Overfunding: Raw Dog Food Brand Poppy’s Picnic Surpasses £350,000 Funding Target on Crowdcube

Poppy’s Picnic, a UK-based raw dog food brand, has successfully secured its initial £350,000 Crowdcube funding target and is now nearing £435,000 thanks to nearly 400 investors. The initiative was launched at the end of January, seeking the funds as it prepares to launch its new cat food line.

Poppy’s Picnic produces fresh raw dog food, which is handmade in Wiltshire, by using local ingredients. The company stated that since going online in October 2016 it has sold more than 380,000 meals (based on UK average dog size) and profitable to September 2017 (£20,659 net profit). The company also reported it started to export to Hong Kong in early 2017 and secured a partner for Malaysia and Indonesia for its upcoming cat food line. The company has also made an appearance on the television show “Dragons Den.”

While explaining why the company decided to use the equity crowdfunding method, Founder of Poppy’s Picnic Dylan Watkins, stated:

“We are crowdfunding. No surprise there, seeing as we are on crowdcube. But why? We love dogs. We love cats! We LOVE our customers. Uniting all these things is our mission to help more people feed their pets a raw diet. Because it’s what dogs and cats should be eating.

“Crowdfunding gives us the opportunity to grow our production, make more dog food and introduce cat food. It means we can offer our lovely customers actual shares in our business and take them with us on our exciting journey. It means that we can keep pet owners and their four-legged friends are at the centre of everything we do. Of course anyone can get in on the action, from as little as £10. After appearing on Dragons’ Den (recorded back in May 2017), we didn’t want to give the dragons a big bite… we’d rather be in business with you.”

Along with the cat food launch, the company plans to use the funds from the Crowdcube round to continue growth and expansion of its dog food brand. It is set to close later this month.