Butternut Box - Think Gousto but for Dogs
by Startacus Admin
The lowdown on the UK startup, Butternut Box that's providing a fresh food delivery service, but for dogs!
Dogs. Friendly, loyal, furry, a bit dim, loyal, and friendly. They are, or at least try to be, everyone’s best friend. However, when it comes to feeding them, we often take the ‘that’ll do’ route and get them food somewhere in the lower-middle price range.
After all, they don’t tell us they don’t like it or it doesn’t sate them properly or it gives them stomach ache, so it must be fine, right? Most mass-
produced dog foods laud themselves for being packed full of nutrients and real meat and real vegetables and...lentils? But they don’t mention that it’s the lowest quality meat possible (and needs only to contain 4% of that meat to be labelled as beef, chicken, etc.), or that it’s padded out with all manner of filler and then sprinkled with a generous helping of preservatives.
This leads to a poor diet and unhealthy dogs. We think if the dogs made us dinner they’d give us only the best, so why not do the same for them?
UK-based startup Butternut Box is here to ensure that we can do just that.
The startup came about when co-founder Dave brought home a rescue dog. She was unwell and on a lot of medication, and her stomach was continually upset. In order to help her with this, Dave and his mother cooked all of the dog’s meals at home, choosing ingredients carefully. When this worked wonders for not only their dog, but for friends’ dogs too, Dave and his co-founder Kev quit their jobs and made Butternut Box a fulltime job.
Butternut Box cooks meals to order, meaning that your dog always gets the freshest food, and that it gets a meal tailored - in conjunction with veterinary nutritionists - to a range of factors including age, size, breed, energy levels, allergies, and weight. These are then shipped every 2-4 weeks with a subscription option of either 50% or 100% of the dog’s recommended daily calories. 
Meals are made with ingredients good enough for - and tested by - humans, and include all necessary vitamins and minerals. They are also free from ingredients that often irritate a dog’s stomach, such as grain wheat, gluten, dairy, sugar, lactose, and more.
Butternut Box currently delivers to 99% of the mainland UK (they don’t yet brave the Scottish Highlands), ans the idea is a solid one, and one that will catch many dog owners’ eye.
It has already caught the eye of the likes of White Star Capital and Literacy Capital, who are among the backers who recently invested £5m in Butternut Box. So you would - and we know you’ve been waiting for this - be barking mad not to give it a go!
If you liked this Pet Tech themed startup feature, you might want to read our previous article on a number of innovative Pet Tech startups.
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Published on: 25th February 2018
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