Barking Heads
Barking Heads & Meowing Heads is a UK-based DTC premium natural pet food company selling vet-approved dry and wet food for dogs and cats through its Shopify storefront, serving individual UK pet-owner households via subscription, bundles, and one-time purchases.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Barking Heads does
Barking Heads & Meowing Heads is a UK-based premium natural pet food company founded in 2008, operating as a subsidiary of the IPN group. The company manufactures dry and wet food for dogs (Barking Heads brand) and cats (Meowing Heads brand) at its carbon-negative kitchen in Yorkshire, using human-grade ingredients sourced from UK farmers with at least 50% freshly prepared meat or fish in dry recipes and 80-90%+ in wet recipes. Its portfolio is organized into life-stage and breed-specific sub-brands including All Hounder, Golden Years, Big Foot, Little Paws, Fat Dog Slim, Puppy Days, Hair Necessities, Tummy Loving Care, and Fuss Pot for dogs, plus Paw Lickin' Chicken, Smitten Kitten, Senior Moments, Fat Cat Slim, and So-fish-ticated Salmon for cats.
The company operates an exclusively direct-to-consumer model through a Shopify-based storefront at barkingheads.co.uk, with Stripe payment processing, Klaviyo email automation, Zendesk customer support, DPD next-day delivery logistics, and Octane AI powering its product recommendation quiz. Revenue mechanics are built around three streams: one-time product purchases (£10-£65 per unit), a Subscribe & Save subscription offering 20% off dry food with a price guarantee, and bundled combo purchases with 10-12% discounts. Customer retention is reinforced through a four-tier Barking Rewards loyalty programme (Bronze through VIP, earning 2-8 points per £1) and a Refer a Friend scheme offering 1,500 loyalty points to referrers and 40% off to referred new customers.
Barking Heads serves UK pet-owner households exclusively (mainland Great Britain and Scottish Islands), with geographic exclusions for Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. Its customer base is entirely long-tail B2C individual consumers — no enterprise or wholesale channels are operated. The company employs 51-100 staff, has received institutional backing from Piper Private Equity (£6.1M round in March 2017), and leverages brand ambassadors including Amanda Holden and veterinary endorsement from Dr Scott Miller. Pricing sits at the premium tier of the £3.5-4B UK pet food market, where premium air-dried and gentle-cooked segments are estimated to capture 45-55% of category revenue.
Barking Heads firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Barking Heads
- Legal name
- Barking Heads & Meowing Heads
- Website
- https://barkingheads.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Barking Heads & Meowing Heads is a UK-based DTC premium natural pet food company selling vet-approved dry and wet food for dogs and cats through its Shopify storefront, serving individual UK pet-owner households via subscription, bundles, and one-time purchases.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Barking Heads industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Premium Pet Food
- NAICS
- Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111), Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (459910), Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (45991)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wet/Canned & Pouch Food (Dog & Cat) (CRADAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Functional & Veterinary Diet Pet Food (CRADAFAF), CBD/Hemp Pet Products Retail (CRANAHAF)
Keywords
Where Barking Heads is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Barking Heads business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Direct Product Sales: One-time purchase of dry and wet pet food products through e-commerce platform. Products sold include complete dog and cat food ranges with various flavours and formulations.
- Subscription (Subscribe & Save): Recurring subscription model offering 20% discount on dry food, 5% on bundles/multi-buys, and 30% off first subscription order with FIRSTSUB code. Subscribers earn loyalty points and receive subscriber price guarantees.
- Bundle Sales: Bundled product combinations offering 10% savings on dry and wet dog/cat food combos. Multi-buy options providing up to 12% discount on multiple product purchases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Subscribe & Save - 20% off dry food, 5% on bundles |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Free delivery threshold |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Referral reward - 40% off + 1,500 loyalty points |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Product pricing - dry food £10-£65, wet food £12-£81 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Barking Heads product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Barking Heads & Meowing Heads is a UK-based premium natural pet food brand that manufactures and sells dry and wet dog food (under Barking Heads) and cat food (under Meowing Heads), formulated with at least 50% freshly prepared meat or fish and tailored to specific life stages and health needs (puppy, adult, senior, weight management, sensitive digestion, skin/coat, joint care). Products are sold direct-to-consumer through the company's own Shopify-powered e-commerce site with subscription, loyalty, and referral programmes, and are manufactured in the company's own carbon-negative UK kitchen in Yorkshire.
