News
UK insect-based dog food firm raises £1.1m
The £1.1m, secured in May 2024, has been used to further advance Tuggs business development, which has seen revenues triple in the last nine months.
Founded in 2021 by Harry Bremner, with its official launch in 2022, the dog food business has sold more than 350k meals across the UK.
Over the last year, the company has seen its headcount increase 100% and moved into new offices in London.
Commenting, Bremner said the last few years has demonstrated the UK’s appetite for the pet food brand’s insect offering.
“We have now proven that there is a very strong product-market fit for our offering, and we’re beginning the next stage of scaling.”
Bremner started his company whilst undertaking a Masters at the University College London Business School and his first investor was a professor at the UCL School of Management.
A key focus for the brand since its foundations has been shifting production wholly to the UK, a move which Bremner described as one of its biggest milestones.
“This has given us much greater control over our product development as well as providing significantly more scope for growth,” added Bremner.
Tuggs works with an established UK partner as its fresh food manufacturer which uses Red Tractor certified standards and currently operates on a D2C subscription mode.
Its products are a mix of insects with other meats, fish and vegetables, which are designed to be good for the planet and its waggly tailed customers.
Pet food has recently come into the environmental spotlight, with research showing a 10kg dog eating wet food has roughly the same carbon footprint as a human, with pet food accounting for up to 30% of food production carbon emissions.
Farmed insects are said to use up to 95% less land, water and carbon emissions to produce the same volume of protein as beef.
Bremner explained the company prides itself on reducing reliance on livestock without compromising nutrition and he attributes this approach to its commercial success.
“The main reason that consumers are choosing Tuggs is due to the quality of our products. However, we believe the onus is on us as a brand to build the product as sustainably as we can, which is why we’re pioneering the use of alternative proteins such as insects,” he said.
“We’re excited as we look ahead to 2025, where we’ll have the infrastructure in place to begin scaling much quicker whilst adding to our product offering.”
In other news, scientists have uncovered new research around maize which may help strengthen their resilience against extreme weather conditions.
