The co-founders of a West Yorkshire-based pet food business, who turned down a Dragons’ Den offer in 2014, now employ more than 70 people with their sights set on further growth .
Dan Valdur-Eha and Mathew Cockroft launched the business in 2012 with a £300 Calderdale Council grant and overdraft.
The business, which operates from a base in Cleckheaton, has sold more than 30 million dog meals and is on track to double in size this year.
It was shortlisted in the Fast Growth Business category of this year’s Yorkshire Business of the Year awards.
Pure got its big break a decade ago when it appeared on Dragons Den. The Dragons loved the co-founders’ pitch, and the pair were offered £40,000 worth of investment from Deborah Meaden and Kelly Hoppen but decided to turn it down.
Cockroft says: “When we first started, our office was Dan’s mum’s spare room, and we celebrated every day when something was ordered. Dan even knows most of the customers’ names.
“It’s exciting to think that we are now working from a 15,000 sq ft food facility and sending an articulated lorry of personalized orders every day.
“We always believed that Pure could be a household name, but the recent growth rate and scale have even surprised us.
“We’ve come a long way from making recipes in my mother’s kitchen. While we may have grown up, what drives us remains the same: to provide happier, healthier, and longer lives for our pets.
“We would like to thank the judges for recognizing us with such a prestigious award and we are excited to continue to grow the business here in Yorkshire.”
It has trebled last year’s size and says it will recruit to take its current headcount to more than 100 staff this year.
