AN entrepreneur who was brought up in Cheshire was offered a £50,000 investment for her pet smoothie drink business on a popular BBC One show
Husband and wife, Ian and Louise Toal last night secured a £50,000 investment for a 35% share of their company from fashion retail entrepreneur, investor, and reality television personality Touker Suleyman on BBC One Dragons’ Den for their award-winning range of smoothie drinks for dogs.
Furr Boost was the inspiration of Louise, who was brought up in Congleton, before moving to Shropshire with her husband.
The warehouse facilities for Furr Boost are based in Cheshire.
For over 20 years Louise was a technical manager in the food industry.
Louise’s Beagle, Phoebe at the age of 18 months became unwell with bladder problems which after investigations with her vet, were linked to the dog’s food.
Using her technical food background, Louise then started experimenting with protein shakes to help flush out Phoebe’s system and to provide her with the hydration that she needed when she was refusing to drink enough water particularly in the summer months.
This led to the creation of the Furr Boost range of smoothie drinks.
The drinks are unique on the market. Each of the recipes contains a real meat, fruit and vegetable, along with added oils and vitamins, so it’s more than a hydration drink, it supports the dog’s wellbeing in areas such as digestion, skin and coat, anxiety, metabolism and immunity.
The drinks can be served straight from the carton, frozen as an icy treat and a popular way to serve the drink is as an Ultimutt Furr Boost Puppuchino. They are available in 7 tasty varieties.
The couple were seeking investment to expand their business into further major retail outlets including supermarkets, to export to more countries and to launch a range for cats.
Commenting on their time in the Dragon’s Den Louise said. “It was pretty nerve-wracking having to present our business to the Dragons and they certainly put us through our paces, but we were delighted with the outcome.”
Furr Boost won Best New Product at the PetQuip and Pet Industry Federation Awards in 2022 and made the regional finals of the Start-up Awards last year.
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