Inspired Pet Nutrition, the UK pet-food company behind brands such as Harringtons and Wagg, marked its centenary last year and last month announced it had raised nearly £200m ($251.8m ) in annual turnover, with sales doubling over the past five years .
The family-run business, based in Yorkshire in northern England, has ambitions to maintain or even exceed its growth rate and become one of the top three largest pet food businesses in the UK.
Inspired Pet Nutrition has been quite active in the deals market for the past two decades, investing in Real Pet Food Company in 2007 and acquiring Pet Food UK in 2021, for example. With private-equity business CapVest becoming the company’s majority shareholder in 2020, it’s perhaps no surprise that its growth plans lean heavily on M&A.
Chief commercial officer Fiona Fox spoke about the company’s strategy and category trends Just food.
Just food: Fiona, how has Inspired Pet Nutrition managed to grow at the pace it has in recent years?
Fiona Fox: Growth is focused on the core business – dry dog food – but also entering adjacent categories, wet dog and cat food and treats, and through the brands we’ve acquired through acquisitions.
JF: How does the dynamic work of being family-run – Richard Page, whose grandfather founded the business in 2023 is chairman – with private-equity firm CapVest as the majority shareholder?
Fox: It’s the best of both worlds. Richard is the chairman. He is very involved in the business every day. Legacy values are present. You got people like me from FMCG business backgrounds. And CapVest as the majority shareholder brings benefits in terms of funding and brainpower and structure.
Access the most comprehensive Company Profile on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain a competitive edge.
Company Profile – free sample
Your download email will arrive shortly
We are confident about the exceptional quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the form below
Via GlobalData
JF: What is your background?
Fox: I joined for just over a year in November 2022. Before that, I worked at Procter & Gamble for ten years and at Mars for eight years [where roles included global sales director and commercial director, Europe].
JF: What is the appeal of Inspired Pet Nutrition?
Fox: What’s great in business is focus, challenging you to get better. I joined to be part of something very exciting, from value to premium, super-premium and even uber-premium [the latter two sub-categories boosted through the Pet Foods UK deal, which saw IPN gain brands including Barking Heads and Meowing Heads}.
JF: What is the company’s USP?
Fox: The DNA of the business is making pet nutrition affordable and accessible for all – democratised nutrition at any given price point.
JF: What resources does the company have?
Fox: We have 450 employees. Here at Thirsk, we have offices, distribution and our biggest factory. Just before I joined, £26m was spent on expanding the factory. And we have a site in North Wales for treats and wet food. The expansion is all about how successful we are going to be in the future.
JF: Inspired Pet Nutrition has expressed a desire to increase turnover at the same pace it has over the last few years. How do you plan to achieve this?
Fox: In the core business by continuing to drive scale. The expansion gave us a step change in capability and M&A is obviously part of the strategy. Further acquisitions are definitely part of it.
JF: Any particular type of targets?
Fox: Synergies play into that. But adjacent categories, complementary brands, that is interesting as well. But that’s where CapVest’s expertise is.
JF: But, as you look to grow, like everyone else you have been buffeted by headwinds including inflation pressures in the supply chain [Inspired Pet Nutrition recorded losses of £47.7m in the 12 months to July 2023].
Fox: No one escapes it. All businesses face economic challenges. There is no silver bullet or way to avoid it. We keep our core DNA in mind – affordable/accessible.
JF: But maybe you have to raise the prices?
Fox: We make a real effort to put the customer first. We had to make tough choices on costs. When we have to pass those, we can say we’ve done everything possible up to that point.
JF: And what is the response from customers and buyers?
Fox: It’s not easy but pet ownership is on the rise and the category itself is in a pretty healthy place. We see a lot of transition between products but our brands are in a strong place, showing growth in value and volume, which is a good place to be.
We are seeing growth in all parts of our portfolio, including premium brands. Harringtons is a major brand everywhere. It is really well placed for buyers who want to stay in mass but also for those who want to trade up. I think growth at all price points will continue. It comes down to whether it is useful and whether you are meeting a consumer need. We’re trying to be really nimble as a business.
JF: What is the level of competition in your category?
Fox: There is competition in all areas of the market – a large number of brands and manufacturers, many smaller players. Even we have moved into wet cat food and are taking some market share. It was an interesting time.
JF: Do you think there will be a lot of consolidation?
Fox: We will continue to be open minded but this is truly an exciting category and I don’t think the pace of change will slow down over the next few years.
JF: What is your view on plant-based dog food?
Fox: This is something we had in the portfolio before. There is definitely a trend for humanization. Wagg comes in flavors including sausage and mash and fish and chips. It’s easy for consumers to relate but it’s hard to tell what the evolution of that will be. We want to try to be at the forefront and stay close to the trends.
JF: And what about alt-protein, insects or cell-based meat?
Fox: The short answer is never say never. Only time will tell. So much of it is in childhood. But it’s certainly an interesting space. It will ultimately come down to what resonates with consumers.
JF: In 2020, Inspired Pet Nutrition became the first major UK pet-food manufacturer to be certified carbon-negative and was involved in initiatives including donating 3.5 million meals to pet charities. Why are such projects important to business?
Fox: I don’t think we are unique. Sustainability should be a focus for everyone. What’s important about being carbon negative is that it’s about taking action now and not just signing up for something in the future. There are many other initiatives we are working on but they are more of a journey whereas we can do things like planting trees now. This is the balance between the current action and the glide-path.
