ISSUE 1: OCTOBER 2020
All the winners & FINALISTS listed inside
Winners’ Special Celebrating the pet industry’s achievements in 2020
welcome to 2020 PETQUIP AWARDS! The PetQuip Awards are an established and prestigious annual event in the pet industry calendar with companies acknowledging that winning such an accolade can give their sales a terrific boost whether they are retailers or suppliers. The Awards were due to be presented at a special gala dinner during PATS Telford but when the exhibition was cancelled because of coronavirus restrictions we looked at an alternative way to recognise and celebrate innovation within our industry. We wanted to give our 2020 winners and finalists as much exposure as their achievements deserve and so we have produced this Winners’ Special digital magazine, which will be available to view on the PetQuip and PATS websites.
Coverage of the PetQuip Awards 2020 will also be published by our sponsor pbwnews on both its website and magazine, and news of the winners and finalists will be circulated to all the UK and international trade press. We would like to congratulate not just our worthy winners but all our entrants who made it through to the finals – it’s not an easy task and our judges were rigorous in their assessment of all entries. We look forward to seeing you at PATS Telford in 2021 when we can celebrate with our exciting new evening format. In the meantime we hope you enjoy reading our 2020 Winners’ Special. Pat Flynn, Trade Association Manager and Event Organiser, and Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE, Director General of PetQuip.
Pat Flynn at last year’s PetQuip Awards
Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE
PetQuip Awards 2020 are sponsored by:
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wHAT IT MEANS
One of the most successful winners in PetQuip Awards history is innovative company HOWND, which received an impressive four gold awards in the space of just two years. HOWND first did the ‘double’ in 2017 when it was awarded Marketing Project of the Year for its ‘Bring Your Dog to Work Day’ campaign, and Pet Product of the Year (Accessories) for its All Seasons Natural Skin, Nose and Paw Balm.
to win a PETQUIP AWARD
What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award? We didn’t expect to win a double award the first-time round, never mind the second! We are honoured to have our achievements in both product innovation and marketing recognised.
What do the awards mean for you? It’s a great boost to morale. Who isn’t grateful for a big pat on the back now and again?
Have you used the awards to promote your Then in 2018 HOWND repeated its amazing business? success by retaining the Marketing Project of the Absolutely. We used them in all of our marketing Year crown for the same campaign, and picking up materials, brand videos, even our price lists and a second gold for Pet Product of the Year (Food/ email footers. It’s something we are very proud of. Treats) with Hemp Wellness Treats. How important are the PetQuip Awards as an Here Jo Amit, co-founder of HOWND, explains industry-wide event? how winning multiple PetQuip Awards has It’s an important event that recognises and boosted business for the company. celebrates innovation within such a great industry.
2020 judges Our judges included:
2019 UK Retailer of the Year “Winning this prestigious award is recognition for an amazing turnaround in fortunes.” Just for Pets
2019 Merchandising “To pick up a PetQuip Award for merchandising expertise was fantastic.” Natures Menu www.petquip.com
Mabel and Rufus PetQuip Awards 2020 3
PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS
MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR
GOLD AWARD JUDGE’s Choice
Privately-owned pet food company and Royal Warrant holders Judge’s Choice, whose brands include Country Pursuit and Nature’s Harvest, embarked on a set of social media campaigns to grow brand awareness, using new media vehicles to communicate with their audience and identify cost effective ways to utilise their advertising spend.
75% (compared to more traditional advertising methods). This social media campaign enabled Judge’s Choice to utilise analytics and advanced reporting to make more informed digital decisions leading to full social media rebrand and a revival of the Judge’s Choice brands on social media.
Employing the services of Elda Digital Creatives, Judge’s Choice’s aim was to reach 250,000+ individuals per month at a cost saving of over
The judge’s felt that Judge’s Choice had shown it is possible to use social media to target individuals and groups and dramatically reduce marketing spends when compared to traditional advertising methods.
SILVER AWARD Barking Heads Barking Heads took silver for its multi-channel marketing campaign to bring on-pack characters – Bailey and Byrne – to life to showcase the realities of dog ownership.
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Highly commended PRODOG RAW
EXPORTER OF THE YEAR
GOLD AWARD CHICKENGUARD ChickenGuard has come a long way since starting in 2011. It is currently exporting to 57 countries, up from 49 in 2019.
International trade shows like Global Pet, SuperZoo, Interzoo, Zoomark and PATS Telford. also play a key role in attracting new trade partners.
As well as the UK, the company is prominent in USA, France and Belgium, and aims to grow in western Europe, Scandinavia, North America and Australasia. It has trade partners in 22 countries, a 57% increase from 14 in 2016.
Last year saw ChickenGuard record a non-UK export sales turnover figure of £3.2m, a 189% increase since 2017.
