Dorset-based artisanal ice cream company Baboo Gelato has launched a £300k crowdfunding campaign to target national growth, including for its range of ice creams for dogs.
The £1.9m turnover business makes premium gelato and sorbets with organic milk and locally-grown fruit under the Baboo brand. Currently stocked in nearly 400 stores across the West Country, it started selling through distributors in 2025.
Targeting strong growth in demand for premium and ultra-premium ice creams, the business has opened up a three-week crowdfunder. Funds raised will join another £446k of investment from existing and angel investors.
The couple’s products have swept up awards, with Baboo Gelato picking up 51 Great Taste stars since the company’s foundation in 2015. Baboo had raised around £90k after its first week of the crowdfunder.
“We’ve spent nearly 10 years building Baboo Gelato locally in the south west, and now we want to take the brand nationwide,” said founder Annie Hanbury.
Baboo has tripled its trade revenues to £646k since 2021, and operates six of its own outlets on Dorset beaches. The company expects further growth of around 30% in its trade business in its 2026 financial year, ending in April.
Co-founder Sam Hanbury said the company’s Doggy Doggy Yum Yum brand of ice cream for dogs, currently turning over around £60k, would be a key beneficiary from the fundraiser.
“We think the potential is absolutely enormous,” he said. “While people are spending lees money on themselves, they’re definitely spending more money on their pets.”
Designed “from the dog upwards”, the treats have no milk or lactose, and are made with coconut milk, banana and peanut butter, and fortified with vitamins. With the fundraiser potentially allowing Baboo to hire a dedicated sales person for the brand, the “sky is the limit”, it said.
“The pet market is worth over £10bn to the UK economy, and the frozen treat market for pets has grown quite significantly as well over recent years – as shops, cafés, hotels and restaurants all want to get their hands on the poochie pound,” he said.
No comments yet