Product overview
Barking Heads is a UK-based premium pet food company offering natural, vet-approved dog food under the Barking Heads brand and cat food under the Meowing Heads brand. The product portfolio centers on a core offering of dry and wet pet foods with at least 50% freshly prepared meat or fish, organized into specialized sub-brands addressing specific pet needs: All Hounder (general adult dog food), Golden Years (senior dogs), Big Foot (large breeds over 25kg), Little Paws (small breeds under 10kg), Fat Dog Slim (weight management), Puppy Days (puppies), Hair Necessities (skin/coat health), Tummy Loving Care (digestive health), Fuss Pot (fussy eaters), and Bowl Lickin' Goodness (core flavors). The cat food range includes Paw Lickin' Chicken, Smitten Kitten, Senior Moments, Fat Cat Slim, So-fish-ticated Salmon, Top-Cat Turkey, and Surf & Turf. Products are made with human-grade ingredients in a carbon-negative UK factory (Yorkshire) with recyclable packaging. The company supplements its core products with subscription services (Subscribe & Save up to 20% off), a loyalty rewards program (Barking Rewards with Bronze/Silver/Gold/VIP tiers), a referral program, and bundle/combo products. The 2023 wellness range refresh introduced recipes with 50%+ freshly prepared ingredients and active botanicals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Meowing Heads: Cat food brand under the Barking Heads & Meowing Heads umbrella, offering dry and wet cat food for kittens, adult cats, and senior cats including products like Paw Lickin' Chicken, So-fish-ticated Salmon, Smitten Kitten, Senior Moments, and Fat Cat Slim.
Products and services
- Barking Heads Dog Food
Quantifiable outcome
- AADF nutritional score of 69% for All Hounder range
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Barking Heads
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Barking Heads technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
Feature3 records
Barking Heads partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- IPN GroupcoreBarking Heads & Meowing Heads is part of the IPN group, indicating a corporate parent or ownership structure. No additional partnership details provided.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Barking Heads competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Natures Menu: UK raw and natural pet food brand offering complete meals and treats for dogs and cats, with both retail and DTC channels. Direct product and customer overlap with Barking Heads' natural positioning.
- Lily's Kitchen: UK premium natural pet food brand (now Nestlé-owned) offering dry, wet, and treat ranges for dogs and cats with vet-approved formulations. Direct overlap on product mix and target demographic, now operating with broader retail distribution.
- Pure Pet Food: UK air-dried natural dog food brand sold primarily via DTC subscription with similar ingredient-led, gentle-processed premium narrative aimed at owners of dogs with sensitivities.
- Tails.com: UK personalised dog nutrition subscription service with algorithm-driven blends. Closely comparable on subscription DTC mechanics, UK customer base, and premium pet humanisation positioning.
- Applaws: Premium natural wet and dry pet food brand owned by MPM Products, emphasising high meat content without artificial additives. Overlaps with Barking Heads on ingredient-led premium positioning and 70%+ meat recipes.
- Forthglade: UK natural pet food maker producing wet and dry complete foods for dogs and cats using locally sourced ingredients. Comparable on premium natural positioning, UK manufacturing, and multi-format product offering.
- Butternut Box: UK-based direct-to-consumer fresh pet food brand offering portioned, gently cooked dog meals with subscription delivery. Highly comparable business model, customer base, and premium positioning to Barking Heads.
Broad incumbents
- Wellness Pet Company: Internationally distributed premium natural pet food brand (owned by Wellness Pet LLC, formerly part of WellPet) offering dry, wet, and treat ranges. Overlaps on natural-ingredient positioning and life-stage segmentation, but operates at far greater scale with mass-retail distribution.
- Orijen: Globally distributed premium pet food brand by Champion Petfoods featuring biologically appropriate, regionally sourced dry foods. Comparable premium positioning but at much larger scale and broader geographic distribution.
- Acana: Global premium pet food brand by Champion Petfoods positioned around fresh regional ingredients and wholeprey meat content. Comparable premium natural positioning and protein-forward formulations, sold through specialty retail and DTC.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Barking Heads social profiles
Digital presenceBarking Heads financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Barking Heads leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Barking Heads funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Barking Heads M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Barking Heads
What does Barking Heads do?
Barking Heads & Meowing Heads is a UK-based premium natural pet food brand that manufactures and sells dry and wet dog food (under Barking Heads) and cat food (under Meowing Heads), formulated with at least 50% freshly prepared meat or fish and tailored to specific life stages and health needs (puppy, adult, senior, weight management, sensitive digestion, skin/coat, joint care). Products are sold direct-to-consumer through the company's own Shopify-powered e-commerce site with subscription, loyalty, and referral programmes, and are manufactured in the company's own carbon-negative UK kitchen in Yorkshire.
Is Barking Heads a public or private company?
Barking Heads is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Barking Heads founded?
Barking Heads was founded in 2008. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Barking Heads based?
Barking Heads is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Barking Heads make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Direct Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are subscription (Subscribe & Save) and bundle Sales.
Who are Barking Heads's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Natures Menu, Lily's Kitchen, Pure Pet Food, Tails.com, Applaws, Forthglade and Butternut Box. Broad incumbents are Wellness Pet Company, Orijen and Acana.
Does Barking Heads have an API?
No public API is recorded for Barking Heads.
What industry is Barking Heads in?
Barking Heads's product category is Premium Pet Food. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAFAB, Wet/Canned & Pouch Food (Dog & Cat), with a secondary code of CRADAFAF, Functional & Veterinary Diet Pet Food. Its NAICS code is 311111.