ChickenGuard’s main .com website is available in nine languages – English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.
The PetQuip Award judges recognised ChickenGuard as being a leading innovator in automated chicken coop door openers and was impressed by its growth in export sales, especially to so many countries worldwide.
SILVER AWARD Natures Menu
Nature Menu sells to 31 countries worldwide, reaching territories across Europe, especially western Europe, and territories in Asia, the Middle East and New Zealand.
Highly commended Eden HOLISTIC
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stay up to date with the latest news every day www.petbusinessworld.co.uk
the website of pbwnews the UK’s No.1 pet trade magazine
PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS
rewardING outstanding achievements Winners of the PetQuip Awards 2021 will be announced at a special event during PATS Telford on the 26th September For more information contact Pat Flynn, PetQuip’s Trade Association Manager, by email pat@petquip.com
PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical
SILVER AWARD MEG HEATH DOG LEADS
(CAR BOOT LEAD)
Highly commended THE GREEN POOP BAG
(COMPOSTABLE POOP BAGS) www.petquip.com
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PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Food/Treats
GOLD AWARD Clydach Farm Taste of British Isles Complete Kibbles
In 2017 Clydach Farm founder Callum Griffths, at the age of 17, identified the opportunity to reestablish the fortunes of nutritionally robust/real food kibbles at ‘everyday affordable’ price points. What began as a quest to make naturally healthy/ easily digestable/meat-rich kibbles has in 2020 resulted in the emergence of a credible voice for an often overlooked rural economy. With meat being the key constituent within each Clydach recipe, Callum’s ‘Taste of the British Isles’ portfolio takes great pride in the sublime quality of its long-term/ethically sourced partnerships with Suffolk-based Gressingham Duck, Yorkshire Venison, sustainable NW Scottish salmon and Snowdonian National Park, grass-fed lamb. In each instance the chosen meat is gently steamed to lock in as much natural goodness as is feasible. It’s also worth noting that Clydach only aligns with like-minded operations with reputations for exceptional husbandry and animal welfare. Clydach was the first UK dog food business to champion 100% farm-to-dog bowl traceability. The judges were impressed how Clydach Farm’s ‘Taste of the British’ Isles portfolio had revived the reputation of top-tier pet food kibbles. 8 PetQuip Awards 2020
SILVER AWARD GOODCHAP’S
(Catfish Twirls; Doggy Bag; Canine Christmas Cracker)
Goodchap’s was praised for its sustainablysourced Catfish Twirls treats, The Doggy Bag containing seven chews, and Canine Christmas Cracker, designed so that dogs can also pull it.
Highly commended DIFFERENT DOG
(HAND-MADE DOG FOOD)
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PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Healthcare/Grooming
GOLD AWARD SNIFFE & Likkit Sniffe & Likkit’s dog-loving founders took inspiration from the beauty industry to create a ‘pet-scentric’ range of great grooming gifts and treats.
Unlike other petcare products, Sniffe & Likkit’s signature fragrance has been specially created by pet aromatherapists using the finest grade, 100%
natural essential oils renowned for their calming and soothing benefits. Fun, fabulous and fragrant said the judges, this company’s multi-tasking formulas combine a powerhouse blend of naturals, actives and botanicals, to deliver high-quality grooming results at home, or on-the-go.
COMPLETE GROOMING RANGE
SILVER AWARD Henry & CO
(ear cleaner for dogs)
Highly commended WaggleAntics (Tick Defence)
Henry & Co’s Organic Ear Cleaner for dogs has received fantastic feedback for both its medical use and cleaning properties. www.petquip.com
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PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
GOLD AWARD goodchap’s When creating Goodchap’s in mid 2018, father and son team Mark (right) and Liam (below) wanted to develop a brand that played to both of their strengths. Mark, having over 25 years’ experience in running his own company, brought a wealth of knowledge in company management, customer satisfaction, growth and sustainability. Liam, a graphic and product designer, brought his knowledge of the gifting and retail markets and new innovations in both product and packaging. Through extensive research, together they found a gap in the market for eco-friendly and healthy dog products and set about developing a range of sustainably sourced treats in plastic free, biodegradable packaging with a view to developing further ranges of eco-friendly toys and gifts for both human and hound. The company’s customer service is impeccable, which is backed up by retailer comments like: “I absolutely love the environmental credentials of the packaging”; “We choose to work with Goodchap’s as they fit perfectly with our ethos”; “Goodchap’s provide excellent speedy service and nothing is too much trouble for them”. The judges felt that Goodchap’s provides a unique range of products backed up by excellent service to its customers.
SILVER AWARD eden holistic Eden applies the highest possible quality and integrity to all of its products and services. This allows the company to bring its mission statement alive by ‘supporting animal health through nutrition’.
