Tipperary native Lauren Troy is the proud owner of two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Bailey (8) and Bonny (6). “I’ve had them since they were puppies and before them I had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Ruby, who died from a heart condition when she was just nine years old,” says Troy.
The 28-year-old works as a toxicologist at a medical device company and has a huge interest in health and wellness, especially that of her pets. “Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are predisposed to all sorts of health issues,” she explains.
Because of this she wanted to feed her pets the most nutritious food she could find, and came across Butternut Box on a Cavalier King Charles Facebook group she is part of. “It’s a really nice community. Often the topic of food would come up and people would talk about what they feed their dog,” she says.
Hearing about the benefits of Butternut Box from other dog lovers prompted her to take out a monthly subscription for herself. She’s delighted she did. “It’s fresh food that comes frozen in an insulated box that will keep for up to 24 hours, so there’s no worries if you’re not there to receive it,” she explains.
“Then you put it in the freezer and just leave tomorrow’s meals in the fridge to defrost. Some people warm it up, but mine like it at room temperature.”
Prior to discovering Butternut Box she had tried a variety of foods, including trying a more expensive kind of kibble, in a bid to improve their condition, but “they’ve improved 10 times as much since they’ve gone onto the fresh food,” she says.
Afterwards they're licking their lips and their tails are still wagging. They just seem so satisfied
The pair suffered from ailments that made them ‘scooch’ across the floor on their rear end to gain relief, Troy says. That has stopped. Bailey has also suffered from blocked tear ducts for years. “Previously his weepy eyes would run and the liquid on his coat would turn black and crusty. Now his eyes still weep but it runs clear and doesn’t dry up crusty,” she adds.
The dogs are not the only ones benefitting. “I don’t know how else to put it but their farts used to be septic, they’d knock out a horse. That has stopped too,” she says.
But what she loves best of all about Butternut Box is how much more enthusiastic her pets have become about mealtimes. “They are a breed that loves their food anyway. With a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel you’d almost have to take their dishes up to stop them eating because they’d just keep going. But where previously it was kind of, 'oh, there’s my breakfast, I might as well eat it', now they’re twirling around the place and doing all their tricks when I go to get their meals. And afterwards they’re licking their lips and their tails are still wagging. They just seem so satisfied.”
Meet the entrepreneurs behind Butternut Box
Starting a business is always a challenge. For Dubliner Kevin Glynn and his Butternut Box cofounder David Nolan the biggest hurdle was breaking the news. “The first call was to the Irish mammy, to tell her I’m leaving finance to make pet food. Let’s just say eyebrows were raised,” says Glynn.
He and Nolan had met as interns at an investment bank in London so, in career terms, it was quite the swerve.
“A lot of people thought we were crazy but looking back we were just in love with the idea. It’s all we talked about,” he says.
The idea was even more unlikely. It stemmed from Nolan’s pet, Rudie, a rescue dog who had come to his family in poor condition. Her skin was poor, her mood bad and, unfortunately for the Nolans, her smell was foul. “She simply would not stop farting,” says Glynn.
After months of visits to the vet the Nolans began to think her diet could be to blame, so they started to cook meals for her from scratch using the fresh ingredients they ate themselves. The results were transformational. Within weeks Rudie’s wellbeing had been restored. What’s more, her farts had stopped.
That experience inspired the pair, by then best mates, to give up their prospects of a high-flying career in finance and don aprons instead. Initially, they spent every evening and weekend in Nolan’s mum’s kitchen, developing recipes and trialling them on friends’ dogs.
“The feedback was amazing. People loved it because dogs loved it. We were getting all these pictures and videos of people’s dogs reacting to it,” he says.
When they gained 40 paying customers in 2016, they quit their day jobs and set up Butternut Box as a monthly subscription service that provides human grade, freshly prepared meals for dogs.
“We cooked the first quarter of a million dishes ourselves,” he recalls. “Our week was five days cooking, one day delivering, and one day talking to people like dog trainers and doing ingredient runs.”
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to pets, and that's something we have leaned into
In developing Butternut Box, the pair disrupted an entire industry. Prior to it, dog food came either in cans, called wet, or dry, often called kibble. It was stowed in supermarkets between bin bags and bleach, which simply didn’t tally with their understanding of the central position dogs hold in family life.
They also innovated in relation to delivery. Long before the pandemic made online ordering the norm, Butternut Box customers were enjoying a handy fortnightly or monthly delivery service.
But the really compelling part of the Butternut Box innovation is that they tailor their meals to the individual dog’s needs. By answering a few simple questions on the Butternut Box website, the system calculates how much the dog needs, and of what ingredients, for optimum health.
This takes a range of factors into account, including size, condition, sex, age, whether or not they’re neutered, and the amount of daily exercise they get.
“Every dog is unique, and every household is unique. We are always trying to provide the best, most personalised experience possible. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to pets, and that’s something we have leaned into, because keeping your dog at optimal body condition is important - it can help increase its lifespan,” he says.
The pair still routinely eat their own recipes, to make sure it’s just right. “My favourite recipe changes a good bit, but it has to be the lamb recipe at the moment. Dave is also notorious for always eating every recipe whenever he sees a meal.”
“I am not sure I have won over my whole family on trying every recipe but they are definitely Butternut Box's biggest supporters,” he says.