Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Inspired Pet Nutrition acquires Barking Heads maker Pet Food UK

Inspired Pet Nutrition plans

Inspired Pet Nutrition has acquired Pet Food UK and its Barking Heads, Meowing Heads and AATU brands from Piper and its founders.

The brands will now be part of the IPN stable which offers a range of natural dog meals and pet treats under the Harringtons and Wagg brands.


Pet Food UK was founded in 2009 by Paul Hunter, Dave O’Regan and Jim Moloney and has been led since 2017 by chief executive Sarah Kaye.

Barking Heads is known for products such as ‘Fat Dog Slim’ and ‘Purr-Nickety’. PFUK’s AATU brand, launched in 2015, enables it to offer a super-premium product following the 80-20 rule of 80 per cent meat and 20 per cent vegetables.

James Lawson, chief executive of IPN, said, “PFUK brings to IPN highly recognised super and uber-premium brands with a strong digital presence to augment our strong product portfolio and distribution channels.

“We are impressed by the great progress of PFUK in recent years and we look forward to welcoming the team and further supporting the company to continue to grow.”

Inspired Pet Nutrition plans to add scale and expand international reach through the acquisition, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

“We are very excited to acquire [Pet Food UK], which is highly complementary to our business and our values,” said James Lawson, chief executive officer at Inspired Pet Nutrition. “This acquisition is consistent with our vision to create a unique portfolio of loved and sustainable pet care brands helping make quality pet care affordable and accessible to all.

“[Pet Food UK] brings to IPN highly recognized super and uber-premium brands with a strong digital presence to augment our strong product portfolio and distribution channels. We are impressed by the great progress of [Pet Food UK] in recent years and we look forward to welcoming the team and further supporting the company in continuing to grow.”

More for you

Local Vape Action tackling illegal vapes in Tunbridge Wells

Vape regulations and enforcement in Tunbridge Wells

Photo: West Sussex County Council

'Local Vape Action pilot in Tunbridge Wells tackling illegal vapes'

Local Vape Action (LVA) is a partnership approach to tackling vaping issues at a local level. It brings together local authority partners as well as the vape sector via the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), to identify and target specific areas.

LVA began with a pilot in Tunbridge Wells as identified by local authority partners in Kent. As part of the project retailers received visits from trading standards to check that they are meeting their statutory obligations, utilising targeted LVA guidance, including age-verification policies, in-store signage and retailer awareness of compliant vape products and vape takeback for used vapes. This builds on the positive work that Kent County Council has undertaken in tackling illegal vapes. A summary of activities between September and December 2024 included:

Keep ReadingShow less
A person smoking a cigarette as vaping regulations tighten in the UK

Experts warn that banning vape flavours

Photo: iStock

Rising smoking rates: Vapers return to cigs amid misinformation on vapes

Smoking rates in parts of England have increased for the first time in nearly two decades, shows a new research published on Tuesday (18). Industry experts suspect misinformation around vapes and impending regulation on flavours are pushing vape users back to smoking cigarettes.

While smoking rates have decreased since 2006, the rate of decline has flatlined from 2020, and in some areas of the UK smoking rates are increasing again.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fujitsu, the tech company at the heart of the UK's Post Office scandal

Lee Castleton speaking about his legal battle against the Post Office and Fujitsu

Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Horizon victim to sue Post Office, Fujitsu

Former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton has launched legal action against the Post Office and Fujitsu, becoming the first individual Horizon IT scandal victim to sue the two organisations.

According to recent reports, Castleton has instructed his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to issue proceedings at the High Court against the Post Office and Fujitsu on his behalf.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trust and Gander partnership display at Retail Technology Show 2025 for inventory management

Gander unveils partnership to  transform inventory management

Trust and Gander are unveiling a strategic partnership set to transform inventory management and markdown processes in grocery and convenience retail.

Presented at the Retail Technology Show 2025, this collaboration integrates Gander’s advanced markdown solution with Trust’s industry-leading inventory management and ePOS systems.

Keep ReadingShow less