Pure Pet Food, an award-winning manufacturer of dehydrated and freeze-dried pet food, has secured a £2m investment from NVM Private Equity.
The Yorkshire based company formed by childhood friends Mathew Cockroft and Daniel Valdur Eha has quickly grown from a tiny business that started life in Daniel’s kitchen to a brand that is now sold around the world and in major retailers such as Pets at Home.
Pure produces natural pet food products in its own human grade food facility in West Yorkshire.
The investment from NVM comes after a host of recent accolades and achievements for the business. Pure has won the Lloyds TSB’s National Best Start-up award and a PetQuip Pet Product Innovation award.
RESEARCH
Founder Mat said: “Pure first started after we decided to do our own research into the current commercial pet food available and exactly how it was made. It made little sense to us that highly-processed food, containing low quality ingredients, manufactured into small brown biscuits that are fed to pets each day was possibly the healthiest diet option.”
Co-founder Dan added: “We set out to create a food which retained the convenience of a commercial dry or wet pet food, but with the benefits of fresh, wholesome ingredients. This thought process led us to the methods of dehydration and freeze-drying, which allow for the gentle preservation of fresh ingredients. Pure requires no refrigeration or freezer space, owners simply have to add water and serve, creating a healthy low processed meal in minutes.
“Pure Pet Food has proved to be a big hit with pets suffering from a range of ailments and allergies such as stomach sensitivities, IBD, Pancreatitis and fussiness, to name just a few. I think rather than anything special in our recipes it is more what we haven’t added. Our food contains no grains, corn, additives or any other nasties.”
RAPID GROWTH
The pair plan to use the funding to support Pure Pet Food’s rapid growth, while launching new products, adding to their team and expanding their offering throughout Europe.
Matt said: “This investment will allow for the development of a much more personalised offering, improving the level of service we can provide to our customers and their pets. We see huge opportunity within this space and by partnering with NVM we now have the resources and experience to realise our vision.”
Aaron Lawson-Clark, Investment Associate at NVM, added: “NVM is delighted to be backing Dan and Mat to take Pure Pet Food to the next level. The team have impressed, demonstrating the skills required to build a business, brand and quality product with limited resources. We are excited by the potential market for natural convenient pet food in the years ahead and we look forward to working with the team to scale up the business and deliver the future of pet nutrition.”
