Butternut Box

David’s family had previously adopted a rescue-dog named Rudie, which suffered from persistent health problems. Opting for all-natural homemade meals rapidly improved her condition. Kevin and David, then working in finance, were inspired to start their own fresh dog food delivery service and started preparing and delivering meals for dogs on the weekends.

Following an increased demand for their product and services, they both decided to quit their jobs and launch Butternut Box. Naturally, like any other ambitious startup, Butternut Box required significant investment to scale its operations and expand its market presence.

Support from the Bank

Claret Capital Partners, which specialises in growth debt financing, supported Butternut Box through its Claret European Growth Capital Fund II, to which the British Business Bank committed €30m. Via its Fund, Claret provided Butternut Box with €28.3m of total funding, driving the company’s next growth phase and increasing its production and order capacity across the UK and the rest of Europe.

Impact of funding: what has Butternut Box gone on to do?

After starting out in a family kitchen, Butternut Box has swiftly become Europe’s leading brand in direct-to-consumer fresh pet food and nutrition.

The funding provided by Claret Capital Partners and British Business Bank enabled Butternut Box to build its first state-of-the-art manufacturing and fulfilment facility, in Doncaster, and expand its European footprint, providing local jobs across each of its respective regions and sites. Its fresh dog food can now be delivered to customers directly across eight markets including the UK, Ireland, Poland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.

Alongside its natural dog food range, its proprietary algorithm identifies how many calories each individual dog needs based on age, weight, breed, activity levels and body condition, and then pre-portions this amount into daily servings.

Butternut Box now employs 1,200 people, up from 99 (+1,124%) since 2020 and its TTM (trailing twelve month) revenue has grown by 1,131% since 2020. Revenue growth is 29% YoY (Year-on-Year).

Butternut Box acquired Polish fresh pet food company PsiBufet, in 2023, marking a significant step in its European expansion as it looks to expand its presence in Central and Eastern Europe. As of 2023, the company was valued at over £500m.

Kevin Glynn, Co-Founder, Butternut Box: