Spotting a gap in the market has helped two boyhood friends to launch a new pet food business – with support from Bradford University.

Mathew Cockroft, 27, and Dan Valdur Eha, 25, have established Pure Pet Food after a year researching and developing a range of dog food fit for human consumption.

Online sales of the new products began two weeks ago and the due say they have had an ‘amazing’ response from customers as far afield as Scotland and Somerset.

Mr Cockroft and Mr Valdur Eha grew up around the same Calderdale farm and have their dog food range produced and packed near Halifax.

They have taken advantage of business support services provided by Calderdale Council, which put them in touch with Bradford University where they received advice and support on marketing their business.

The pair went back to basics and began to create recipes using only fresh and raw human-quality ingredients.

Their new dog food is made using a dehydration process rather than harsh cooking methods common to pet food manufacturing and results in a dry food which is rehydrated by adding water.

Mr Cockroft said: “The idea of a food without the harsh cooking process involved in making commercial pet food seemed great, but could this be made accessible to all owners, eager to provide a healthier and natural dog food option for their best friends?

“After much head-scratching the idea came to remove the moisture from the food using a gentle method called dehydration, making the food last, whilst preserving the natural goodness of the ingredients at the same time.”

The original batches were made in Mr Cockroft’s kitchen with a small dehydration machine which they saved up to buy. They developed their recipes and had pets of friends and family try them out.

They were encouraged to pursue their idea after positive feedback and took advantage of various support schemes to get their product to market.

The new entrepreneurs, who have supported their early development with part-time jobs, are focusing on online sales and also targetting independent pet stores.

They have scored an early success by getting their products, which come in three flavours, stocked by the Cambridge-based retailer Scampers .

Mr Cockroft said: “We want to focus on the independents which we believe are more in tune with our ethos.

“We believe we have launched the business at the right time as more people are becoming aware of the benefits of a healthy diet, not just for themselves but also for their pets.

“We’re looking eventually to export, as we believe there are real opportunities in overseas markets such as Scandinavia and Asia, including China.”

The pair have been invited to speak at the young enterprise company of the year awards in Westminster on Monday, April 22, to outline how they developed the products and launched the business and the importance of innovation.