<\/p>\n
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: As I understand it, South Africans have around 7.5 million dogs and the pet FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) market is worth around R10 billion a year. That\u2019s a lot of money. Now, BuddyMeal is a local pet nutrition business that uses, as I understand it, information about an individual dog\u2019s breed, age, weight, activity levels, and dietary needs to work out an appropriate recipe and daily portion, then prepares the food and delivers it directly to the owner.<\/p>\n
So is this personalised dog food genuine nutritional innovation, I\u2019ve got to ask, or simply the next big premium offering in what is a booming pet economy? Benjamin Callens is with me, he\u2019s the founder and chief executive officer of BuddyMeal. Benjamin, welcome to you, let\u2019s get straight to it, do dogs really need personalised food? Or have you simply found a clever way to charge owners more money?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: No, dogs are a bit like humans, actually. So somebody who\u2019s working in an office all day, or somebody who runs marathons as a living, don\u2019t eat the same food. The same works for dogs. So dogs are what they eat, and if you make a perfect fit for your dog\u2019s food, you get very healthy dogs. Our goal is making dogs very healthy nationwide.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: Let\u2019s talk about perfect fit then, that\u2019s an interesting phrase. What is genuinely different then about your food, rather than just the portion size and the packaging?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, our food is not a bag from the shelf. We formulate and create every blend and every meal plan specifically for each dog. So based on the breed, age, activity levels, allergies and so on, we create the perfect nutritional values, together with a feeding plan as well, because overfeeding is also an issue worldwide with the dogs. And because of doing that, you create healthier dogs.<\/p>\n
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JEREMY MAGGS: I want to come back to your offering in just a moment, but that figure that I quoted at the start of our conversation, the pet market worth around R10 billion a year, why do you think this particular sector of the economy is booming so much?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, there is a humanisation of pets in general. People are treating their pets more as their kids and that\u2019s a good thing because pets are like family members, and for a family member you want to give the best to them, especially for kids. So that is a very good thing.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: So how much scientific evidence then, around your offering is there that a dog does better on a degree of personalisation? What benefits might an owner see?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, as I mentioned, you are what you eat, for animals it\u2019s the same thing. We try to use natural ingredients, high-quality ingredients, and by personalised nutrition, we know exactly what dogs need. We created an algorithm throughout the years with nutritionists and vets all over the world to make a perfect algorithm system that creates the perfect formulation for every dog specifically.<\/p>\n
I think feeding the right amount and the right ingredients creates a better dog and a better pet in general.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: It\u2019s astonishing, Benjamin, how algorithms are controlling so much of everyday life these days. I understand what you\u2019ve done, but how perfect is that system? What happens if the algorithm gets it wrong?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, it always gets checked by certain guidelines, of course. We have nutritionists in-house as well. We do a lot of check-ups and double checks on certain formulations that are created to be sure that that\u2019s not an issue. If a dog is very sick, of course, you cannot solve it by having personalised foods, you still need to go to the vet. But I think by giving the correct foods to your pets, you will have healthier pets that are less sick.<\/p>\n
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JEREMY MAGGS: You speak about special or bespoke ingredients that go into your offering. What specifically is different from that compared to the normal pet food I would buy in a store?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, all our formulations that we create are wheat-free, grain-free and maize-free. So we also have completely grain-free options available. The ingredients, all the recipes are gluten-free and we have several different proteins, animal proteins and vegetable proteins we can use.<\/p>\n
So there is no one specific formulation for every dog. Everything is basically made specially for your dog. We have add-ons, for example, for older dogs with joint stiffness and so on, they get extra collagen and extra omegas to make them healthier.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: It sounds very enticing, Benjamin. How much more then, does personalised dog food cost compared with just a good premium supermarket brand?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Well, it\u2019s funny to see because we are creating a meal plan, so you know exactly how much to feed your dog. It\u2019s often cheaper than other premium brands. We are also direct to customers, so we manufacture and deliver directly to your door.<\/p>\n
There are no mark-ups in between or no people in between who are taking margins of the products. So we can put all the money into a good product and deliver it straight to your door for free nationwide. So that\u2019s a huge advantage. We are basically cheaper than most premium brands.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: I want to push you a little bit on cost. How much cheaper are we talking about, and I ask this question because in this current cost of living squeeze, just how large is the South African market in that respect and can it afford it?<\/p>\n
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BENJAMIN CALLENS: Yeah, it\u2019s a fair question. How much cheaper depends on what food you [buy] now and what type of dog you have. Of course, big dogs with big volumes, you see the cost per kilogram is way cheaper than a small dog, of course, because the production is easier and cheaper. So I cannot give [that to] you exactly but roughly, what we see is it\u2019s about 15% to 20% cheaper than the known brands.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: How much traction is your offering garnering?<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: We launched one month ago now, and we have lots of interest, so the interest is amazing. We\u2019re very happy about that. But we are still a new product, a first mover in the country. We are not just a dog food brand, we\u2019re providing a service, we\u2019re providing help and we are making meal plans. So it\u2019s a new thing but the reactions are amazing, and the first genuine reviews with great success are coming in. So we are very happy at this point.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: And, of course, there\u2019s always risk with being a first mover. I guess there\u2019s nothing to stop one of the major established pet food brands copying your idea and maybe crushing a start-up on price and distribution. That\u2019s a risk that you\u2019ve got to take, I guess.<\/p>\n
BENJAMIN CALLENS: Yes, exactly, this is the risk we take. The concept is not new in Europe, the States and in the UK, it\u2019s already existing for several years, but for some reason nobody really tried it in South Africa. So I took the gamble and I\u2019m very happy with it.<\/p>\n
JEREMY MAGGS: Well, let\u2019s see what happens with that gamble. Benjamin Callens, thank you very much indeed. You are the founder and chief executive officer of the concept called BuddyMeal.<\/p>\n
#business #betting #personalised #meals #SAs #dogs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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