Meet the Team – Jamie Roberts – Director
May 12th, 2021 in News & Blogs
Hello everyone. Let me introduce myself. I’m Jamie Roberts, Director and Co-Founder of Mutneys Professional Pet Care Ltd.
My wife Stephanie and I set up the company over 25 years ago originally working from our dining room table. We are very proud of the way the company has grown and now we have our own premises, 5,000 square feet of warehouse space and 12 employees. But we have also worked hard at keeping a family feel at Mutneys and making sure that the whole team is as knowledgeable about our products as we are.
As a couple we have always been involved in the dog grooming world. My mother started grooming at the age of 18 – she’s now 74 – and Steph and I have both groomed. We started the company when we realised that most salons and groomers had to either visit or phone suppliers to get the things that they needed – no-one came to them. So we decided to do something different and take our products on the road to groomers up and down the country. The van had everything groomers needed and we were also able to give them first-hand advice and guidance on the best products to suit their needs. That personal service is something we have been determined to hang on to as the company has grown.
We found a local supplier for shampoo and equipment and from there started to develop our own brands working closely with manufacturers to get exactly what we wanted. We now have our own manufacturing base and our range has just grown and grown. We started off with five shampoos and now we have 29.
What we are really proud of is that every product in our range is thoroughly tested by a professional groomer through our brand ambassadors and put through its paces before we offer it to our customers. Our ethos all through the growth of the business has been to produce professional products of a high standard which are more than fit for purpose and environmentally friendly. We have also kept to local suppliers wherever possible and supported the area’s businesses.
Our next aim is to expand the international side of the business and develop our brand worldwide while at the same time still giving the same level of service to independent groomers and local businesses who have been with us from start to finish. We hope that our business will keep growing and provide an even better service for all our customers and staff.
We’ve always tried to encourage a family feel to the business. Our two sons, Harry (22) and Max (19), take a keen interest and help out where and when they can. We’re still very much a family business and we want all our staff to feel part of that. We all enjoy having our dogs around as part of the family as well. Our own dogs, Dexter the German shorthaired Pointer who is six and Charlie who is a two-and-a-half year old rescue Bulldog/Dalmation cross, are in the office most days. Everyone is welcome to bring their own dogs to work although we do try to co-ordinate it so we don’t have all eight dogs in on one day!