Grub Club – offering a sustainable protein boost for dogs

There’s something of biologist and natural historian David Attenborough, with perhaps a hint of naturalist Chris Packham, in the way that Grub Club co-founder and London Business School alumnus Alessandro Di Trapani enthuses about the benefits of the company’s hypoallergenic insect-based dog food that’s “perfect for sensitive tummies, itchy skin, and the planet”.

With pets responsible for an incredible 20 percent of the world’s consumption of fish and meat, London-based Grub Club has turned to making bug-based dog food as a healthier alternative to standard dog food fare, while also being kinder to the planet.

Grub Club’s food and treats are all grain-free, come in fully recyclable packaging, and are vet-approved. The company uses the larvae from the black soldier fly as its source of protein. These flies are fed on organic plant-based matter and come from two insect-farming facilities – Protix in the Netherlands and UK-based Better Origin.

London Business School alumnus Alessandro Di Trapani (right) with co-founder Hugh Petit (left) and one happy Grub Club pooch.

“Black soldier flies are the perfect protein for pets,” says Alessandro, otherwise known as ‘Ale. “They can be fed on food waste so they’re effectively a closed loop food system where organic matter and its nutrients are put back into the food chain. Our food range – including such products as an ‘All-Day Buffet’ which includes blueberries and pomegranates to boost immune health, to ‘Poop Perfector', to ‘Sit Roll Treat and Repeat’ – benefit from key amino acids and omega 3. Our range has everything a pet needs.” 

Ideated within the London Business School ecosystem, Ale says that it was an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal about an entrepreneur who wanted to create the ‘Beyond Meat’ of pet food that provided the sparking point for Grub Club.

And it was Covid that offered the burning platform for a number of trends that would be important to breathing life into the new company. An amplified search for alternative, healthier foods; the ‘pet-mania’ triggered by the pandemic, with more than three million British households acquiring a pet during lockdown – all these elements helped fuel the emerging Grub Club business plan.

“Pet humanisation has proved to be another important trend,” observes Ale. “The notion that pets are given the care, comfort and attention similar to human family members means that people care about the food they give to their pets.”

After looking at a number of potential alternatives to today’s range of dog foods, such as lab-grown meats, Ale and his co-founder, Hugh Petit, alighted the possibility of insect-based foods. With its huge potential to upcycle, with a low-carbon footprint and tremendous value to pet health, the idea for Grub Club was born.

While he acknowledges that the product range the two-year old company currently offers sits in the premium end of the market, “it is by no means unattainable” and there is substantial ability to scale the business in the future.

Launched in the second year of his MBA at London Business School, Grub Club’s Ale and Hugh attracted an initial £420,000, raised from friends, family and an early-stage fund, allowing them to start the company with three varieties of dog treats. A further £560,000 has now been raised, allowing for a further expansion of the product range which may help move the company from e-commerce into full outlet retail in the coming year.

With the lifecycle of the black soldier fly allowing for very efficient production, insect protein is clearly the future of pet food – and, top retailers are seeing this potential, too. Since its launch, Grub Club has expanded its retail footprint, entering independent stores including Daylesford Organic and Gladwells. And now, it launches into nationwide retailer, Pets at Home.

“Our partnership with Pets at Home gives us an incredible opportunity to provide dog owners across the UK with a more sustainable way to feed their dog,” Ale said. “Unlocking this distribution is crucial for us as we strive towards our mission of making the pet food industry more sustainable and providing a healthy alternative for dogs who suffer with sensitivities and intolerances to traditional pet food.”

Pets at Home will carry Grub Club’s insect-based dog treat range, which includes "Poop Perfector", a digestive health treat; "Sit Roll Treat Repeat", a daily treat; "Canine Shine", a skin and coat health treat; and "Clean Teeth & Chill", daily dental sticks.

Support from the School, and 2023, the year of winning awards

Ale credits London Business School, the support of Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital (IEPC) and the Incubator programme with offering Grub Club a great “daily support system”, and with helping him to develop both hard and soft skills for his future life as an entrepreneur.

2023 was, Ale admits, a year of winning awards. Grub Club was the Grand Prix winner of Sky Zero Footprint Fund, receiving £1m in media value in recognition. Sky aims to encourage brands to become net zero and raise awareness of the climate crisis, and chose Grub Club as the winner for its 2023 award. Sky said it was impressed with the dog-food company and was awarding the Grand Prix “due to its ability to shake up its industry, it’s fun and bold creative and because it’s a simple sustainable swap that anyone can make”

In addition to Sky’s prize, the dog-food company also scooped the Impact Award in association with Future, the Marie Claire Sustainability Award for 2023 and a place on the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator.