Where did the business idea for a pet food company originate?
Nutriment is a long overdue antidote to a pet food industry riddled with lazy, sub-standard recipes and unacceptable ingredient decks including salt, sugar, cheap grain fillers, low grade animal derivatives and ‘chemistry set' artificial nasties. Nutriment is a breath of fresh air, an award-winning, family-owned, dog-loving business whose small batch recipes are made with 85-90% human-grade meat, veg and a generous dash of metabolism-friendly superfoods.
How long from plan to reality?
From actioning a plan to opening our doors, Nutriment's birth took three months. Things didn't always go to plan. Our bank, despite making promising noises, decided at the 11th hour not to give us a loan (or an overdraft), hardly ideal considering we'd just taken over a derelict factory premise, employed a skeleton staff and ordered heavy-duty equipment that was trundling down the motorway.
My mum and I had no alternative but to remortgage my house and sink all our savings into this embryonic venture, an uncomfortable realisation made worse by a bitter, small-minded local rival that went out of its way to sink our venture.
Did you go for a slow home start or a big bang launch?
We knew from the beginning that we were onto something special as biologically appropriate raw food had been building a head of steam for some while amongst a growing band of forward-thinking breeders, vets, dieticians and in-the-know dog enthusiasts. Let's not forget dogs were hunting and scavenging long before words like kibble, pellets and tins made it into the Oxford Dictionary. Dogs are fine-tuned carnivores, anatomically assembled to eat, raw, nutrient-rich meat. We weren't the first raw offering into the marketplace but we were the best, as others were simply offering basic meat, bone and veg diets.
We'd rather do little by little really well than and do many things poorly. By using agencies experienced in championing high quality human food and drinks brands, we stood out from day one. Early endorsements from experts like pet behaviourist Louise Glazebrook and whichdogfood were instrumental to our success.
Who is the pet chef in the company and how has your product line developed?
You could call me ‘pet chef' based on all the years I've been around this industry, but in truth our recipes are the amalgamation of the thoughts, learnings and know-how of trusted dog breeders, veterinarians, chefs, dieticians and various raw pet food die-hards I've met over the years. Needless to say each new recipe is meticulously analysed by wise owl experts.
Why buy from Nutriment?
Nutriment is a collective of well-meaning pet lovers. With no venture capitalists or money-counting shareholders hiding in the shadows, we're able to buy the very best food for our ranges and sell at a price any pet owner can afford. Everyone in our business believes in and buys into what we're trying to achieve. We pride ourselves on a personalised hands-on service, with no ivory tower directors or apathetic staff. We make every contact point with our business - the phone, the website and social media - the very best we can.
What is the aim of the business at this stage of the game?
Our aim is to continue sourcing wonderful ingredients, whilst educating conscientious pet owners about our affordable alternative to antiquated, over-processed, pet food solutions.
