Winners are judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and public online voting. Each was named “brand of the year” in their respective categories.
The awards are organized by the World Branding Forum, a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing branding standards for the good of the branding community as well as consumers. It organizes and sponsors a range of educational programs, and has joint collaborations with leading universities and museums. The forum also publishes branding news on its website that reaches a global audience of over 4 million visitors.
“The Animalis edition of the awards pays tribute to the achievements of pet and animals brands from around the world. Consumer votes count toward 70 percent of the final score, so winning brands have to have built a strong relationship with their customers in order to win,” said Richard Rowles, chairman of the World Branding Forum.
“Over 60,000 pet and animal lovers from around the world voted for more than 800 brands from 35 countries. Winning brands have had to work hard to stand out from the tough competition,” said Peter Pek, chief executive of the forum.
UAE brands among winners of ‘World Branding Awards’
UAE brands among winners of ‘World Branding Awards’
SVC invests $1.2bn and contributes to Kingdom’s pole position in VC funding
Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) released its annual “Impact Report,” which highlighted SVC’s role in the record growth rates achieved by the Saudi private capital ecosystem in 2025.
The report emphasized SVC’s impact on the Kingdom's private capital ecosystem (Venture Capital, Private Equity, Venture Debt, and Private Debt) since the company’s establishment in 2018.
The report showed that SVC's total committed investments since its inception have reached $1.2 billion, while its investments have stimulated partner commitments totaling $5.9 billion, or 4.9 times SVC’s commitment. This highlights SVC’s role as a key catalyst and market maker in the private capital ecosystem.
The report indicated that the number of funds backed by SVC increased to 65, while the number of startups and SMEs supported exceeded 1,000 across several vital sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, education technologies, transport, and logistics.
Commenting on the report, Nora Alsarhan, Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer at SVC, said: “The report highlights the transformative progress happening across Saudi Arabia’s private capital ecosystem as a direct result of the initiatives and goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
She added: “We remain committed to developing investment programs, products, and developmental initiatives based on market needs analysis and aligned with leading global models, which enhance the competitiveness of the Saudi private capital ecosystem, support diversification of the national economy, and help achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
The report showed that SVC’s strategy contributed to the Kingdom’s maintaining its first rank in the MENA region for the third straight year in VC funding in 2025, reaching a historic total of $1.7 billion. This reflects the growth seen across various economic and financial sectors under Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to strengthen the national economy.
The report indicated that the number of venture capital investors has increased sixfold since SVC was founded in 2018, when the number did not exceed 34, reaching 200 in 2025. This reflects the depth of the market and the expansion of the institutional investor base in Saudi Arabia.
The report also highlighted the launch of the inaugural Private Capital Forum, a regional platform to advance dialogue on private capital. The forum brought together 1,070 participants and 59 speakers across 20 sessions, reaching 7.2 million people digitally and generating over 10.5 million media impressions.
