Natural petfood specialist Forthglade, which has been making upmarket dogs’ dinners for nearly 50 years, has appointed Medialab as its independent data marketing partner, following a competitive review that began earlier in the year.
Founded in 1971 in Devon by Basil Palmer and Doug Wilkins on the premise of providing good quality dog foods, the company has seen a number of independent owners. This summer the firm sold an 80% shareholding to the Nordic private equity firm IK Investment Partners in a deal which valued the business at nearly £50m.
It also tried numerous ranges over the years but now focuses on wet food for both dogs and cats.
Having spent the first 45 years selling through distributers, Forthglade launched it own ecommerce site in 2015, which underwent a major revamp in 2018. It is also available through major retailers, including Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose as well as pet stores.
Forthglade has witnessed substantial growth across all channels throughout 2020 with significant success across key ecommerce platforms.
Now Medialab will support the company in continuing to drive customer acquisition as well as supporting longer term brand building through a multi-platform media strategy.
Forthglade director Patrick Horton said: “We are very excited to begin on this journey with Medialab. Choosing a new partner during lockdown was an interesting process.
“We were very impressed with their breadth of experience with a diverse range of client partners, amongst others, the National Trust, and their ability to create a great working relationship very quickly without us ever meeting face to face.”
Medialab chief executive Marcus Orme added: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Forthglade; a business whose values are aligned with our own and who have ambitious targets.
“It’s a fantastic time to be partnering Forthglade and supporting them in their journey of growth; and with our approach grounded in data and insights and with a love of dogs across the business, we look forward to helping them grow valuable customers.”
Medialab’s new business machine has been batting off all-comers in recent months, with Alzheimer’s Society, Sunlife and RNLI among the agency’s new clients.
Related stories
Medialab retains account with the Alzheimer’s Society
Medialab scoops brief to keep RNLI fundraising afloat
Medialab creates data and performance leadership roles
Amice Lock takes non-exec role as Medialab staffs up
Medialab hands senior role to ex-Starcom chief Parker
Medialab nets £30m SunLife data-driven media brief
Battersea pools offline media business into Medialab
