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FORGET TAXIS OR hotels, if ever there was an industry ripe for disruption it’s pet food.
With Mars-made Pedigree commanding 60% of the Irish dog food market and rival Nestle hoovering up most of the rest, niche players are making a concerted pitch for the hundreds of millions spent annually on pampered animals.
And one, Soopa Pets, has got the attention of investors, convincing a group of food entrepreneurs to part with a major chunk of change for its ‘human-grade’ dog snacks.
A food syndicate of angel investors from HBAN, an all-island angel network, led by Skelligs Chocolate founder Colm Healy have joined Enterprise Ireland in pouring a combined €400,000 into the young company.
Former recruitment consultant Barbara Hanly officially launched the company in early 2013 after first starting a dog-grooming business – where she was stunned to see dogs with some very human diet-related afflictions.
“I was shocked to have so many dogs coming in that I could hardly lift onto tables they were so overweight or obese,” she told Fora.
Vegan dogs
Hanly experimented with drying fruit at home to sell as dog snacks at Dublin’s Marlay Park, before diving headlong into making Soopa a viable export business with its raw- and vegan-only products.
Manufacturing has since been outsourced to Vietnam, where contractors both grow and dry the ingredients, and she has established a sales network across a swathe of Europe. The company’s main market is the UK, where it just secured a listing with the biggest retailer in Pets At Home.
While shoppers can pay as much as double for ‘premium’ pet food products compared to their mass-market rivals, Hanly said there was “huge potential” for smaller manufacturers.
Enterprise Ireland has earmarked pet food and animal nutrition as a key sector for export growth, noting “human food consumer trends are beginning to influence pet food choice” with a shift to “functional foods and organic options”.
The €400,000 was the first outside investment for the company and Hanly said she planned to use the funding to recruit sales, marketing and support staff while also launching dog and cat food lines.
To really execute my business plan and scale up considerably I needed not only financial support, but I also needed smart money. I’ve got nine investors now from fast-moving consumer goods and retail backgrounds, so I have the support to make it happen and at a much faster pace.
Written by Peter Bodkin and originally published on Fora, a new business publication for Irish startups and SMEs.
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Nothing like giving your naturally carniverous dog a good healthy “raw” “vegan” diet..
And kids going to school starving, let’s feed the dogs with new shlt …
Raw diets are fantastic for dogs, definitely not vegan diets though!!
Dog owners are not responsible for the failings of child-owners.
The government owned the kids in this country, remember the referendum on the children that ye voted in
Vegan dogs? Organic dog food? Listen, trying to create more ‘healthy’ food products for dogs is obviously a good thing, but trying to impose your own food preferences on your pets may be seen as a bit much.
Raw feeding all the way but certainly not vegan for my 2 carnivores!!
Hipster dogfood.
I heard about a woman once, who fed her husband dog food for dinner for years and he died,
Not from poisoning, apparently he broke his neck licking his ass.
Black dog……”Coconut, Sweet Potato or the meaty snack on four legs….descisions!”
A number 33, I think you mean in Korea?
Made in Vietnam. All those airmiles for pretentious, hipster dog owners to be fleeced.
Wooh, capitalism!
Will this new food herald the return of white dogsh#t ? An entire generation of kids are growing up without the pleasure of mistaking dogsh#t for stones etc…
If your dog is fat it is your fault. Feed them less and exercise them more. There are plenty of good quality dog foods on the market. Or raw seems to be becoming more popular.
They’re all barking mad!!
“Human-grade dog snacks” sounds rather macabre.
They should export it… Massive market for good quality safe pet food out east. 5lb Bags of dog food can go for €50-60.
Sometimes I find the dog food cost more than I would spend on my own food.
What sort of dogs eat humans (not hymens) for breakfast
My dog LOVES these and it makes me happy because I know I’m feeding him something healthy and that’s good for him. Too many meat treats are really bad for dogs and can cause kidney disease.
A syndicate of Irish food entrepreneurs is investing in human-grade dog snacks…
But all cat and dog food must pass the test that humans could eat it if WW3 broke out???
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