Pet treat supplier, Sniffers Pet Care, has secured £850k in follow-on funding from Traditum Private Equity, following an initial investment of £1.75m by the West Yorkshire-based private equity house in September 2022.
Sniffers, which is based near Halifax, supplies natural pet treats for customers including Pets at Home and Jollyes under its challenger brand NAW, which was successfully launched in 2023.
The funding will enable Sniffers to accelerate production at its site in Elland and deliver an incremental uplift of £3.3m in annual revenue.
The business has experienced rapid growth in the past 24 months, with a 40% year-on-year increase in turnover and an 85% growth in headcount in the last 12 months, taking full-time employee numbers to 37.
The first round of funding enabled Sniffers to expand operationally and scale manufacturing and distribution capabilities. It also invested heavily in building its own IP through the re-brand of its natural dog treat brands, Buffalo and Walter Smith, to NAW, which stands for No Animal Wasted.
The range is made from 100% air-dried animal parts which would usually go to waste and is now stocked in large chains such Ocado, as well as a range of independent and specialist retailers. The brand will be showcased at Crufts next month in front of 250,000 entrants.
The latest round of funding has been supported strategically by Sniffers’ senior leadership team, which includes chief financial officer Peter Harrison and non-executive directors Tom Page, and George Page. The brothers were appointed in 2023 to provide both marketing and operational expertise, drawing on their extensive industry experience acquired at family firm, Inspired Pet Nutrition.
Speaking about the investment, Simon Brown, CEO of Sniffers Pet Care, said: “The follow-on funding from Traditum is a real endorsement of our plan and the launch of our brand NAW last year.
“It will enable us to accelerate our growth in 2024 and make a real impact in the pet market with some exciting launches ahead.”
Iain Marlow, head of investments for Traditum, said: “Following on from our investment into Sniffers in 2022 the business has successfully launched the NAW brand, expanded the senior management team and entered into new distribution channels, which have delivered transformational growth for the business.
“At Traditum we seek to invest in and support exceptional management teams and we could not be prouder to support Simon Brown and his whole team at Sniffers. We are delighted to be able to provide further funding to the business to support continued growth in what are exciting times for the business.”
Traditum was supported with legal advice from Paul Johnson and Nina Latham of law firm Mills and Reeve. Jonathan Simms, Hitesh Tailor and Jonathan Schneider from Clarion Solicitors supported Sniffers Pet Care.
