Pet food firm is an expert on dog's dinners

Andrew and Lisa Clarke have never relied on processed dog food and instead had given their pets cooked meats fit for any human’s dinner table.

Realising there was a gap in the market, they started up Guru, in Appley Bridge, which creates “cold pressed” dog food, a cooking method that is believed to retain as many nutrients as possible.

The food is made at a specialist plant in Europe using Andrew and Lisa’s recipe and then shipped to and sold by the couple through their website.

Andrew said: “We have always had dogs and have been home feeders for the last 20 years. We used to pick up meat from Wigan market and make food for our dogs.

“As we developed our favourite recipe surf and turf, with beef and fish, we struggled to find a dog food manufacturer that would take it on.

“So we decided to set up our own business and Lisa, who has design experience, created the packaging and marketing materials.

“Normal dog food is made through the extrusion process, where it is heated at 150 degrees plus, but it can lose certain vitamins. A lot of the meat used is slaughterhouse waste, but cold pressed food is meat and fish from the human-chain suppliers dried at a lower temperature, keeping more nutrients.”

Since it was established in September, Guru has turned over £220,000 within its first six months trading through sales on its website and local independent shops and it has enjoyed global success, gaining orders from Canada, America, Singapore and Eastern Europe.

It has also achieved a recommendation by All About Dog Food, a popular pet owner website, which gave Guru 4.9 out of 5 for its recipe.

And of course the food has been given a glowing report by Andrew and Lisa’s boxer dogs Gino, and Duke.

Andrew added: “I’m really happy about that. A lot of people have raved about cold pressed food, as owners are very careful about what they feed their pets. They look at the ingredients and want the best possible quality.

“Our own dogs, Gino and Duke absolutely love the food. Cold pressed food has an amazing aroma and they go mad for it.”

Although the food is wholesome fish and meats, Andrew does not recommend people eat it.

He said; “All ingredients are human-grown and I have tried it, but I would not advise it.

“It does not taste that bad, but it is quite gritty and has no seasoning. You can also add water to it to make it like porridge for dogs.

“A lot of people say it smells like gravy.”