New £1.5m funding round is recipe for growth at Telford dog food company
A couple who started a healthy dog food business by making home-cooked dishes for their cocker spaniel have secured £1.5 million in new funding.
The money will be used to complete the fit out of new premises in Telford, enabling Different Dog co-founders Charlie and Alex Thurstan to create a new state-of-the-art kitchen to meet growing demand.
The company, which creates freshly prepared food from natural ingredients, has tripled its revenue in the last three years and has plans for further growth.
Launched in 2017, Mr Thurstan previously worked in senior roles for Pets at Home but became increasingly concerned about the quality of commercial dog food which is typically made from ultra-processed ingredients, fillers and additives and cooked at high temperatures.
The couple initially started cooking food at home for their own dog and then began selling online. To date, they have raised more than £15m of equity investment from private investors and now employ around 120 staff and offer 11 recipes.
Customers subscribe online and the company estimates it currently feeds more than 20,000 dogs every day.
Last year the company consolidated its operations at a new base in Halesfield, having previously had staff spread across four separate locations in Shropshire.
Mrs Thurstan said: "We give our children home-cooked food every day. Good nutrition helps them thrive and grow and dogs are no different.
"We set out to change dogs' lives with real food and our customers tell us every day about the impact our food is having on their dogs' health and wellbeing.
"The new kitchen is a big step forward for us and will help us change the lives of even more dogs."
The £1.5 million loan has been provided by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, the largest loan to date from the second round of the funding pot.
It has been made through its appointed fund manager, Birmingham-based Frontier Development Capital.
Investment manager Ryan Cartwright added: "Alex and Charlie are passionate about their vision to change dogs' lives and have built a fantastic business with a strong and committed team. The new premises will give them a larger, more modern facility with capacity for future growth. We are pleased to support them in their mission."
David Tindall is senior investment manager at the British Business Bank which owns the MEIF.
He said: "Supporting businesses with their next phase of growth is exactly what the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II was created for. With a proven successful model, Different Dog is an excellent example of how businesses can benefit from external finance to scale up and succeed further. "
Henry Mounsey and Niamh Moody of Key Finance in London provided fundraising advice to the company.
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