Insect dog food producer Percuro to scale up production
Company founder, Denise Saber, told Feed Navigator: “The big challenge is to ensure that we have enough working capital to press the button on production. That is challenging for a small business. But we are not short of orders.”
She added: “At the moment we are a victim of our own success. The business is going from good to great and from great to very great.”
The company has a projected revenue for 2023 of just over £1m (US$1.3m) – an increase of more than 300% on 2022.
Saber expects Percuro to be in profit next year; there has been continual investment to grow the business. So far, the company has raised £2.5m in funding, of which a percentage is family money, and the rest is from angel investors.
Saber established the pet food firm in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 crisis hit in March 2020, but despite the challenges of operating a start-up in a pandemic it is seeing significant growth in Europe and internationally.
The company currently offers 8 SKU’s focused on the dry pet dog market ranging from puppy to adult.
Market and portfolio expansion
Percuro is looking to launch into the cat food market as well as release a dental treat for dogs.
It is aiming to produce an insect chunk in gravy in recyclable packaging, targeting the wet food cat market, which Saber said is massive and much bigger than dry. But that is a longer-term goal. “It would be more sensible for us to get a dental treat out for dogs and a dry insect treat for cats [launched] in the short-term.”
The company is seeing expansion in the UK, Europe as well as in multiple Asia countries. Dubai, it reckons, is a major and growing market due in part to the big international community and Percuro has just signed a deal in the US to start distribution. “We are starting in the state of New York but then will look at other states,” Saber commented.
Percuro’s model for distributors outside the UK enables them to have an equity stake in the business; that means “everyone has skin in the game” noted the founder.
The protein source for its pet food comes from Protix, the Netherlands-based insect ingredient supplier.
The company’s co-manufacturer is United Petfood in Ghent, Belgium. Saber said that, due to Brexit, the company took a decision to manufacture in Europe. This means that all of its overseas orders going to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Dubai, travel via Europe into Asia.
