Butternut Box, the London-based fresh dog food business, has raised £15m of new investment in a round led by European venture capital firms Five Seasons Ventures and White Star Capital. Existing backers Passion Capital and Literacy Capital have also participated alongside debt financier Kreos Capital. The investment marks the fast-growing company’s intention to launch into Europe and build a leading pet wellness business.
Since launching in 2016, Butternut Box has produced more than 8m meals for dogs across the UK and last year saw revenues grow by 700 per cent. Dishes are cooked with fresh ingredients and portioned according to a dog’s breed, weight, sex and exercise regime before they are delivered to customers.
Founded by best friends Kevin Glynn and David Nolan, the company has continued to stress the importance of transparency in the pet food sector and believes strongly in quality ingredients with easy-to-read labels on packaging. The new investment aims to bring healthy, balanced diets to more pets across the UK and Europe. Alongside the funding, former SkyBet chief executive Richard Flint will join the Butternut board.
Eric Martineau-Fortin, co-founder and managing partner at White Star Capital said, “We’ve been working closely with the team since our investment in early 2018. David and Kevin have created a product centric brand built on the foundations of an exceptionally strong community and a very special team culture. We’ve worked closely with companies such as Freshly and Dollar Shave Club to scale and Butternut Box is growing on a similar trajectory”.
Ivan Farneti, partner at Five Seasons Ventures said, “Last year we were actively searching for a pet food investment opportunity around two key trends: the humanisation of pets and the increasing shift towards natural food, with the connected premiumisation of the overall experience. The team at Butternut Box was spot on in terms of their product positioning, their direct-to-consumer model and strong commercial traction. This is one of the strongest teams we have seen in foodtech in Europe over the last few years: we had to back them”.
David Nolan, co-founder at Butternut Box said, “We’re so excited to have the backing of amazing investors to take Butternut Box to the next level and grow a leading pet wellness company in Europe. Even more exciting is that we will reach more pets and could help them to live healthier, happier lives. The transformation stories we hear from pet parents each day spurs us on to make Butternut Box even better”.
Richard Flint, former chief executive of SkyBet said, “Although it might not seem that home-cooked dog food and online betting have much in common, I am learning that there are many parallels. Most importantly my passion is helping great teams to succeed and that’s why I am so excited to be joining the Butternut Box Board.”
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