Grub Club wins £1m media investment from Sky’s sustainability ad fund 

Grub Club, a hypoallergenic insect-based dog food brand, has cinched the top award from Sky’s Zero Footprint ad fund, which aims to tackle climate change through TV advertising. 

It was declared winner thanks to its ability to shake up the industry, its bold creative and because it’s a straightforward swap for consumers to make to be more sustainable. 

The brand was initially awarded £250,000 from the fund in August, alongside Milliways, a plastic-free chewing gum, reusable bottle brand Ocean Bottle, eco cleaning products OceanSaver and UpCircle, a natural skincare brand that uses upcycled ingredients to produce an ad before the final stage of judging this month. All five sustainability-focused ads will be shown in 2024.

Meet the period brand taking on the mainstream giants“We’re ecstatic to be announced as winners of the grand prize. Our journey starts here with our insect-based dog food that is not only nutritious and delicious for our pets, but it’s also helping to save the planet,” says Hugh Petit, cofounder at Grub Club. Petit founded the brand in 2021. 

“By converting 1% of the UK’s 12 million dogs to Grub Club, we can save up to 180,000 tonnes of C02e emissions, which is equivalent to a whopping 22,500 trips around the world in a car,” he adds. 

The judging panel included Stephen Woodford, the Advertising Association chair, Sky Media’s director of planning Sarah Jones, and Jo Fenn, global director at AdGreen. 

So far, the fund has awarded £6m in media spend to sustainable brands. Last year’s winner was Serious Tissues, which produces 100% recycled toilet roll. The fund’s inaugural winner was period product brand Here We Flo. The brand’s ad, ‘#NoMorePeriodDrama’, was one of Marketing Week’s campaigns of the year for 2022.