Raw pet food specialist Natures Menu has achieved great success in the UK in recent years, winning a string of business and product awards. And now the Norfolk-based company is taking its prize-winning products overseas as it attempts to dominate the international market.

Following up leads from Interzoo 2014 has kept Natures Menu busy. Already well established in Scandinavia, the company has been busy signing up clients throughout Europe. 

Director Peter Roy says: “Our strategy is quite simple: we look to work directly with the largest pet specialist retailer in each target territory and supplement this, where appropriate, with a distributor that has excellent local market contacts with natural pet food."

In the past six months direct relationships with leading retailers has included: Fressnapf in Germany and Austria , Maxizoo in Denmark, Buddy in Norway, Zoo Hobby in Croatia, Arca Planet in Italy, Kiwoko in Spain,  Musti Ja Mirri in Finland and Grizzly Zoo in Sweden.

Ann Kathrin Losenbeck joined the Natures Menu export team from Flexi last year and has given the team focus and extended their contact base for exports. 

She comments: “The key is having the right partners, companies which share your philosophy and understand what’s required to make the product successful. 

"Whilst the basis of launching a product in a new territory is similar, each territory is slightly different, and you need to recognise and accommodate  this. Different territories are at different stages of the natural feeding revolution, and have different domestic dynamics  of supply and demand.”

The recent Zoomark exhibition in Bologna was the launch for Natures Menu in Italy. In four days Natures Menu took orders for 196 freezers for the Italian market. It also secured new distribution in Switzerland, Belarus and Turkey.

Exports are set to turnover £3m this year for Natures Menu.