Pet Industry Federation Awards crowns our Puppy and Small Breeds foods, Best New Product for 2023.

We recently took away the top prize for Best New Food Product at the Pet Industry Federation (PIF) Awards which were held at Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth with our cold pressed Puppy and Small Breed foods. The PIF Awards recognise excellence across all areas of the pet industry and are hotly contested every year due to the level of competition in a sector that is worth 9.7 billion pounds to the UK economy with pet food being the most lucrative segment. 

Founded by David Taylor, Richard Grant and Tim Matthews, the business was formed with the clear intention of producing a British made, complete nutrition dog food made using the ‘minimal processing’ cold pressed technique. The food is pressed at a lower temperature which means that more of the nutrients are retained in the process creating a product that is higher in protein, breaks down easily in the stomach and aids digestion. We began trading after the first lockdown in 2020 and have seen massive growth from our sales of cold pressed dog food and range of natural treats so in 2023, we opened a new £900,000 production facility in Barnsley.

With Cold Pressed being essentially an artisan process (real people operating real machines) we can be quite dynamic with our production. We make and bag regular batches to keep best before dates long and stock moving quickly through the system. We are particular about ingredient quality and source. We also keep batch samples for traceability and quality consistency purposes.

We source ingredients within the UK where possible and we feel that with regard to sustainability, we are doing what we can by using as many ingredients that are part of the human food production process. The food is packed in PE/PE 100% recyclable bags.

Having successfully launched the Walker & Drake Food For All Life Stages, customer feedback led to the development of a specific puppy formula in Chicken & Duck flavours, as well as a specific Small Breed formula in Turkey, Lamb and Ocean Fish flavours. The Small Breed is made in a smaller kibble size for smaller mouths and contains rice. As well as containing higher meat content, the foods are wheat and gluten free and contain vegetables and botanicals for added vitamins and minerals.

We also recently introduced a new Salmon Oil and Wet Food to our range of products and have been given a new distribution deal with Pedigree Wholesale Limited which gives us the opportunity distribute our products to retailers and stockists nationwide as well as sell direct to consumers online.

David and Tim, who attended the PIF Awards on our behalf received the award from Gerard O’ Mahony, Managing Director of Pedigree Wholesale Limited and guest of honour, James Middleton, brother of HRH The Princess of Wales who also has a business in the pet industry which was inspired by his late dog, Ella.

We are delighted to have won the PIF Best New Product Award. We feel that we have now really made it in the pet food industry particularly as we were up against so many established and respected brands. In a short space of time we have received recognition having been voted in 2020 by Yorkshire Insider Magazine as one of the top 50 companies to watch. We were also a finalist in 2021 in both the PetQuip and Pet Industry Federation Awards receiving Highly Commended for the Best New Pet Product (Food) at the PetQuip Awards for our All Life Stages Food, we were finalists in four categories in the PetQuip Awards and two categories in the PIF Awards this year and to come away with a win for Best New Product has made all the hard work we have put into the business worthwhile.