Poppy's Picnic from Wiltshire picks up nomination for four business awards

Chippenham-based Poppy’s Picnic, founded by Dylan Watkins with his business partner Louise Mackintosh, won Business Start-up of the Year at the 2018 Wiltshire Business Awards in April.

Now they could be crowned winner in categories at the Rural Business Awards, PetQuip, the 2018 Business Leader Awards, and the Natwest Great British Entrepreneur Awards – potentially going through to national awards.

The company produces fresh meaty hampers, including meatballs and Wiltshire-made lamb mince, to give animal lovers an alternative to branded dried food available in supermarkets.

Founder Dylan Watkins and business partner Louise Mackintosh believe that simplicity - or 'rawplicity' as they call it - is the key to their success.

“Rawplicity is behind everything that we do at Poppy’s Picnic," said Dylan. "From producing recipes that include the best quality, recognisable ingredients, to creating innovative products that help dog owners with portion sizes, feeding our food is fun and easy."

The pair impressed investors on BBC2’s Dragon’s Den in January after being in business for 12 months. They turned down an offer from Dragon Deborah Meaden and raised £600,000 through crowd funding to grow the businesses and launch a new range for cats.

“Our aim from the start has been to make it easier for more people to feed fresh,” added Dylan.

“It’s not about being exclusive and saying people have to feed a strict and set way, it’s about being inclusive and helping people make changes for good.”

The Rural Business and Natwest Great British Entrepreneur Awards will be held in throughout September and October. National winners will be announced in February and January respectively 2019.

Winners for the Business Leader Awards will be announced on September 27 in Bristol with the winners of PetQuip announced on Sunday 23 at the PATS pet trade exhibition in Telford.

Find out more at https://poppyspicnic.co.uk/