Poppy’s Picnic has come away with a top prize at the South-West regional heats of the UK-wide Rural Business Awards. The company, based in Melksham, was handed the award for Best Rural Start-Up.

Following the impressive win at the regional awards, Poppy’s Picnic will now go on to represent the region at the national final in February 2019.

Poppy’s Picnic produces raw dog food meals that are lovingly handmade by a team of fourth generation butchers in the heart of Wiltshire, using locally produced human grade ingredients. Its nutritionally balanced meals are the closest thing to what a dog would choose to eat in the wild. Poppy’s Picnic is committed to growing the business from the heart of Wiltshire and providing pet owners with the best alternative to processed, unnatural dog food.

Founder of Poppy’s Picnic, Dylan Watkins, said: “Just as humans need to eat fresh food for optimal health, it’s the same for our four-legged friends. Poppy's Picnic's fresh raw dog food meals are lovingly handmade in the heart of Wiltshire by 4th generation butchers.

"I am so proud of how the business has soared since launching in October 2016, and winning the award for Best Rural Start Up really brings home just how much we have achieved in two years. Hopefully this award is a sign of great things to come for Poppy's Picnic, as we strive to change dogs' lives one bowl at a time.”

Now in its fourth year, the Rural Business Awards is the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses. It is run in partnership with Amazon.

“Rural communities are home to some of the country’s most inventive and innovative entrepreneurs and we want to celebrate their achievements and contribution through the Rural Business Awards,” said Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon.

“I’d like to congratulate all the nominees and runners-up at this year’s regional awards and wish the winners the best of luck ahead of the national final of the Rural Business Awards in February.”

The Amazon Rural Business Awards are the brainchild of Leicestershire businesswomen Anna Price and Jemma Clifford, who want to showcase the wealth of entrepreneurial talent in rural areas of Britain – a sector of the economy they feel is all-too-often overlooked in favour of large, city-based firms.

Following their success at the Rural Business Awards, Poppy’s Picnic have since found out that two of their products, (COMPLETE Meatballs and ENHANCED Follow-on Paste) have been nominated for the Product Innovation category at the Pet Industry Federation Awards. They have also reached the finals of the British Small Business Awards in the Innovator (Disruptor) of the Year Category and Dylan Watkins; Founder of Poppy’s Picnic has been nominated for the Scale-Up Entrepreneur Award for the Wales and South West region in the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. This is on the back of Poppy’s Picnic winning the Start-up of the Year at both the Wilshire Business Awards and the Business Leader Awards. Three of their products were also awarded Highly Commended status at the PetQuip Awards recently.