Naturaw has taken the UK pet food market by storm in recent years, seeing amazing growth in such a short space of time. Its trend-setting range of products also picked up three New Product Awards at successive PATS exhibitions.

As the Wetherby-based business looks forward to more expansion in 2024, we take a look at the company’s startling success and find out how it all started.

Founders Jess Warneken (above left) and Tom Johnson (above right) with director Chris Broadbent.

How did the Naturaw story begin?

Jess Warneken founded the business, along with Tom Johnson. Back in 2010 Jess completed a degree in Animal Sciences at Lincoln University where, whilst it was predominantly equine based, she elected to complete modules on canine nutrition as part of studies which piqued the interest in nutrition. Tom and Jess were prompted to change all the family’s pets to a raw diet when their beloved Ridgeback Louis began suffering from chronic ear and skin infections. They switched between several brands of dried foods, with varying degrees of improvement, but nothing really cleared it up. After taking the plunge to raw, Louis no longer had any of the dark itchy skin on his belly, nor was he constantly shaking his head and scratching his ears.

That was the inspiration for the business and the family never looked back, adding many new furry faces to the family both feline and canine over the years, all of whom are positively thriving on their species appropriate diet.

Is it true the business started as a retailer of raw food?

For two  years we were solely a retailer of raw food. However, we never felt we could truly stand by products where we believed there were flaws, be it plastic packaging, meat with no provenance or questionable ingredients or ratios. Deep down our passion was always to create something truly special of our own, that we could be proud of. Thankfully Tom has a history in graphic design so we were in the position where we could develop branding/packaging all ourselves (and this is still the case to this day, everything is done in house) which would have otherwise been out of reach to us as a small business. So, in October 2016 we launched our range of raw food made in our own little production kitchen. We proudly launched as the first raw pet food in the UK to have Organically certified (OFG) products.

Was this purely online?

Business started as online direct-to-consumer only when we borrowed warehouse space from Jess’ parents business which was an Organic Veg Box Scheme. As the freezers started to take over we moved to our first dedicated premises. We have since grown dramatically and now feed thousands of dogs a month and have a sizeable trade following with well over 200 independent stockists across the UK. We also have a small click & collect facility for local customers who want to pick up from our factory and HQ here at Thorp Arch, Wetherby.

How did the manufacturing side of the business grow?

We started manufacturing with a second-hand mincer bought from a factory who made sausages for Asda. Quickly demand increased to such an extent that Tom was staying at work and making the food until 4 am so that it was ready to be packed by the team first thing in the morning. This was unsustainable, so Tom and Jess sold their house and invested the proceeds into a mincer and filling machine to upscale the process and meet demand. Produced completely in-house, we crafted every aspect ourselves using our experience and

knowledge. From the coarser mince made from quality cuts of high welfare British meat, to the beautiful compostable packaging – packaging that we strongly believe is labelled to an unbeatable standard in clarity.

Who comes up with the recipes and ingredients for your food?

Jess, of course. Now Jess has two little girls, born in 2020 and 2022, she has stepped back on the day to day and Tom and Cath are tasked with ongoing sourcing of ingredients and planning of production. We have long standing relationships with most suppliers.

Has winning New Product Awards at three successive PATS Telford helped the business?

PATS has been a great success for us. Having exhibited at Telford in September 2021 for the first time we were thrilled to win the New Product Award for our Louis & Ada Natural Treats. To then follow that up with the Dog Food Category wins for Forage in 2022 and then 2023 as overall best new Dog Food Product was amazing. The business has certainly followed as spectacular growth in our stockist base and corresponding sales has seen this important channel now accounting for around 25% of sales.

How have your production facilities changed over the years?

Demand for our range has proved to be unprecedented, and the business has moved both in 2017 to Hessay York and then again in 2021 to our new Headquarters at Thorp Arch, each time quadrupling in size. We now have a 20,000 sq foot factory and warehouse facility with separate offices that future proofs our further expansion plans. Repurposing an ex-DFS warehouse with newly fitted out production kitchens and fully automated production lines in 2021, our facilities have evolved to enable staff to graduate over the years from a mainly manual labour cottage industry to now work with state-of-the-art processes that ensure the very highest levels of safety, quality and efficiency. We are producing hundreds of thousands of tubs of food per month and have the capacity to do much more as demand and product ranges grow.

Is it true you installed a solar power system in your present facility and that it powers your raw food production?

Naturaw was the first Raw Dog Food business in the world to become a B Corp and is the UK’s only raw dog food producer also to have been awarded the King's Award for industry – Sustainable Development. As such, sustainability is central to the business rather than a ‘bolt on’ exercise.

Here are some of the interventions we have put in place over the last three years since moving to Thorp Arch:

• Naturaw is committed to being totally Plastic Free; this has meant dropping certain products that cannot be source without plastic in the last 24 months - as a result of this and our supplier policy, certain 3rd party supplier were dropped in 2021; to ensure we conserve the oceans, only MSC certified sustainably sourced fish and mussels are used in our products
• Working with ‘One Tree Planted’ which is a non-profit organisation dedicated to global reforestation by planting trees to restore nature and biodiversity. Naturaw donated one tree for every subscription or trade order purchased; the scheme is monitored and measured quarterly within the business. In its first year the One Tree Planted project planted 2,500 trees, 12 months on, Naturaw have planted over 13,000 trees; adding 8,000 in the last year. A target of an additional 10,000 in the coming year has been set; the ultimate goal is 100,000 trees by 2030.
• Sustainable packaging across all products that is completely compostable and plastic-free; totally natural, food-safe and GM-free; each tub is sealed with a compostable bio-film and wrapped in an FSC-certified cardboard sleeve, printed with vegetable inks.
• Solar Panels on the factory roof powering all production machinery and c. 40% of total energy requirement for the business
• EV charging points powered by the Solar PV, free charging for all employees

Naturaw delivers products to stockists using an electric van.

Sustainable Credentials:

• Naturaw was awarded the first ever King’s Award for Enterprise in April 2023 for outstanding achievement in Sustainable Development
• Naturaw is a member of the trade body, UK Pet Food (Formerly PFMA)
• Naturaw has Ethical Accreditation from the Ethical Company Guide
• Naturaw is one of only c.1,700 UK companies certified as a B Corporation, the only Raw Pet food manufacturer in the world (at time of print!)

Which has been your bestselling product?

Our range of 500g raw minces come in around 20 flavours across the core range, best sellers include Surf & Turf, Beef & Venison, or Beef & Organic Chicken.Our Forage range is growing at the fastest pace and makes up a substantial volume of sales for customers wanting a complete product. During the Christmas period, our Festive Forage and Festive Original mince are both very popular for the big day!

What’s next for Naturaw?

More initiatives around ‘community’ is next on our list to develop our presence and what we can do to give back in our local area…who knows what else 2024 has in store, watch this space.