A scaleup which delivers fresh dog food via a Deliveroo-style tech platform has raised £280 million in funding.
Butternut Box was founded when David Nolan saw the benefits of home-cooked meals on a Staffordshire Bull Terrier his family had rescued named Rudie.
In 2015 he and co-founder Kevin Glynn would work in the City, cook meals in the evenings and deliver them at weekends. A year later they quit their day jobs to concentrate on Butternut Box.
It is now Europe’s largest fresh dog food brand, feeding dogs in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and most recently Poland following its April 2023 acquisition of PsiBufet.
The latest fundraising round comes from new investor General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. Existing investor L Catterton, a leading global consumer-focused investment firm, also participated in the round.
It will use the round for further European expansion, including the development of a new European manufacturing facility. The planned facility will be the second of its kind for Butternut Box after Rudie’s Kitchen, a fully integrated manufacturing and fulfilment facility that opened in March 2021, giving the company complete visibility and control over its emissions production.
“We are delighted to now partner with General Atlantic, who is an incredible investor and shares our long-term vision of developing the category of Fresh pet food across Europe,” said Glynn.
“It is also fantastic to receive further support from our long-standing partner, L Catterton who we’ve been proud to work with for several years now and who also believes in the power of Fresh and that we are only really at the starting line.
“Most notably we are incredibly excited by what this investment will unlock for our customers – dogs and humans – in the years to come as we are nothing without them.”
Nolan, who named Rudie after his constant flatulence, added: “We’re thrilled about the ways in which this investment will allow us to continue to live out our mission.
“Everyone here is driven by a uniting purpose to deliver health and happiness to all dogs, everywhere. This investment will help us take the next leap forward in doing just that.”
Butternut Box has a core meals range of 12 fresh recipes, plus a growing selection of treats, chews and supplements.
Melis Kahya Akar, managing director and head of consumer for EMEA at General Atlantic, added: “We are very excited to partner with Kevin and David who have reimagined Fresh pet food through Butternut Box’s diversified product portfolio and mission-driven brand.
“There is an immense opportunity set across the Fresh pet food category in EMEA, and we believe Butternut Box is well positioned to leverage its digitally enabled business model to meet this growing demand.
“We look forward to utilising our pet expertise and technology capabilities to support the Company through its next chapter of growth.”