In the Company of: Wetherby pet-food business bringing 'raw' energy to the sector

Chris Broadbent, director of Naturaw is the latest focus for our In The Company of… feature.
Director Chris Broadbent and staff at Thorp Arch-based raw dog-food manufacturer Naturaw.Director Chris Broadbent and staff at Thorp Arch-based raw dog-food manufacturer Naturaw.
Director Chris Broadbent and staff at Thorp Arch-based raw dog-food manufacturer Naturaw.

Q: In a nutshell, what does your company do and how did it start?A: Naturaw is a highly sustainable raw pet-food business. We make fresh, natural raw dog-food and distribute it across the UK to 150 stockists and thousands of customers from here at Thorp Arch.The business started when the founders, Jess Warneken and Tom Johnson, wanted to find something more healthy to feed their own dogs.We also have the all-British natural dog-treat brand, Louis & Ada, named after the founders own ridgeback dogs.Naturaw only uses 100 per cent British meat, with lots of free-range and organic ingredients. We are also a plastic-free business and use only compostable packaging. We plant trees for each customer subscription or stockist order, and Naturaw is the first raw dog food in the world to be achieve B-Corp status, signifying outstanding social and environmental performnce.

Q: What’s the most surprising thing about it?A: The business itself is one of only 13 B-Corps in the UK, and along with Lilly’s Kitchen and Scrumbles, one of only three B-Corp businesses in the pet-food sector. In a nutshell, we are bringing sustainability to the raw sector.

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Another surprising fact is that despite the fact that Naturaw is a raw meat business, the founders, Tom and Jess, are vegetarians.

Q: What do you do?

A: I’m one of three directors, along with Tom and Jess who started the business. Jess is all about the product; Tom is design, branding and all our amazing content.

That leaves me; I joined four years ago and help grow the business, dealing with staff, stockists, stakeholders, finance and commercials.

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I do a bit of everything really – from working with the Local Enterprise Partnership on grants towards our impending solar-panel installation, to visiting potential new stockists in Wales last week, or working with the bank on a new staff scheme.

Q: How did you end up here?

A: That is a question I ask myself quite a bit – I only joined as part-time van-driver!

I had crashed our of a corporate role that now seems like a different lifetime; after 33 years in the advertising and marketing sector I was the Chief Operating Officer of a large WPP business, responsible for over 400 people across the North of the UK. I had a complete meltdown and crashed out after a period off, with stress brought on by my work.

I was saved by getting a dog – a working cocker spaniel called Öve. After a few months off I knew I did not want to go back into that world and was looking for something part-time to ease me into semi-retirement. I applied for a role at Naturaw as a team-member two days a week.

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It’s just escalated slightly from there, so although I now own part of the business, I see my role as helping it grow and being in there only two days a week – physically, at least.

Q: If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?

A: I can’t even think what I would have been doing if I had stayed in my old job. The truth is, my mental health would not have allowed me to stay.

What I try to do now is balance Naturaw with my other loves: family, photography, dogs and travel. I used to be 90 per cent work and the remaining 10 per cent worrying about it. My therapist told me to get more petals on my flower… wise words!

Q: What motivates you?

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A: Building a winning team and making something to be proud of. Leaving things better than they were before, and helping people grow along the way by realising their true potential – that’s what gets me to the factory in the morning!

So, actually making a fantastic product – real manufacturing – is actually very powerful vs. my old world (of manufacturing hot air, mainly in a service industry).

Q: What one thing do you wish you had known when you started out?

A: Don’t waste a single day doing something you are not enjoying; or more likely, something that is not doing you any good. You can surprise yourself and do something completely different, something you enjoy.

Q: What excites you about business?

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A: People make a business; give them opportunity and help them grow - then you are onto something, especially if what you are making is what dogs were designed to eat.

Q: What is your pet hate in business?

A: People with a huge ego and a lack of humility.

Q: What advice would you give to people just starting their careers?

A: You can do anything. Don’t believe anyone who says otherwise.

Q: Who in business do you most admire, and why?

A: Anyone who has walked out of a large, safe environment with a box of stuff and gone it alone – they know who they are.

Q: What moments of your career so far stand out?

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A: The last 24 months have been pretty special, working with real people, making a fantastic product, moving to a new facility, building a new production line and launching new products – all while doing some good for the planet and learning along the way as a newcomer in a vibrant different sector, even in my late 50s.

Q: What sets your company apart from the competition?

A: B-Corp credibility as opposed to greenwashing; the quality of our ingredients and workforce; clear and openly transparent labelling and traceability; sustainable high standards that we won’t compromise on. In short, we are unique in our sector.

Q: What is the most difficult challenge your company has faced, and what challenges are you experiencing at the moment?

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A: Like any fast-growing SME, managing growth responsibly while juggling cashflow and maintaining standards that stockists, customers and stakeholders have the right to expect.We only moved premises 18 months ago , but introducing new products and channels of distribution are a providing a challenge logistically as we expand and require yet more freezer and warehouse space.

Q: Have you got a five-year plan for the company?A: Yes. The business is unique and highly relevant to consumers right now, so plans for the coming years are to keep it very much that way, focusing on our sustainable credentials.Yes, we could take short-cuts, chase the money, compromising the product and growing even faster, but that is not what we are about. Dogs deserve better, and in five years’ time, we will still be here, true to our values and feeding our four-legged friends by the million!

Q: Why is it good to do business from Thorp Arch?

A: Lovely landlord, great location, multiple options to grow our footprint here, nice neighbouring businesses and community, good commuting catchment for staff. It’s only half an hour away from my home – and it’s in Yorkshire, of course!

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