A Swansea-based petfood business is scaling up production following a series of new contract wins in the hospitality and transport sectors including Red Funnel Ferries, Transport for Wales and members’ club SoHo House.
Dewkes Snacks for Dogs are now sold by more than 1,000 hospitality and catering businesses throughout the UK including Booths Supermarkets and the Valiant Group which owns The Punch House in Monmouth, recently crowned the most dog-friendly pub in Wales at the Rover’s Dog Friendly Pub Awards 2024. Castell Howell Foods is the main distributor in Wales while Cotswold Fayre distributes in the Cotswolds and South-West.
The point-of-sale products offer a range of 100% natural, long-lasting snacks including beefy sticks, chicken jerky, fishy bites and pork scratchings that are assembled and distributed by the Dewkes team of ten in Swansea. More than 250,000 snacks have been produced and sold year to date with sales volumes expected to multiply by at least ten over the next five-year period.
With two pet retail stores in Mumbles and Sketty, Dewkes was set up by Jane and James Bygate during the Covid-19 pandemic after chartered accountant James decided to step-back from his city career in venture capital finance. Dewkes Snacks for Dogs was launched in November 2022, enabling the company to move into the wholesale market.
Co-founder and managing director James Bygate said:
“We’ve always been animal lovers so when the pandemic prompted us to reconsider our working life, we took the opportunity to do something we love in an industry that is growing rapidly.
“Dog ownership in the UK continues to soar with 36% of households now owning a dog. In fact, the UK’s pet food market has grown by a staggering £400 million in just the last year. It’s now worth £3.8 billion. Importantly, the hospitality and transport sectors are now realising that it makes good sense to cater for dogs as well as their owners. Our doggy treats are perfect for satisfying canine cravings and keeping dogs occupied on long journeys or when their adults are enjoying a drink in the pub.
“Business is booming and we’re scaling-up production to meet demand from a range of new stockists including Transport for Wales who are now providing the UK’s first dog treat menu onboard trains running between North and South Wales. We’re encouraged by our growth to date and excited about the future opportunities to expand within the transport and hospitality sectors.”
Dewkes has the backing of Tata Steel subsidiary UKSE and is now in year two of the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) funded through Welsh Government. The company is also a member of Food & Drink Wales.
