Business

This month the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA) has welcomed four new pet food companies into its membership. The companies are: Poppy’s Picnic, the raw pet food company of Dragon’s Den fame; Daly Partners, another member for the dedicated PFMA Raw Producers Group; Frozzys, producers of a lickable frozen yogurt…

New research has found the UK pet product and service market is expected reach a value of £2.1bn by 2023, a 25 percent increase from an estimated £1.7bn in 2018. According the research by Mintel shows six in 10 pet owners bought pet products in 2017, with toys being the…

Poppy’s Picnic has won ‘Business Start-up of the Year’ at the Business Leader Awards, following on from wins at the Wiltshire Business Awards and finalist announcements in the upcoming Rural Business Awards and NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. The competition judging panel, made up of experts in business and finance,…

Hertfordshire-based natural pet care brand HOWND has secured a £50,000 funding package from NatWest to progress its growth plans and launch a new product. Company founders Mark Hirschel and Jo Amit have used the finance to support new product development. The company will launch its first ever pet accessory, the…

An Essex veterinary practice has been boosted by a £125,000 investment in new ‘state of the art’ equipment to support its specialist service for the care of exotic pets. Orchid Veterinary Surgery in Brentwood has seen its first floor renovated into a dedicated exotics suite, with new equipment including an…

Bristol-based handmade pet product and dog treats manufacturer Fur Babies has been named as one of the UK’s top ‘Small Biz 100’ by Small Business Saturday. The company has been selected as a trailblazer in the 100-day run up to the Small Business Saturday event, which takes place across the…

Independent Vetcare Group (IVG), the veterinary group which operates across Europe, has published its first ever annual report in which it said it surpassed its milestone of 900 practices. The group launched in 2011 with 20 practices and chief executive, David Hillier, forecasted more practices opening in the next 12…

An advert for a dog ‘poop bag’ has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who said it was “misleading” and said claims it was biodegradable were not properly “substantiated”. The ASA received a complaint relating to a product page for dog waste bags on www.ancol.co.uk, which featured text…

New research has found that private equity and debt capital markets are underpinning a sellers’ market in the pet industry. The global pet industry has seen 154 deals in the last 12 months split between sales to trade buyers (89%) and private equity buyers (11%), according to data from global…

Married couple Alison and Steve Critchley have set up a new franchise delivering premium quality pet food in the Preston area as part of the Bolton-based Heights Farm Premium Pet Foods’ operation. The couple have run various businesses over the years including a grocers off license in Church and separately,…