Armagh petfoods company shows its ap‘PAW’reciation for International Dog Day with staff events
Armagh company Mackle Petfoods ‘pawsed’ to celebrated International Dog Day and its award winning streak by going local and providing all staff with a thank you party involving local food providers recently.
Already this year, the petfood company, has been awarded UK Employer of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards held in the Albert Hall in London, topping off an award winning run which has seen the company pick up the Irish News Work Place and Employment Awards, Best Place to Work and Best Employee Development Programme for 2025, alongside winning two Ulster Grocer Marketing Awards for Best Marketing Campaign & Best Brand for Naturo.
With a strong focus on staff, and reflecting the company values of caring, integrity, and quality, the company wanted to shows its ap‘PAW’reciation , approaching a
number of local businesses and suppliers including Irwin’s bakery, Maine soft drinks, Deli-lites and Glens of Antrim crisps to create a thank you event for all staff whilst supporting and working with local businesses.
Events were held at both Moy and Moygashel sites providing lunch for all 275 staff for free to say, thanks for being so wonderful, and making the company what it is.
The staff appreciation event which coincided with International Dog day, allowed the Mackles team to give back too, providing over 300 pet goodie bags to staff across all four suppliers for their staff pets.
Commenting on the Staff Appreciation events held for staff, Eva Mooney, Marketing Manager at Mackle Petfoods said: “Our people are truly at the heart of everything we do, and every achievement is a credit to the entire team.
“Winning these awards is a genuine reflection of the dedication and talent of those who help Mackle Petfoods deliver excellence globally across all areas and departments. We wanted to celebrate by hosting a thank-you event that not only supported local businesses but also coincided with International Dog Day—so colleagues could enjoy great food while their four-legged friends received treats too. It was the perfect way to celebrate together.”
Michael Murphy, Chief Executive with Irwin’s Bakery who supplied the event, added: “Irwin’s was delighted to support Mackle Petfoods’ recent internal awards celebration by supplying our Wee Joeys Buns for their team to enjoy.
“Coinciding with International Dog Day, where Mackle shared special goodie bags, the collaboration showcased the strength of local Northern Ireland companies coming together to make the occasion extra memorable, with Irwin’s adding a sweet finishing touch.”
Margaret McKeown from Glens of Antrim Crisps added: “We thoroughly enjoyed a smooth and successful collaboration with Mackle Pet Food for International Dog
Day.
“Thank you to the team at Mackles for going the extra mile with the goodie bags also, they were a big hit with our staff!”
“A big thank you to the team at Mackle Petfoods for visiting The Maine Factory and kindly bringing along goodie bags for all our four-legged friends. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!” said Derrick Harkness, Sales Director, Maine Soft Drinks.
Alongside the company was Highly Commended in the Belfast Telegraph Awards for Employer of the year & Best large business of the year, as well as being a finalists in the household goods brand of the year for Naturo at the Grocer Gold Awards.
Mackle Petfoods employs 275 staff, and produce over 115 million units of petfood annually, exporting to 20 countries globally.
Based across two sites on the outskirts of Moy where it was initially founded, and nearby Moygashel, Mackle Petfoods creates a wide range of pet foods for dogs and cats, puppies to kittens through to senior pets.
The company produces ‘Naturo’ the multi award winning petfood, which is now the No.1 Natural Wet Food brand in retail, sold worldwide across grocery, pet
trade and Naturo eCommerce, generating retail sales of £40m annually.
Alongside Naturo, Mackle has continued its excellence across traditional brands including Brandy, Cat Club and Champion, and have developed the company from Irish brands only into Private Label in Ireland, GB and Europe.