Vegan pet food firm in Havant gets top royal honourÂ

A FIRM that sells meat-free dog food for vegan pooches has earned the most prestigious royal award for business.Â
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Jul 2018, 14:48 BST
Updated 17th Jul 2018, 14:53 BST
The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, in Havant, is one of the UK's best selling vegan dog food brands.

It has been awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

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The firm was set up by Darrell de Vries. It launched it's first pet food in 2005, with the aim of creating a meat-free dog food alternative, with a  wheat-free recipe for more food sensitive dogs.

Darrell said: '˜As a pioneering company swimming against the tide of traditional pet foods out there, this is a very significant award for us.

'˜An award of this level is breakthrough recognition of Benevo's international achievements and a real boost for our team who have worked so hard to support Benevo's products and customers.' 

The brand proved popular among customers online in the UK and enquiries began coming in from abroad. Slowly the export sales began and soon Benevo was selling more food outside of the UK than at home.

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Within a few years, they were reaching far beyond their initial EU customers. Now Benevo can be found from California to Japan, and Norway to New Zealand.

The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises with the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Sir Nigel Atkinson, the Mayor of Havant, Councillor Peter Wade and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Diana Patrick. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises with the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Sir Nigel Atkinson, the Mayor of Havant, Councillor Peter Wade and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Diana Patrick. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
The directors and staff of pet food company Benevo at their Havant premises with the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Sir Nigel Atkinson, the Mayor of Havant, Councillor Peter Wade and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Diana Patrick. Benevo Vegan Pet Foods, the UKs best selling vegan dog food brand, has received a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

Export sales now account for the majority of Benevo's sales, with significant customer bases in locations as diverse as South Africa, Hong Kong and Israel. The Queen's Award acknowledges the company's outstanding growth, after seeing recent rapid development of their export sales in recent years.

Darrell said: '˜The Queen's Award for Enterprise will set our product apart from the competition.

'˜This award is proudly earned, not won, so I believe it enhances our brand reputation both here in the UK and abroad - that can only help to grow international sales further.' 

Benevo has now launched cat food, puppy food, grain-free and organic options, as well as meat-free treats.

Related topics:HavantJapanCalifornia