Merseyside entrepreneur scoops top UK accolade
THE winner of the Daily Post’s search for Merseyside Entrepreneur of the Year has seen her puppy food named as the UK’s best new pet food.
Lisa Horne, whose company Healthy Paws supplies wholesome dog food with no preservatives or additives, won £100,000 in funding for her business in last year’s The Search competition.
Now Healthy Paws Puppy Complete, its holistic dog food launched in June, was named by the Pet Product Retail Association as its Best New Product 2008.
All Healthy Paws products have been developed to be healthy and nutritionally balanced They con-tain no artificial additives, preser-vatives or colours, and are free from wheat, soya and dairy products. Puppy Complete’s ingredients include rabbit, brown rice, oats and herbs with linseed and fresh salmon.
Ms Horne was presented with The Search award by Cherie Booth last December, winning £100,000 of unsecured business funding guaranteed by inter-national asset management com-pany Dominique Faversham Group and provided through Lloyds TSB.
She also won a tailored 12-month programme of coaching, expert professional advice and practical business assistance from companies that supported The Search, including GB Finance, Griffiths & Armour, Hill Dickin-son, KPMG, Lloyds TSB, Peak Marketing & Communication Ser-vices, and Windsors Motor Group.
Ms Horne said: “It was with huge delight that I opened the letter announcing that we had won this year’s Best New Product as it came completely out of the blue. I am extremely proud to have this accolade as it is an award that is voted for by the retail members of the PPRA.
“2008 has been a triumphant year for Healthy Paws. Winning The Search was a significant turning point and we plan to continue into 2009 with the same momentum.”
The PPRA awards were formed in 2005 to recognise and reward excellence within the pet industry.
The Retailer of the Year award is voted on by industry suppliers while PPRA members, who are all independent retailers within the pet industry, vote in the other categories.
PPRA chairman Simon Carr said: “PPRA Retailers feel that Healthy Paws supports the independent market with an excellent product that makes and keeps dogs healthy.”