Northern Ireland family dog food firm creates jobs after record growth and £750,000 investment

Feedwell Dog Food in County Down has experienced record growth following a £750,000 investment programme which has led to the creation of six new jobs.

The third generation family business is run by Jamie Clegg and his sister Vicky Dobbin. The company was founded in 1962 by their grandfather Jimmy Clegg with the aim of delivering high quality nutrition at affordable prices for all types of dogs. Over six decades later, this still remains the company’s ethos and is central to everything it does with its growing portfolio of products which are all made in the family’s mill in Castlewellan, Co Down.

Feedwell currently supply the grocery, pet and agri sectors across Ireland and the UK servicing a host of large retailers including Jollyes, Pets at Home, Tesco, BWG and Hendersons and hundreds of independent stores.

The substantial investment has included a new state-of-the-art production line, doubling Feedwell’s capacity; a Programmable Logic Controller system to help improve product quality and overall plant efficiency; an Automated 2/2.5kg Bagging Line and an Automated 15kg/10kg/8kg Bagging System.

Jamie Clegg, managing director of Feedwell Dog Food said: “As the only manufacturer of dried dog food in Northern Ireland, we carefully honour over 60 years of heritage whilst growing the business and unlocking the potential opportunities for Feedwell. Over the last four years we have successfully navigated the challenges of Covid and Brexit and have learned so many valuable lessons that have resulted in the strengthening and growth of our business.

“In the last 12 months alone, we have seen volume growth of 25% and we are consistently seeing quarter on quarter growth. We have created six new jobs to support this across a range of departments including factory staff, sales and administration as well as our first appointment in GB with a business development manager who covers Scotland and the north of England.

"In a relatively short period of time, we have already experienced impressive growth in this new market and we see this continuing over the next number of years as we build our customer base.”

Vicky Dobbin, financial director of Feedwell Dog Food, added: “Manufacturing and nutrition are key to what makes Feedwell products unique. We have control of every aspect of the manufacturing process from choosing our quality raw materials through to the final sale ensuring traceability. We are confident that our high quality product portfolio, combined with this substantial investment and the additions to our highly-experienced team will ensure we are well placed for continued commercial growth and further strengthening of our position in the competitive pet food market.”