Adam Morris, Managing Director (second left); fellow director Emma Platt (second right) and Founder and Director Nettie Platt (third right) with Gwyn Morris, Sue Morris; Carole Cluett of Friends of Wessex Assisting Dogs with Gretel and Ness Combes. Picture: Dorset Biz News.
Published: July 4, 2022 | Updated: 5th July 2022
An expanding family business has acquired a new retail site with plans to turn it into a flagship store.
Upton-based Nurturing by Nature has taken over The Petstop at Pamphill Dairy, on the outskirts of Wimborne.
The raw pet food specialist has bought the business as a going concern from owner Lynsey Shepherd who is moving to Norfolk with her husband, Rowan.
Monday July 4 marked the first day of trading under the ownership of Nurturing by Nature and both buyer – and seller – couldn’t be happier.
Adam Morris, Managing Director of Nurturing by Nature, said: “It’s probably our biggest store, it’s fantastic.
“We’ve known this site since we were children and it’s a phenomenal site.
“These opportunities come along and you’ve got to grasp them.
“We know the site, it’s a great location, the owners of Pamphill Dairy are fantastic, there’s a very loyal clientele and a good demographic.
“Our plan is to maintain the community that Lynsey has built up over the years and then subtly, and over time, use this site to express ourselves.”
Lynsey and Rowan Shepherd
Lynsey, 49, who originally opened a tack shop 12 years ago before migrating to a pet store on moving to Pamphill in 2017, said Nurturing by Nature was “the perfect fit”.
She added: “We had quite a lot of interest when we put the business up for sale.
“Anyone could buy it but who’s to say it will be here in six months’ time.
“The most important thing to me was that it carried on so I’m really, really pleased.
“We’ve stocked Nurturing by Nature products since 2017 and we could sell them ten times over.
“The good thing now is that the shop will never run out of their products.
“We had one delivery, certain space limitations and once they were gone, they were gone.”
It was Nettie Platt’s vision and hard work which led to a raw feeding ‘revolution’ as well as the creation of a business with annual sales of £2.5m and employing 35 people.
Nurturing by Nature began life in Nettie’s kitchen in 2004.
It was founded after her red boxer, Fred, developed cancer.
The answer was a raw food diet with Fred’s quality of life showing a visible improvement.
The business moved from Nettie’s kitchen to a conservatory and then garage before the opening of its West Moors store, the country’s first dedicated raw pet food shop.
Nurturing by Nature now has another retail shop in Upton, two factory units in Upton and a nationwide, next day delivery service as well as a thriving online business.
In 2020 it opened a 38,000 kg capacity meat freezer, increasing the capacity of the business by up to 50 per cent.
Nurturing by Nature aims to give domestic pets – both cats and dogs – a diet which is more akin to what they would eat if they were fending for themselves in the wild.
Adam, Nettie and Emma
Adam is married to Nettie’s daughter, Emma, a fellow Director.
Emma said: “Our new store at Pamphill is going to fit in with our community beautifully.
“It’s an opportunity for us to showcase what we do and also serve the community that Lynsey has built up here in this area as well.
“She’s got a loyal following of people who love her very much and they will be very sad to see her go.
“I actually saw the business was up for sale on a text message and by pure chance.
“It’s great having a website but the community comes into our shops.
“They get help in store and everything they need from us as people. It’s what we’ve built our business on.
“We’ve got great team members.
“We will have Ness [Combes] here who has been with us for quite a few years, and she will make this site her own.”
Adam, pictured left, added: “This is something that has just come about, we’ve grabbed it and, as with all things, we’ll nurture this site as we do with our teams.
“I’m hugely excited.
“Quite often when you put plans together it’s done with the best of intentions and fate plays a part.
“If Emma hadn’t opened her phone when we got home, if we hadn’t been looking at our business plan, maybe this opportunity would have just gone past.
“Opportunities like this don’t come about every day, especially for our teams.”
The new Nurturing by Nature store is at Pamphill Dairy, Wimborne, BH21 4ED. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm.
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Read our other stories about Nurturing by Nature:
Raw pet food company despatches ten-strong team to the world’s biggest dog show, Crufts
Nettie is the star of the show as raw pet food business celebrates first store’s 15th birthday
Raw pet food business which started life in a kitchen plans to increase its turnover to £5m
Going for growth: New freezer will increase raw pet food supplier’s capacity by up to 50%