Raising the bar for dog treats
treats & food
CASE STUDY: THE DOG TREAT COMPANY
The Dog Treat Company is on a mission to raise the bar for top dog treats, mirroring the flourishing movement in human food for tasty choices, ingredient integrity. traceability and nutritional vibrancy. Owner Joe Halliwell takes up the story. “We wanted to marry great taste with functional benefit cues. We’ve never understood why the terms ‘treats’ and ‘good for you’ were being deployed as mutually exclusive terms, because with one in three dogs now deemed clinically obese it would be great to champion dog treats that are more about long-term genuine health benefits than momentary guilt trip evasion.” Joe launched The Dog Treat Company 18 months ago “as a heartfelt crusade” against bland, over-processed, conveyor belt dog treats, opting instead for a DEFRA approved bakery, small batches, humangrade ingredients and low calorie recipes.
The company began life as a home delivery service, providing countless happy ‘letterbox’ moments. But Joe soon realised there was a void of such goodies in traditional independent pet shops, garden centres and farm shops. Nowadays the company is also making significant headway in dog-friendly pubs, delis, cafes, boutique hotels and even holiday centres. “I remember like yesterday the light bulb moment that led to DTC’s launch,” added Joe. “I was in a supermarket picking up some dog treats when an elderly lady started wagging her finger whilst pointing at the dubious ingredient deck on the pack, uttering phrases like, unsavoury meat meal, artificial rubbish, masking sugars and salts and nutritionally vacant recipes. I decided to do something to change things.” The Dog Treat Company is a Devon-based family business with a purpose-built 7,500
sq ft bakery perched on the edge of the Dartmoor Business Park. Joe wanted to tap into the county’s unrivalled foodie pedigree using locally sourced ingredients. “There are many reasons to believe in the DTC dog treat vision. For one thing each and every one of the tasty treats offers bona-fide functional benefits as their product names proudly suggest (Calming, Fresh Breath, Joint Care and Skin & Coat). “Secondly we’re a young business that’s not afraid to adopt different thinking. For example, in the old days our treat pouches were very brown and understated – albeit with a loud, proud label – because we wanted ‘product to be king.’ As our appeal has spread to human-centric venues – pubs, hotels, holiday centres and farm shops – we realised that we needed packaging with a bit more ping. “We’re also rather proud of our quirky, quintessentially English humour that can be seen across our packaging, website, and throughout our seasonal specials like Pawever Yours, Bark The Herald.” Today the Dog Treat Company is very much a global concern with export markets as diverse as Scandinavia, Holland, Italy and Germany to South Korea and Hong Kong. Exports make up about 40% of the company’s total global footprint which sits neatly among its significant home market listings: Pet’s Corner, Fetch, Ocado, Pets At Home, Not On The High Street and Fortnum & Mason. “We feel we’re at the forefront of the nutritionally well-rounded treats movement but would never take our pioneering status for granted,” said Joe.
ESP
Mejora de los snacks para perros The Dog Treat Company se ha fijado como objetivo mejorar los snacks para perros, de forma análoga al floreciente movimiento en la alimentación humana que favorece las opciones más sabrosas, la integridad de los ingredientes, la trazabilidad y la energía nutricional. En palabras de su propietario Joe Halliwell: “Buscábamos aunar un excelente sabor con ventajas funcionales. Nunca comprendimos por qué las palabras “snack” y “saludable” siempre se empleaban como mutuamente excluyentes. Ahora que uno de cada tres perros se considera clínicamente obeso, sería genial ofrecer snacks para perros que aportasen ventajas reales para la salud a largo plazo en lugar de proporcionar una evasión momentánea de la culpabilidad.” Joe creó The Dog Treat Company hace 18 meses “como una auténtica cruzada” contra los snacks para perros industriales ultraprocesados y sosos. Apostó por recetas de horneado aprobadas por DEFRA bajas en calorías, con ingredientes aptos para el consumo humano en pequeñas cantidades.
10 COMPANION PETS IN THE UK