A fast-growing supplier of raw pet food has revealed plans to more than double its turnover to £5m in the next few years.

Family-run Nurturing by Nature is also planning to boost its existing 30-strong team by a third and double the number of retail shops to four.

Five jobs – in administration, despatch, production and retail – are immediately available.

Fittingly for a business which started 17 years ago in a domestic kitchen, a five-figure sum has been spent on the installation of a demonstration kitchen and meeting area, pictured, at its Upton site.

It will act as the hub for a new education and wellness centre and will also be used for filming.

Adam Morris, Managing Director, said: “Our new space is designed for educating and informing our community about our raw diet, our business and also the many levels of support that we offer.

“It is part of our growth plan which started in 2019 and has seen our sales increase by 25 per cent in just the last year.”

Nurturing by Nature began life in the kitchen of Nettie Platt in 2004.

It was founded after Nettie’s 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 the country’s first dedicated raw pet food shop in West Moors.

In 2011 Nurturing by Nature expanded into a factory in Upton with Adam, a firefighter with the London Fire Brigade for 17 years until 2018 and Emma – Nettie’s daughter – joining the business.

Both were appointed directors in 2016.

Nurturing by Nature now has retail shops in Upton and West Moors, two factory units in Upton and a nationwide, next day delivery service as well as a thriving online business.

Last year 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.

The business works with farmers and suppliers to ensure meat products are the best quality, using human-grade ingredients, sourced from trusted farms in the UK.

The range of meats available to Nurturing by Nature’s raw feeding community evolves naturally with the seasons, as it would in the wild.

Adam said: “We aim to provide the best raw food diet coupled with exceptional customer service.

“For us it’s always been about quality not quantity.

“All our raw food products are sourced in the UK and we visit all our farmers and abattoirs to ensure they reach our high standards.

“Our products are of the highest quality and many of the ingredients are intended for the human food chain. We process to the standard of the catering trade.

“Our packaging is simple and basic but we would rather spend our money on ingredients.

“We have built the business on very solid foundations and developed a real community, both among our team and also our customers.

“I’m incredibly proud – and protective – of the business and genuinely excited about the future and the growth plans we have put in place.”

Emma, pictured, said Nurturing by Nature was planning to take part in the government’s new Kickstart Scheme which provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit.

The business is also seeking a veterinary professional to head up the new education and wellness centre and act in an advisory capacity for the company.

Emma added: “This is a great opportunity for someone to carve out a new role.

“It could be a very exciting opportunity for the right person.”

• nurturingbynature.co.uk