Highly commended Four Paws Country Pet Hotel 10 PetQuip Awards 2020
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INTERNATIONAL RETAILER/WHOLESALER/DISTRIBUTOR
GOLD AWARD WANIMO (FRANCE)
Established in 2000, Wanimo is a specialist online pet retailer selling B2C. It is the No.1 wholly French web-shop in the pet sector. Wanimo’s warehouse is located near Lille in northern France and it is now selling to customers in Belgium via its Belgian website www.wanimo.be. It has around 600,000 unique visitors per month and nearly one million views per month. Wanimo handles around 300 brands and a range of 9,000 products, covering food, care and accessories for dogs, cats, rodents, ferrets, and even extending to chickens. The company is already working with some UK suppliers. Wanimo supplies quality products at competitive prices and also offers a free veterinary advice service to its customers.
We spot trends before they happen.
SILVER AWARD IRIS (SLOVENIA)
IRIS offers a wide range of products by many leading international and domestic producers. Educating pet shop employees and veterinarians in terms of pet nutrition is of growing importance to the company. For IRIS that means putting a lot of effort and money in fulfilling those demands. As far as Slovenian pet owners are concerned, word-of-mouth recommendations are far more important than online reviews.
For off-the-chart sales, only the best data will do. Serious pet industry professionals rely on the APPA National Pet Owners Survey for up-to-date, vital consumer insights and marketing intelligence. It’s over 600 pages packed with data you’ll use again and again to guide your business decisions. Trusted. Objective. Actionable. Order your 2019-2020 APPA National Pet Owners Survey TODAY at www.americanpetproducts.org/survey For questions, contact us at memberservices@americanpetproducts.org or call 203-532-0000 ext. 520. Available Formats: • Hard copy • E-book • Portal access
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PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR
JOINT GOLD AWARD ginger & Browns Ginger&Browns in Cheshire is owned and run by Rachel Spencer and Josh Beeston, who started the business after working together for several years at the University of Liverpool in a science research group. They opened the store in 2016 and named it after their two dogs.
The couple use their expertise and knowledge to hand select all of the items they sell. “We are building a centre point for dog owners, where they can come for whatever their needs are, so that it all becomes much more than the shop that it started as,” say Rachel and Josh. “We offer an experience rather than a utility. When you visit us for a dog groom, you can go and get yourself a glass of wine at the pub next door to us whilst you wait, followed by a visit to our store, and a mooch around the shops on site. You can even get your hair cut, whilst your
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dog gets their hair cut!
owner-customised, handselected box full of goodies at www.tail-mail.co.uk; and a recently added spacious, calm, behaviour-savvy, fully-certified dog groomers called Innoscent Spa.
“We use our position as professionals, to help aid and support our local community, either in store or on social media, to become that reliable, trustworthy source of products, The judges said Ginger&Browns services and information.” deserved recognition for setting remarkably high standards since Since opening the couple have opening four years ago and for grown the business with the continuing to innovate and grow introduction of an online store the business even during the at gingerandbrowns.co.uk; a subscription service providing current difficult times caused by Covid-19. customers with a monthly,
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UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR
JOINT GOLD AWARD scampers
Scampers Natural Pet Store in Cambridgeshire has been helping pet parents provide the very best environment for their four-legged friends since 1985. From the beginning Scampers set out to be different - it won’t sell animals, choke chains, birdcages or anything else not in the best interests of its customers’ pets. This means the store only stocks products that owner Piers Smart has personal experience of using with his pets. “We’re so passionate about pets because for us our dogs are like our children and, as any parent knows, their child’s health and wellbeing are paramount,” says Piers, who owns and runs the business with wife Michelle. Scampers has an unrivalled
range of natural, high meat content pet food, and the business has grown as a result. Piers believes that embracing a new way of thinking in the interests of pet welfare has been the best thing the store has ever done, and seeing the results for customers’ pets has been especially rewarding. At Scampers, pets have a great time instore, especially at the Tasting Table where they get to try all the best foods – they even get a doggy bag to take away. The judges said that Scampers continues to set high standards and is indeed the benchmark for innovation and specialist pet care, not just in the UK, but internationally too. It is an incredible independent business that deserves success and recognition.
