Yorkshire-based pet food company Inspired Pet Nutrition has announced an investment of over £30 million in new technologies designed to significantly expand technical capability, potential product range and capacity.  

IPN has invested more than £6m at its wet food facility to more than double its capacity.  The company has also invested close to £25m at its Thirsk-based factory to increase its technical capability, product range and use of fresh ingredients.  

Embracing the latest technologies and state-of-the-art equipment, the company is investing to ensure its portfolio of brands and products are consistently offering the highest possible quality, taste, and healthy nutrition. 

Despite this, two trends in the pet food industry are driving the need for investment: premiumisation and humanisation. Owners not only want the highest-quality nutrition for their pets but want to feed them recognisable ingredients and fresh recipes with high meat contents. 

IPN, owner of brands including Harringtons and Wagg, is one of the UK businesses continuing to invest in capital despite a turbulent economy to ensure customers still find value for money in its family of brands; its wide portfolio ranging from affordable to uber premium ensures there’s an accessible option for every pet owner, no matter their individual price point. 

Along with improving existing manufacturing processes, the investment will see the company upstreaming its supply chain; in doing so, IPN can ensure the use of the best quality ingredients. 

It comes just months after Inspired Pet Nutrition celebrated 100 years in business, evolving from a family-founded animal feeds company in 1923 to where it is now, with great grandson of founder James R Page, Richard Page, at the helm as Chairman. 

IPN acquired Pet Food UK in 2020, expanding its brand portfolio to include Barking Heads, Meowing Heads and AATU. It recently announced the achievement of becoming a £200m sales business, with ambitions of exceeding £500m of sales within the next five years.  

Chief Operating Officer Anthony Stones comments on what the investment represents for the business: “This valuable investment represents IPN’s core values in providing accessible, affordable nutrition. We’ve been developing our recipes and portfolio of brands for a century now and are constantly looking for ways to improve our offering for pet parents. By investing in our technical capabilities and upstreaming our supply chain, we have better control over the quality of our recipes and greater traceability of our ingredients. 

“Alongside this, we’re increasing the size of our technical team and will have a new laboratory. We’re also investing in real-time testing equipment – and all this means that there’s continuous improvements both to our products and manufacturing processes. 

“Our mission has always been to offer the best quality product possible for any given price point to consumers, and this investment represents our desire to constantly improve on this proposition with a sole intention – to keep pets healthy and owners happy.”