LIVEFOOD UK LIMITED

What LIVEFOOD UK LIMITED does

Livefood UK Ltd. (Company Number: 4907901; VAT Number: 669 0697 82) is a privately held UK limited company, founded in 2003 and operating from its own farm in Rooksbridge, Somerset. The company breeds and ships live feeder insects — Black Field Crickets, Brown Crickets, Locusts, Mealworms, Blaptica Dubia Cockroaches, Drosophila hydei fruit fly cultures, and Dendrobaena earth worms — direct to consumers across the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey). The primary customer base is reptile, amphibian, and exotic pet owners; a secondary segment is garden bird feeders (particularly seasonal demand for live mealworms), and the company description references scientific research customers. Unit-level pricing is low — mealworm 30g tubs from £2.52, locust letterbox packs from £2.79, feeder cockroaches from £4.19 — consistent with a niche consumer-goods business.

Production runs on an integrated sustainability loop: a state-of-the-art Biomass Boiler consumes all waste from livefood production to heat the rearing sheds, lowering operating costs and the carbon footprint of the Somerset facility. All orders are packed fresh to order on the day of despatch, with same-day shipping cutoffs (2pm Monday–Thursday, 11am Friday) and 24-hour tracked delivery. Letterbox-friendly packaging (30g/50g mealworm tubs, locust letterbox packs and Mega Packs) enables unattended residential delivery. The product catalogue has been extended beyond core livefood to include complementary reptile care accessories — Arcadia Bird Cage Lamp Holders, Exo Terra Infrared and Daylight Basking Spot lamps, and Exo Terra Cricket Pens with Dispensing Tubes — plus own-line Live Moss (1.5L) and Jelly Pots.

The company generates revenue exclusively through direct-to-consumer e-commerce on a Shopify-powered storefront at livefoods.co.uk. The model combines one-time purchases with an auto-repeat subscription program offering a 15% recurring discount and skip/pause/cancel/swap functionality, providing a recurring revenue tail. Marketing is primarily organic — the Shopify storefront, an email newsletter signup offering exclusive deals and early product access, and limited social/SEO presence — with no documented paid advertising. No institutional investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, or management team disclosures were identified; ownership appears closely held, typical of a small UK agricultural/consumer brand.

Name

LIVEFOOD UK LIMITED

Legal name

Livefood UK Ltd.

Website

https://livefoods.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Livefood UK Ltd. breeds and ships live feeder insects — crickets, locusts, mealworms, cockroaches, fruit flies, earth worms — from its Somerset farm direct to UK reptile, amphibian, and exotic pet owners via a Shopify storefront with subscription auto-delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Feeder Insects / Reptile Food

akta.pro primary industry

Insect & Live Feed (Crickets, Mealworms, Feeder Roaches) (AFADAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reptile & Amphibian Feed (AFADAFAK), Insect Farming (Crickets, Mealworms, Black Soldier Fly) (AFAEAIAI)

Keywords

• Live feeder insects
• Reptile food supply
• Live insect breeding
• Exotic pet nutrition
• Pet care supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Rooksbridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales: The company sells livefood products (crickets, locusts, mealworms, cockroaches, fruit flies, earth worms) and reptile/pet care supplies (heat lamps, lamp holders, cricket pens, jelly pots, live moss) directly to consumers through its Shopify e-commerce storefront. All orders are packed fresh to order and shipped direct to the customer. The company offers one-time purchase and subscription (automatic repeat delivery) options, providing recurring revenue from subscribers who save 15% on each delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Livefood UK Ltd. breeds and sells live feeder insects (crickets, locusts, mealworms, earthworms, fruit flies, Dubia cockroaches) produced on its own Somerset farm, packaged fresh to order and shipped direct-to-consumer across the UK via 24-hour tracked delivery. The company also retails complementary reptile habitat products (heat lamps, lamp holders, cricket pens, jelly pots, live moss) and offers a subscription auto-repeat delivery service with a 15% recurring discount.

