BERKSHIRE, UK, 3rd July 2023 - An international pet food specialist run by three ex-GB athletes is celebrating after becoming one of the first companies in the world to receive a business award from King Charles III.
Podium Pet Products, with offices in Berkshire in the UK and Florida in the US, has been honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise 2023. It was set up by former World Cup Skeleton athlete Carina Evans and International Polo players Andrew Hine and Nick Evans.
The company, whose popular brands include Dog Rocks and Be:Loved, has been recognised for its excellence in international trade by the new King.
Podium Pet Products is one of 148 organisations to receive the first-ever King’s Award for Enterprise. The company is no stranger to such prestigious awards. Podium Pet Products bosses received the same recognition in 2016 for its popular product Dog Rocks, when it was called the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
The honours programme, now in its 57th year, is the most respected business awards in the country, with successful companies able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.
Carina Evans, Co-Founder & CEO of Podium Pet Products, said: “This is a tremendous honour for the company and recognition of the hard work, innovation and inspiration of a talented team.
“Having achieved the Queen’s Award for Enterprise seven years ago was marvellous, and now to become one of the first UK companies to be honoured with a King’s Award is extra special.
“Podium Pet Products has grown significantly over the past few years, moving into international markets with a growing range of pet products, so it is particularly pleasing to be recognised for our international trade.
“Running a business is never easy and every day there are multiple curve balls, but we are absolutely over the moon to have received such an accolade. We have always prided ourselves on our ability to expand our relationships with customers and partners whilst providing an excellent level of service. We just now need to find time to sit down and properly reflect and celebrate with the team,” she added.
Carina started the company in 2006 when a family friend showed her an Australian product called Dog Rocks. Podium Pet Products was established in 2008 with Andrew and Nick joined Carina in the business. The company expanded into Europe and then to North America, where it is a huge success. Their international trade now makes up more than half of the business.
Carina added: “With Dog Rocks such a success, we started to look at making natural products ourselves. It was something I had been interested in for a long time, but it wasn’t until I found an old animal husbandry book, a family heirloom, that the idea of Be:Loved really took shape.
“Using nothing but what could be found in the hedgerows and nature’s harvest, this book was a treasure trove of recipes to create treatments and balms to calm and soothe human and animals alike. It was these recipes that inspired the launch of the Be:Loved brand.”
The full integration of Be:Loved into the portfolio prompted Carina to change the company name from Dog Rocks UK to Podium Pet Products with Andrew and Nick.
Carina said: “Export is now a joy but to begin with it was a minefield, especially in America. Europe is becoming less traditional and regional with younger English-speaking buyers and savvy marketeers so therefore a more attractive market to us as well.
“Being honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2023 will help us grow the business in all our markets, and it is an accolade to be treasured.”
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