FORGET TAXIS OR hotels, if ever there was an industry ripe for disruption it’s pet food.

With Mars-made Pedigree commanding 60% of the Irish dog food market and rival Nestle hoovering up most of the rest, niche players are making a concerted pitch for the hundreds of millions spent annually on pampered animals.

And one, Soopa Pets, has got the attention of investors, convincing a group of food entrepreneurs to part with a major chunk of change for its ‘human-grade’ dog snacks.

A food syndicate of angel investors from HBAN, an all-island angel network, led by Skelligs Chocolate founder Colm Healy have joined Enterprise Ireland in pouring a combined €400,000 into the young company.

Former recruitment consultant Barbara Hanly officially launched the company in early 2013 after first starting a dog-grooming business – where she was stunned to see dogs with some very human diet-related afflictions.

“I was shocked to have so many dogs coming in that I could hardly lift onto tables they were so overweight or obese,” she told Fora.

Soopa Pets founder Barbara Hanly Tony Gavin Tony Gavin

Vegan dogs

Hanly experimented with drying fruit at home to sell as dog snacks at Dublin’s Marlay Park, before diving headlong into making Soopa a viable export business with its raw- and vegan-only products.

Manufacturing has since been outsourced to Vietnam, where contractors both grow and dry the ingredients, and she has established a sales network across a swathe of Europe. The company’s main market is the UK, where it just secured a listing with the biggest retailer in Pets At Home.

While shoppers can pay as much as double for ‘premium’ pet food products compared to their mass-market rivals, Hanly said there was “huge potential” for smaller manufacturers.

Enterprise Ireland has earmarked pet food and animal nutrition as a key sector for export growth, noting “human food consumer trends are beginning to influence pet food choice” with a shift to “functional foods and organic options”.

The €400,000 was the first outside investment for the company and Hanly said she planned to use the funding to recruit sales, marketing and support staff while also launching dog and cat food lines.

To really execute my business plan and scale up considerably I needed not only financial support, but I also needed smart money. I’ve got nine investors now from fast-moving consumer goods and retail backgrounds, so I have the support to make it happen and at a much faster pace.

Written by Peter Bodkin and originally published on Fora, a new business publication for Irish startups and SMEs.

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