While the likes of Royal Canin and Purina PetCare have dominated the global dog food market for decades, challenger brands like London-based Tails.com have marked their territory in recent years. Today, Nestlé Purina PetCare announced that it will acquire a majority stake in the British startup. This is reportedly a mutually beneficial agreement that will boost Tails.com’s international presence, while helping Purina secure a foothold in the disruptive digital dog food market. The deal will allow Tails.com to continue operating as a stand-alone entity, with the current management team remaining at the helm. Over the last four years, Tails.com has brought personalised dog nutrition to the mass market. The company was early to identify changes in the way consumers want to shop and care for their pets, and matched up digital technology, food innovation and new manufacturing techniques to provide food individually tailored for dogs based on age, breed, size and level of activity.
Powered by a proprietary nutritional algorithm developed by vets, nutritionists and software engineers, the company now feeds more than 100,000 dogs in the UK.
Tails.com will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity, with co-founder and CEO James Davidson at the helm. It’s business as usual for customers, who will still have access to bespoke dog food delivered to their homes, as well as access to an in-house nutrition support team.
With the rapid growth of personalised pet nutrition, as well as subscription services, Nestlé Purina’s shareholding in this digital-first business offers significant growth opportunities for both companies.
“When we launched the company nearly four years ago, we were excited to bring something totally new to pet care in the UK,” James Davidson, Tails.com CEO said. Tails.com’s subscription service model capitalises on the growing trend of pet owners buying pet paraphernalia online.
“Our mission is to change the world of pet food for good, by providing every dog with its own unique, blended recipe.”
“We’ve been amazed by the response from pet owners. We now provide four million bespoke meals per month to dogs across the UK and expect to see sales of well over £20 million this year,” he added. Through this deal, the company aims to reach more pets beyond the UK. For Nestlé Purina PetCare’s EMENA CEO, Bernard Meunier, Tails.com gives the company a leg-up on the competition.
“Personalised pet nutrition, along with direct-to-consumer subscription services, are expanding rapidly and this move underlines our focus on investing in high-growth categories and acting on consumer trends,” he said.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.