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Husband and wife, Ian and Louise Toal from Much Wenlock in Shropshire secured a £50,000 investment for a 35% share of their company from fashion retail entrepreneur and investor, Touker Suleyman on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, for their award-winning range of smoothie drinks for dogs.
Furr Boost was the inspiration of Louise who, for over 20 years was a technical manager to the food industry. Louise’s Beagle, Phoebe at the age of 18 months became unwell with bladder problems which after investigations with her vet, were linked to the dog’s food.
Using her technical food background, Louise then started experimenting with protein shakes to help flush out Phoebe’s system and to provide her with the hydration that she needed when she was refusing to drink enough water particularly in the summer months. This led to the creation of the Furr Boost range of smoothie drinks.
During the episode, Louise explained that the drinks were unique on the market and that each of the recipes contains a real meat, fruit and vegetable, along with added oils and vitamins to support the dog’s wellbeing in areas such as digestion, skin and coat, anxiety, metabolism and immunity.
The drinks can be served straight from the carton, frozen as an icy treat and Louise demonstrated to the Dragons the most popular way to serve the drink by creating an Ultimutt Furr Boost Puppuccino .
The couple were seeking investment to expand their business into further major retail outlets including supermarkets, to export to more countries and to launch a range for cats.
Commenting on their time in the Dragon’s Den Louise said: “It was pretty nerve-wracking having to present our business to the Dragons and they certainly put us through our paces, but we were delighted with the outcome.”