Judge's Choice Petfood Ltd

Judge’s Choice Petfoods Ltd are industry experts when it comes to understanding the nutritional needs of dogs and their lifestyles.

As well as creating premium nutritional solutions for dogs, their vision is to help pet owners understand the social and environmental impact of pet ownership.

This inclusive approach has seen Judge’s Choice maintain its Royal Warrant, which was granted in 1996 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for the supply of pet food. Their vision is to lead the way within the pet industry by making the concept of sustainability normal practice rather than just a marketing story.

Chieko Chester, CEO of Judge's Choice Petfood

Environmental impact of pet ownership

Research into the environmental impact of people on the planet has calculated that an average sized dog has the environmental impact of approximately 16% of a typical EU citizen.

Petfood manufacturers, Judge's Choice wanted to take a closer look at the impact their production contributes to the overall environmental loading, and as part of the RISE project, were able to access specialist expertise to better understand the areas that need to be addressed and the action they can take to potentially develop a lower impact petfood and move the industry forwards, and what can be done to raise awareness amongst consumers.

Working with academics from the university, the team has produced an intelligence report will allow the company to start making strategic decisions on product development and future marketing initiatives.

This funding has been invaluable and has helped us recognise and outline to our customers the environmental responsibilities that pet owners need to be aware of. Through this research, we can raise awareness and aid in solutions that allow for responsible pet ownership.

Exploring environmental responsibility through open innvation

Judge's Choice Petfood CEO Chieko Chester joined the BRITE project with the aim of understanding how a pet food business could educate and support pet owners to become more environmentally responsible.

Chieko felt that pet owners were less aware that by owning an animal, they had an increased responsibility to make sure that they were taking measures to reduce the environmental impact of pet ownership. She felt compelled to explore nutritional solutions that would uphold this vision.

After taking part in BRITE's INSPIRE programme, they made great strides towards launching new products, including applying for grants and attended a value proposition course run by the University of Brighton’s Clean Growth UK.

The knowledge and advice from our INSPIRE coach has been excellent and timely. Finding focus groups for research can be expensive, but teaming up with a non-profit in your industry is a win win.

Value proposition masterclasses

Through their coaching sessions and the tools they had access to as part of the INSPIRE programme, they were able to make great strides forging partnerships with manufacturers, working with local charities, and applying for grants (LoCASE and Coast to Capital).

They also attended a 4-week value proposition course delivered by the University’s Clean Growth UK project and formed partnerships with a manufacturing company and one with the South Coast’s largest animal charities.

Through their BRITE coaching, they also applied for and successfully secured an impressive nine new trademarks.

Next steps ...

Judge's Choice Petfood continue to work with the University, further investigating the environmental impact of pet ownership and how this can be mitigated by pet food choice and manufacturing, and are exploring a potential Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).

Find out more about KTPs

The INSPIRE programmes was created by the University of Brighton and delivered as part of the Brighton Research Information Technology Exchange (BRITE) project - led by Plus X Innovation Hubs, in partnership with the University of Brighton.

The BRITE project received up to £5.5m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

The Research and Innovation in Sussex Excellence (RISE) project was led by the University of Brighton, in partnership with the University of Sussex (delivery partner) and West Sussex County Council (strategic partner). It received up to £620,000 of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 in England. Grant Reference: 04R21P04430.

The West Sussex Councils also provided partnership funding to support the delivery of RISE, and through this, provided help and support to SMEs in West Sussex.