SILVER AWARD Trusty Pet Supplies
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PETQUIP AWARDS 2020 WINNERS & FINALISTS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
GOLD AWARD EDDIE MILBOURNE THE CANAGAN GROUP Eddie Milbourne attended Harrow County Grammar School but dropped out at the age 16 with no O-Levels because he wanted to go out and start working as “we were the poorest family on our street”. But his entrepreneurial flair had started at school where he sold newts! After leaving school he found a job at a law firm in Great Portland Street, before being enticed by the prospect of working in and eventually running a pet shop in Pinner, North West London, in the 1980s. His customers included Elton John and Ronnie Barker. However, business at the pet shop was affected by a nearby supermarket becoming the first in the country to introduce a pet food aisle. In later life Eddie wouldn’t forget this experience and forged his future company’s ethos of only supplying independent pet stores. Eddie began importing dog chews from Thailand and supplying them to pet shops across the UK. This was his first dabble into the pet distribution business but he soon realised that he needed to be supplying pet food to become really successful. On a trip to Superzoo in Las Vegas he met Matt Defratus, the then export Manager of Nutro, and was appointed the UK distributor in 1994. He soon became the second largest Nutro distributor in Europe, supplying more than 1,000 pet stores across the UK. All was well until the company was sold to Mars in 2008. Aged 55, Eddie went back out on the road, starting again from scratch and before very long he launched Symply Petfoods, with just himself and his partner Mark. They gained a small
foothold in the market and for the next few years the business continued to grow slowly. It wasn’t until 2012 and the launch of Canagan that things really changed. Suddenly the international success began to kick in with more and more countries taking on this exciting new grain free product. From launch in 2012 Canagan is now available in over 45 countries across the world. There are over 5,000 pet stores across the planet who stock Canagan, 1,000 of which are here in the UK. Throughout this entire period the ethos to only supply independent pet stores still continues. The business now has annual sales in the region of £35,000,000 with exports accounting for over half of that. In 2017 the company was recognised for its export achievement by winning the Queens Award for Enterprise for international trade and Eddie met the Queen at Buckingham Palace. A Chelsea FC season-ticket holder, Eddie is renowned for mixing business with pleasure, but perhaps his biggest accolade is the fact he has built such a fantastic business while sticking to his promise of supporting independent pet stores.
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Roll of Honour MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR Gold – Judge’s Choice (judgeschoice.com) Silver – Barking Heads (barkingheads.co.uk) Highly Commended – ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) EXPORTER OF THE YEAR Gold – ChickenGuard (chickenguard.co.uk) Silver – Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Highly Commended – Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical Silver – Meg Heath Dog Leads, car boot lead (megheathdogleads.co.uk) Highly Commended – The Green Poop Bag , compostable poop bags (greenpoopbag.co.uk) Food/Treats Gold – Clydach Farm, Taste of British Isles Complete Kibbles (clydachfarmgroup.co.uk) Silver – Goodchap’s, Catfish Twirls, Doggy Goody Bag, Canine Christmas Cracker (goodchaps.co.uk) Highly Commended – Different Dog, hand made dog food range (differentdog.com) Healthcare/Grooming Gold – Sniffe & Likkit, complete grooming range (sniffeandlikkit.com) Silver – Henry & Co, ear cleaner for dogs (henryandcoorganics.co.uk) Highly Commended – WaggleAntics, Tick Defence (waggleantics.co.uk) SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR Gold – Goodchap’s (goodchaps.co.uk) Silver – Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) Highly Commended – Four Paws Country Pet Hotel (fourpawspethotel.co.uk) INTERNATIONAL PET RETAILER/DISTRIBUTOR/WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR Gold – Wanimo, France (wanimo.com) Silver – IRIS, Slovenia (iris.si/en/) UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR Joint Gold – Ginger & Browns, Blakemere Village, Cheshire (gingerandbrowns.co.uk) Joint Gold – Scampers Natural Pet Store, Ely, Cambs (scampers.co.uk) Silver – Trusty Pet Supplies, Derby (trustypetsupplies.co.uk) LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Eddie Milbourne, The Canagan Group (canagangroup.com)
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Finalists OUR WELL-DESERVED FINALISTS IN 2020 MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR Lucky & Prince (luckyandprince.com) Sniffe & Likkit (sniffeandlikkit.com) Waggleantics (waggleantics.co.uk) PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical Adios (adiosplastic.co.uk) Collar Co (collar.com) Goodchap’s (goodchaps.co.uk) Food/Treats Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) Forthglade (forthglade.com) Lucky & Prince luckyandprince.com) Mealberry (mealberry.com) Natural Instinct (naturalinstinct.com) Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Pet Munchies (pet-munchies.com) ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) Healthcare/Grooming Allsorts Premier (allsortspremierdoggrooming.com) ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR C&D Foods (cdfoods.com) Different Dog (differentdog.com) GHS Direct (ghs-direct.com) Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Pet Munchies (pet-munchies.com) INTERNATIONAL PET RETAILER/DISTRIBUTOR/WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR KIKA Group, Lithuania (kikagroup.lt) TiendAnimal, Spain (tiendanimal.es) Vitafauna, Spain (vitafauna.es) Warmako, the Netherlands (warmako-bv) UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR Henry & Co Dog Boutique (henryandcoorganics.co.uk) Redpaw Pet Supplies (redpawpets.co.uk)
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