North East entrepreneur inspired by man's best friend launches organic dog shampoo business

A North Shields entrepreneur has taken inspiration from his pet to launch new venture Buddy Bubbles.

Inspired by his pet dog Buddy, 27-year-old Dale Parker opened his new business in December 2017 following bathing Buddy and realising that dog shampoos are mainly packaged in plastics and lack in variety.

Sensing a potential gap in the market for more artisan-led soaps that help to reduce plastic waste and its negative impact on the environment, Dale set about creating recipes for new soaps in several scented combinations. He has recently relaunched the business trading online.

“The idea for the soaps came quite naturally,” said Dale. “I had been mulling over business ideas for a couple of months and wanted to create something that ideally would impact people, the planet and pets in a positive way.

“Soaps have started to become more popular as people have turned their back on single-use plastic product and creating natural soaps for dogs seemed the perfect balance between reducing plastic waste and developing products that I myself would actually use.

“After leaving my full-time role as a marketing manager, I started to look more seriously at developing the range of Buddy Bubbles products whilst staying true to my wish to create a business with a low environmental impact.

“I crafted a collection of soaps, each shaped as individual dogs and scented with rosemary, lavender and cedarwood along with an unscented version for more sensitive animals.”

The response was said to be encouraging, with 90 per cent of Dale’s sales being driven from social media. Buddy Bubbles is said to have developed a regular customer base of dog owners looking for environmentally-friendly items for their pets.

Buddy Bubbles is sold online but the range is growing in UK retail outlets. To date, stockists have requested the bespoke range to sell in specialist pet shops and dog groomers across the North West and Scotland.

Dale added: “We have recently invested in new more eco-friendly packaging and, longer-term, are looking at how to develop our production capacity in a way that would broaden the number of online and retail outlets where Buddy Bubbles is currently available.

“My faith in growing in the brand has always been based on customer response to the product and we are now looking to expand the range with further dog grooming products along with doggy bath bombs.

“Our plans for the future remain rooted in a desire to make Buddy Bubbles an artisan producer of dog-centred soaps but with new products on the horizon, the future looks bright for Buddy Bubbles.”

Buddy Bubbles is currently selling a limited edition of Christmas soaps for dogs available until December 12.

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