Fresh dog food company fetches £10m to fuel expansion

Fresh dog food company Different Dog has raised £10m to scale its operations and move into a new facility.

With millions of pets welcomed into UK homes during the pandemic, dog ownership has reached around 13m.

Shropshire-based Different Dog is responding by expanding its operations, including a move to a new facility in Telford.

The investment will also support expanded production of its hand-cooked, human-grade meals alongside marketing and new hires to fuel its next stage of growth.

Founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife duo Charlie and Alex Thurstan, the company began as a personal mission to cook healthier meals for their own dog, driven by frustration with the highly processed nature of commercial pet food.

Since then, it has grown into a business serving over 18,000 dogs and employing more than 100 people.

Alex Thurstan said: “This is about meeting a growing appetite for real, nutritious food for dogs. We’re excited to keep building on what we’ve started.”

James Connelly, founder of Charlie Oscar Group and board member at Different Dog said: “More people are rethinking what they feed their pets. Different Dog is at the forefront of that shift, offering something genuinely different in a market that’s ready for change.”