Natural dog treats and chews are one of the easiest ranges for a pet shop, groomer or day care centre to add, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Minimum orders, delivery thresholds, shelf life and labelling vary widely between dog treat wholesalers. This guide compares real trade terms from UK suppliers, explains what the rules say about how treats are made and labelled, and gives you a checklist for choosing a supplier.
Who sells dog treats wholesale
There are four kinds of supplier, and many shops use more than one:
- Manufacturers selling direct to the trade. Some UK treat makers run their own trade websites, so you buy at factory prices with a low minimum order.
- Specialist treat and chew wholesalers. These carry a broad range of natural chews, often imported, and sell only to businesses.
- General pet wholesalers. Large multi-range wholesalers include treats alongside food and accessories, which helps if you want one delivery a week.
- Private label suppliers. Some offer to put your shop’s own logo on their treats, which builds your brand rather than theirs.
You can browse all of these in our dog treats wholesale category, and larger multi-range suppliers under general pet wholesalers and distributors.
Minimum orders and delivery: real trade terms
The table below shows terms published on suppliers’ own websites when we checked them. It is a snapshot to help you compare, not a price list, and every supplier can change its terms.
| Supplier (as listed) | Type | Published trade terms |
|---|---|---|
| Sabre Wholesale | Distributor of premium food and treat brands | Minimum order £200 ex VAT; free delivery on trade orders over £299.99 ex VAT |
| Dried Dog Treats Trade | Trade-only treat supplier | Minimum order £180 including VAT; wholesale pricing after account approval |
| Exe Valley Pet Foods | Family-run wholesaler | Minimum order £200 for free delivery; no price bands |
| Pet Treats Wholesale (Nutriment Natural Treats) | Treat producer with a trade site | Free mainland UK shipping on orders over £100 ex VAT |
| BMTrade Natural Dog Treats | Single-ingredient chews sold by the kilo | Free tracked UK delivery over £50 |
| T.Forrest Trade | UK manufacturer selling direct | Low minimum order quantity; free next-day delivery |
| Monty’s Wholesale | Natural treat supplier | Free white label service; buy-back scheme for stock that does not sell |
| Riverside Animal Feeds | Natural chew and treat wholesaler | Sells to the trade only, not the public |
Watch the VAT basis when you compare. A £180 minimum including VAT is lower in real terms than a £200 minimum excluding VAT. Delivery thresholds also matter more than minimums for small shops: if you only reach a free delivery threshold once a month, carriage costs eat into your margin on the weeks in between.
Range ideas from UK suppliers
Looking across the treat suppliers in our directory gives a sense of what a balanced range can include. Nova Dog Chews in Ayrshire sells antler chews made from naturally shed antler, along with yak chews. BMTrade in Cheshire sells single-ingredient air-dried chews by the kilo, from beef and chicken to goat and camel. Anco in Fife makes grain-free functional biscuits with ingredients such as glucosamine, turmeric and probiotics. Raw producers such as Albion Pet Foods also make natural treats, which need freezer space if they are raw. Mixing long-lasting chews, training treats and a few functional lines covers most customers without overstocking.
Margins
Treat margins depend on the product, your local competition and how you price. Some wholesalers show the margin at RRP for each line on their trade site, which makes comparison easier; one large pet wholesaler in our listings does this for every product. Treat makers also publish their own figures for bulk deals, such as one Lancashire manufacturer’s claim of over 60% profit on return, but these are suppliers’ figures, so check them against your own shelf prices before you rely on them.
What the rules say about making and labelling treats
If you only buy finished, packed treats from a reputable supplier and sell them unopened, most of the legal work sits with the maker. It is still worth knowing what to check. If you plan to repack treats or launch your own brand, ask your local trading standards service what applies to you.
Animal by-products approval. Treats made from meat, fish, milk or eggs are animal by-products. GOV.UK’s guidance on using animal by-products to make pet food says makers need approval from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and may also need approval or registration with their local authority, usually the trading standards service, as a feed business. Production cannot start until both are in place. It also sets heat treatment rules for processed pet food, with separate rules for dog chews.
Labelling. Defra’s pet food guidance explains that manufacturers can declare ingredients by category, and can add extra information such as analytical declarations or the maker’s name and address. Any extra claim must be objective, quantifiable and provable, must not mislead and must not make medicinal claims. Some claims, such as supporting renal function, are restricted to feeds for particular nutritional purposes.
Not for humans. Pet food that contains animal by-products cannot be marketed as suitable for human consumption, however it is made.
Ask any new treat supplier for its APHA approval or registration details and its feed business registration. Reputable suppliers should be able to provide them on request.
Choosing a supplier: a checklist
- Is it trade only, or does it also sell to your customers online at similar prices?
- What is the minimum order, what is the free delivery threshold, and are those figures ex or inc VAT?
- Can you see the margin at RRP before you open an account?
- Where are the treats made, and can the supplier show APHA approval and feed business registration?
- What shelf life do products have on arrival, and how are they packed?
- Will it buy back slow sellers, or offer own-brand labels for your shop?
- How fast is delivery, and is there a cut-off time for next-day dispatch?
If you want your own range, pet food manufacturers and private label suppliers are listed in the directory. For printed bags and pouches, see packaging and print. Raw and frozen treats have their own storage needs; see raw and frozen pet food.
