Pet food producer on track to double its size

After declining the £40,000 Dragons’ Den offer, the company has gone on to employ more than 70 people, sell over 30 million dog meals and be shortlisted for Yorkshire's Fastest Growing Company Award.

With just a £300 Calderdale council grant and an overdraft, co-founders Dan Valdur-Eha and Mathew Cockroft started the business because they couldn’t understand why dogs were fed little brown biscuits for every meal, every day.

This then led them on a journey to change the face of pet food for the better. Months of research led them to an age-old preservation method of gently removing the moisture from food, resulting in natural, high-quality, convenient meals without any harmful processing. Owners simply add water and serve to create a natural low processed food that can be served in seconds without the need for freezer space, mess or clean up.

The pair admit that family and friends thought they were mad at first, but it was Dan and Mat’s belief in the product and their passion for pets, health and nutrition that kept them going.

Mat said: “When we first started, our office space was Dan’s mum's spare room, and we celebrated each day when an order was placed. Dan even knew most of the customer's names. To think that we now work from a 15,000 sq ft food facility and send out an artic lorry of personalised orders each day is mind-blowing. We always believed Pure could be a household name, but the recent speed of growth and scale has even surprised us.”

The business got its break when it appeared on Dragons’ Den. Dan was famously asked to try the food on national TV. The Dragons loved the pitch, and Dan and Mat were even told it was the best pitch they’d ever seen in the Den. The pair were offered investment from Deborah Meaden and Kelly Hoppen but decided to turn it down. At the time, they were told it was a decision they would live to regret, but from that point onwards, things only got better.

Dan said: “We’ve come a long way from creating recipes in my mum's kitchen. Although we may have grown, what drives us remains the same: to provide happier, healthier, and longer lives for our pets. We would like to thank the judges for recognising us for such a prestigious award and we’re excited to continue to grow the business here in Yorkshire.”

Pure has trebled in size last year, employs over 70 people from its West Yorkshire base and will be recruiting to take that number to over 100 this year.

You can find out more about Pure Pet Food by heading to www.purepetfood.co.uk