Our People

our Founder

Letter from George

Since 2009 we’ve been on a mission to create the best possible products for cats and dogs, whilst doing as little harm to the environment as possible.

We’ve come a long way, but there’s lots more we want to achieve. With environmental pressures greater than ever and the prospect of more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, as humans and pet owners, we need to act now - before it’s too late.

I'm immensely proud of what the team at Beco have achieved so far and we promise to continue making products as sustainably as possible, whilst having a lot of fun in the process. We believe that every dog and cat, little or large, can make a big difference.

George
Beco Founder, Tarka’s dad.

Our Story

A brief history of Beco

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Bowls from chopsticks

Our journey began in China, where we went searching for a manufacturing byproduct that could be recycled. It was here we discovered bamboo offcuts from a Chinese chopstick factory could be turned into bowls. Crazy, right?

A year of firsts

As soon as we moved into our cosy London office, we set to work looking for retailers. The first of our fantastic partners signed up to stock our range and soon Beco was popping up in pet stores across Britain.

Winner, winner (free range) chicken dinner

We were honoured to win Best Start Up at the HSBC awards. George even put on a suit for the ceremony. George doesn’t really do suits, so it really was a momentous occasion.

Europe, here we come

It was getting a bit tight for space in the old place, what with all the new staff and their dogs. So we moved again to shiny new offices. It was around this time that we popped a few bottles of bubbly to celebrate Beco launching in European shops. Cheers.

Suckers for natural rubber

Excitement levels were high in the Beco office the day we found out about the strength and elasticity of this amazing material. Some might call us easily pleased, we call it passionate. This was the start of our natural rubber dog toys.

Here for natural hemp

Until now, we thought hemp was just for hippies and uni students. Actually it’s an incredibly tough, antibacterial material that’s great for cleaning canine teeth. Who knew?! Hemp's super efficient to farm, growing dense and tall with little need for chemical pesticides or fertilisers.

Turning plastic into soft toys

We recycled up to 15 plastic bottles (per toy) that would otherwise be entering our oceans or landfill, and turned them into soft dog toys. We won’t bore you with the sciencey bit but this remains our proudest discovery to this day.

Clean parks, clean streets

We launched our own big and strong dog poo bags for those that want to dispose of their dogs poop in park bins or home waste. Our bags are now made from post-consumer recycled materials.

Dinner time

We launched a food that's focused on reducing food miles, ethical farming and lower-impact ingredients. Using free-range chicken not “free run” or intensively-reared like other brands, wild-caught fish species and free-roaming wild boar, a low carbon red meat.

Home compostable poop bags

We launched a range of compostable poop bags that biodegrade in well-managed home compost heaps. What's more they're made from cornstarch, a plant-based materials, and PBAT.

We also kicked off our charity partnership with the wonderful people at HYPS (Helping Yorkshire Poundies). They save dogs from death row, rehabilitating and caring for them until they find a loving home. And we make sure the dogs are well fed from day one.

Rolling up our sleeves

We got stuck into the Great British Beach Clean. A team of us headed down to the Kent coast to help clean Pett Level Beach. We left it sparkling.

Different strokes for different folks

Much like their owners, dogs like some foods more than others. Some go bonkers for biscuits, others drool over meaty chunks soaked in gravy. We launched a grain free wet dog food for those who like a little gravy, or the discerning dog who likes a combination of both.

The people that make us

Meet the makers

We've worked with Sindy and Brian for over 10-years, building our business alongside theirs. They introduced us to our community of manufacturers and we use our SEDEX membership to help continuously improve their social and environmental performance. If any risks are highlighted, we collaborate to create corrective actions.

We're in constant dialogue with these amazing people, ensuring the working conditions in our supply chain meet globally recognised standards for people and planet.