Marleybones, the London dog food startup behind the shelf-stable Pantry Fresh range, has landed its biggest retail deal since launching in 2020: a nationwide rollout into roughly 430 Pets at Home stores and online.
It marks the first time any single retailer has carried the brand’s full nine-product lineup, chicken, lamb, beef, and salmon meals, 12 packs, and two variety box formats, all in one place.
“Launching nationally with Pets at Home is an incredibly exciting milestone because it brings Pantry Fresh nutrition within reach of families across the UK,” said co-founder Josephine Rode Bager, “we’re proud to partner with a retailer that shares our commitment to helping pets live happier, healthier lives.”
Bager started the company after struggling to find food for her cocker spaniel Marley. “Dog parents shouldn’t have to choose between quality and convenience,” added Mikala Skov, Marleybones’ fellow co-founder.
The deal is Marleybones’ largest to date, and it lands about nine months after the company closed a separate £2.5 million funding round in October 2025, led by TAW Ventures, the fund started by Estee Lauder heiress Jane Lauder.
At the time of that raise, the company’s retail footprint touched Pets at Home, Co-op and Ocado only partially, and founders cited over 200% growth in the period leading up to it.
A different kind of “fresh”
Marleybones’ pitch has always rested on a fairly narrow technical claim: meals cooked in-pack at around 89 degrees Celsius, shelf-stable, no freezer or subscription required. It is a different promise than most “fresh” dog foods make, built around convenience rather than the cold-chain logistics that define most of the category.
That product mechanic is arguably what makes a deal like this one possible in the first place. Landing shelf space in the UK’s largest pet care chain, which runs more than 460 stores and close to 500 vet practices nationwide, requires something that survives on a shelf, not a freezer aisle.
Pets at Home’s own read on the deal leaned commercial rather than sentimental. “As more pet owners seek convenient ways to feed their dogs nutritious food, we’re pleased to be working with a growing brand that is helping to meet that demand,” said Dani Lowry, the retailer’s head of category.”
A market built for this bet
Marleybones is chasing a category that keeps outrunning the rest of European pet food. Fresh and frozen dog food across the EU is forecast to grow 7-10% a year through 2035, according to Indebox, well ahead of the wider market.
In the UK specifically, premiumization rather than pet population growth is what’s driving the roughly £3 billion category toward £4 billion by the early 2030s.
Marleybones’ Pantry Fresh range is available now at Pets at Home, marleybones.com, and Waitrose, Ocado, Co-op, and Whole Foods Market.
Featured image: via Marleybones.
Disclosure: This article mentions clients of an Espacio portfolio company.
