Insect-based fresh dog food company Tuggs has secured £1.1 million in funding from several institutional investors and angels.

Tuggs mixes insects with other meats, fish, and vegetables to create a product that offers consumers healthy dog food that is gentle on the planet.

Research now shows that a 10kg dog eating wet food has roughly the same carbon footprint as a human and highlights that pet food accounts for up to 30 per cent of the carbon emissions related to food production. 

Farmed insects can help reduce this environmental burden as they use up to 95 per cent less land, water and carbon emissions to produce the same volume of protein as beef. 

Launched in late 2022, the startup has sold over 350,000 meals to dogs across the UK and recently moved into new offices in London.

£1.1 million Pre-Seed secured earlier this year has contributed to key business developments over the last five months including team hiring, product development and marketing investment.

The team’s headcount has increased by 100 percent in the last year as it expands into key divisions such as customer services and builds out existing teams in product engineering and business development.

A key focus for the fresh pet food brand has been moving production wholly to the UK, as they look further to align their sustainable and organic values across the business.

Tuggs currently operates solely on a D2C subscription model, and Bremner attributes its success to its sustainable approach.

Harry Bremner, founder at Tuggs, says: 

“Our ethos is about reducing reliance on livestock without compromising on the nutritional composition of the food.

The main reason that consumers are choosing Tuggs is due to the quality of our products. However, we believe the onus is on us as a brand to build the product as sustainably as we can, which is why we’re pioneering the use of alternative proteins such as insects.”

Bremner continues: 

“We recently achieved one of the biggest milestones in our journey, which was moving our entire production and supply chain to the UK. This has given us much greater control over our product development as well as providing significantly more scope for growth. 

We’re excited as we look ahead to 2025, when we’ll have the infrastructure in place to begin scaling much quicker whilst adding to our product offering.”

The startup is working with an established partner as their fresh food manufacturer in the UK. It uses Red Tractor certified standards, which boast a high accreditation of animal welfare.

Bremner’s first investor at Tuggs, Simon Hulme, Professor at UCL’s School of Management says: 

“I had the pleasure of knowing Harry as he developed the concept of Tuggs while doing his Master’s degree at UCL. I found his approach extremely professional, and he demonstrated great analytical skills and the ability to make things happen. I was delighted to become one of the first shareholders and provide mentorship during the early stages of the business.”

Lead image: Tuggs. Photo: uncredited.