Product overview

Livefood UK Ltd. operates an e-commerce store selling livefood products for reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. The core product offering consists of live insects produced on their Somerset farm including Black Field Crickets and Brown Crickets in multiple growth stages, Locusts in various sizes (available in bulk bags, plastic tubs, and convenient letterbox packs), Mealworms, Earth Worms, Fruit Fly Cultures, and Feeder Cockroaches (Blaptica Dubia). The company also sells complementary pet care products including Jelly Pots as nutritional supplements, Live Moss for vivarium bedding, and reptile habitat equipment such as the Arcadia Bird Cage Compact Lamp Holder, Exo Terra Infrared and Daylight Basking Spot Lamps, and Exo Terra Cricket Pens with Dispensing Tubes. All livefood products are packed fresh to order daily and shipped via 24-hour tracked delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Crickets (Black Field Crickets) Live Black Field Crickets produced on the Somerset farm, available in multiple instar/size stages (Hatchling, 1st Instar Extra Small, 2nd Instar Small, 3rd Instar Small/Med, 4th Instar Medium, Standard, Extra Large) for reptile and amphibian feeding.
• Live Brown Crickets Live Brown Crickets 4th Instar Medium size, available in prepack tubs, half bulk bags, and bulk bags for reptile feeding.
• Live Locusts (Bulk Bags and Plastic Tubs) Live locusts in all sizes available in bulk bags and plastic tubs, including Hatchling, Small, Small/Medium, Medium, Medium/Large, Large, Extra Large, and Adult sizes.
• Live Locusts Letterbox Pack Convenience pack of mixed-size live locusts designed to fit through standard letterboxes for easy delivery, containing approximately 18 hatchlings to 8 extra large locusts depending on size selection.
• Live Locusts Letterbox MEGA PACK 25 Larger letterbox pack containing 25 locusts per size selection, available in all sizes from hatchling to extra large, packed in plastic tub inside cardboard box.
• Live Mealworms Live regular-size mealworms available in letterbox-friendly 30g and 50g prepack tubs, as well as 250g, 500g, and 1KG bags.
• Live Earth Worms (Dendrobaena) Live Earth Worms (Dendrobaena) prepack tub containing approximately 15-35 small to medium worms, suitable for amphibians including frogs and salamanders.
• Live Fruit Fly Culture (Drosophila Hydei) Flightless fruit fly cultures (Drosophila hydei) for feeding hatchling spiders, mantis, newly emerged frogs, and small hatchling lizards.
• Live Feeder Cockroach Blaptica Dubia Live Feeder Cockroaches (Blaptica Dubia) available in Small (10-20mm), Medium (14-25mm), and Large (24-35mm) sizes, produced on the Somerset farm with low odour and easy handling characteristics.
• Jelly Pots High protein jelly pots fortified with real fruit and honey flavours, suitable for invertebrates (beetles, cockroaches, millipedes) and as treats for nectar or fruit-eating reptiles including Crested Geckos and Day Geckos.
• Live Moss Live moss in 1.5 litre quantity, ideal natural bedding for frogs, toads, and other vivarium animals requiring humid or wet environments.
• Arcadia Bird Cage Compact Lamp Holder Black Bakelite E27 lamp holder with metal bracket designed for mounting compact bird lamps over wire birdcages, includes power lead with manual switch and fitted plug.
• Exo Terra (Red) Infrared Basking Spot Lamp Infrared heat lamp available in 50W, 75W, and 100W sizes, emitting infrared heat waves for 24-hour terrarium heating without disrupting normal activity cycles, ideal for nocturnal viewing.
• Exo Terra Cricket Pen with Dispensing Tubes Cricket housing and dispensing system available in Small (180mm x 140mm x 110mm) and Large (300mm x 205mm x 195mm) sizes, featuring removable tubes for easy cricket dispensing and included food/water bowls.
• Exo Terra Daylight Basking Spot Radiant heat lamp with Neodymium sleeve providing daytime heat and light for terrariums, creating basking areas for thermoregulation and stimulating plant photosynthesis and reptile physiological well-being.
• Subscription Auto-Delivery Service Subscription/auto-repeat delivery service enabling customers to schedule recurring deliveries of most products at a 15% recurring discount, with options to skip, pause, cancel, change frequency, or swap items.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationLivefood UK Ltd. operates its e-commerce storefront on the Shopify platform. Shopify provides the website infrastructure, payment processing, order management, and customer accounts functionality. The company states 'Livefood UK Ltd. is powered by Shopify' and uses Shopify for personalised advertising with third-party services. Shopify collects and processes personal information about customers' access and use of the services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ghann's Cricket Farm: Long-established US cricket farm producing live crickets and other feeder insects for retail and wholesale reptile/bait customers; comparable production-side activity to Livefood UK's Somerset farm.
• Timberline Live Pet Foods: US-based producer of live feeder insects (crickets, mealworms, roaches) and other live pet foods, with national shipping — directly comparable production-and-DTC logistics to Livefood UK.
• Fluker Farms: US-based producer and direct-shipper of live feeder insects (crickets, mealworms) and reptile supplies — closest functional analogue to Livefood UK's DTC livefood-from-farm model, but operating in a different geography.
• Swell Reptiles: UK-based reptile supplies retailer that sells livefood (crickets, locusts, mealworms) alongside vivarium equipment, directly competing with Livefood UK for the same UK reptile-owner customer base.
• Bassett's Cricket Ranch: US feeder-cricket producer and supplier of other live insects for the pet trade; directly comparable production-and-distribution activity to Livefood UK.
• Northampton Reptile Centre: Established UK reptile retailer carrying its own livefood range (crickets, locusts, mealworms) and reptile hardware, competing for the same domestic hobbyist segment as Livefood UK.
• Top Hat Cricket Farm: US-based feeder-cricket producer selling direct to consumers and retailers; mirrors Livefood UK's farm-to-door livefood proposition from a regional-player perspective.
• The Critter Depot: US online retailer of live feeder insects (crickets, roaches, mealworms) shipping direct to hobbyists; mirrors Livefood UK's e-commerce-led livefood DTC model.

Broad incumbents

• ProRep: UK reptile products brand supplying vivarium and husbandry equipment to retailers and hobbyists; competes with Livefood UK's supplementary reptile-care lines (substrates, décor, heat/lighting accessories).

Regional players

• Dragon Food: Australian live feeder insect producer and reptile foods supplier; comparable product offering to Livefood UK but operating in a different geography (Australia/NZ vs UK).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LIVEFOOD UK LIMITED