Lancashire accountancy and business advisory group Pierce has helped business soar at Preston-based specialist bakery for dogs, The Barking Bakery Ltd.
Pierce has worked with owner Michelle Turnbull for the past year providing strategic advice and future planning.
The luxury pet bakery which has supplied treats into Crufts, is the brainchild of Michelle, who pitched her idea to Pets at Home during their innovation day in 2012 after struggling to find luxury treats for her dog Spot.
Michelle said: “I used to wander up and down the supermarket aisles to look for a special treat for Spot, but I could never find anything. I pitched luxury bakes for dogs to Pets at Home thinking nothing would come of it, but they loved the idea and wanted a Christmas range.
“As I wanted a product that was low in fat, safe for dogs and had a long shelf life of nine months, it took me two years to develop the right product.”
Today, Michelle employs ten people at her Wesham-based factory and sells her signature doggy ‘Woofins’ and dog friendly popcorn to Pets at Home stores, Booths supermarket, Ocado and numerous independent pet shops and garden centres across the UK.
Michelle also creates larger bespoke cakes for special celebrations with support from her team of bakers. She said: “I get a lot of requests to create birthday, Valentine’s Day and Easter cakes. I’ve just been commissioned to create a wedding cake for a dog who is the ring bearer for its owner’s wedding.”
For the past 12 months, Pierce has been working with the business, assisting on pricing to ensure profitability and supporting with tax and VAT strategy for new product development. This process aids cashflow which is critical for any business especially a start-up. Pierce also delivers payroll and pension services to assist in the compliance of real time submissions and auto enrolment.
Following requests for products from customers in Belgium and Greece, Pierce is currently advising The Barking Bakery on exporting and establishing local distributors across Europe to keep costs for customers at a minimum.
Mark Walmsley, associate director at Pierce, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Michelle over the past year. We’ve helped to implement a strategic plan and the business is growing week on week.
“The Barking Bakery is quirky and original. It has a fantastic business model and a brilliant range of products, so it’s great for us to have played a part in its growth. We look forward to seeing the success of the business unfold in the near future and support Michelle as she expands into Europe.”
