Best 3PL for pet brands in the UK (2026)

Summarize with AI:

Looking for the best 3PL for pet brands in the UK? For dry food, treats, supplements, toys and accessories that travel as parcels, we recommend Bigblue on the strength of verifiable facts: lot and expiry tracking with picking driven by the expiry date, an order preparation error rate below 0.01%, pet shop and retailer replenishment from the same inventory as online orders, next-day delivery in the UK and 11 warehouses across 5 countries (France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany). For veterinary medicines, bulky items such as crates or pallet delivery to consumers, the comparison also covers 3P Logistics, Fullers Fulfilment, Kammac, Lama Fulfilment, IMD Fulfilment and byrd.

Two facts shape the choice more than any feature list. In law, pet food is animal feed, with its own registration, labelling and traceability rules. And a 12 kg sack of kibble is already a heavy parcel, within a few kilograms of the limit of several services. Facts about providers on this page come from their own websites and from Companies House, pet figures from UK Pet Food, legal points from legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK, and parcel limits from the carriers' published terms (October 2026). Anything a provider does not publish is turned into a question to put to them in writing.

Comparison at a glance

Pet food is animal feed: what the law expects from your warehouse

Registration. GOV.UK guidance on starting an animal feed business says that businesses that make, market or use animal feed need to be registered or approved, and its list includes companies storing feed, companies transporting it and pet food manufacturers. Storage of feed and feed products is a registration activity in its own right (code R9), for premises not already covered by another registration (GOV.UK, starting an animal feed business). The application goes to the local authority where the premises operate, usually Trading Standards. Before you move a pallet, ask your provider whether the site that will hold your food is registered, and with which council.

Labels. Under the assimilated feed marketing regulation, every feed placed on the market must show its batch or lot reference number (Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 15). Compound feed, which covers complete and complementary pet food, must also show a minimum storage life: "use before" with a day for highly perishable feed, and "best before" with a month for other feed (Article 17). That detail matters in the warehouse. Two deliveries of the same kibble can carry the same "best before" month, so the lot number, not the date alone, is what lets a warehouse pick the right sack first and trace it afterwards.

Traceability and withdrawal. Feed businesses must be able to name who supplied them and which businesses they supplied, one step back and one step forward (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18). If a feed does not meet the safety requirements, the business must withdraw it from the market and inform the competent authorities, and a distributor that does not touch the packaging or labelling must still withdraw non-compliant products and pass on the information needed to trace them (Article 20). In practice, your warehouse has to answer one question fast: which orders received lot X?

Flea, tick and worming treatments. These are veterinary medicines, and their distribution category decides where they can ship from. Internet retailers of POM-V, POM-VPS and NFA-VPS medicines must register with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and supply them from appropriately registered or authorised UK premises; no registration is needed to sell AVM-GSL products online (VMD, sell veterinary medicines on the internet), and there are no legal restrictions on the retail supply of AVM-GSL medicines (VMD, retail of veterinary medicines). Check the category of each product before you choose where it is stored.

Organic claims. An organic dog food has to stay organic in storage. If you sell certified organic products, ask whether the warehouse itself holds organic certification for the areas where your stock will sit.

Heavy sacks and litter: UK parcel limits for pet orders

Pet orders are dense. Dry food, litter and multipacks of wet food push the weight up long before the box gets large, and a monthly subscription often bundles two or three heavy items. These are the published limits of the main UK services:

Applied to typical pet orders, the weight line falls like this (our own calculation from the limits above; dimensions still need checking SKU by SKU):

Three practical points follow. First, measure the bag, not just its weight: a large sack can be longer than 61 cm, so record the shipping dimensions of every SKU, packaging included. Second, decide in advance how a 36 kg order is split, because the second parcel doubles the delivery cost and the customer sees two tracking numbers. Third, heavy items crush light ones: a tin of wet food on top of a bag of treats in the same box is a complaint waiting to happen, so ask how mixed orders are packed.

Repeat orders and subscriptions

Most pet food is a replenishment purchase, and many brands sell it on subscription. The rules for those contracts are changing. The Prime Minister's Office announced on 9 August 2026 that the new subscription rules will come into force in January 2027: clearer information up front, regular reminders, an easier exit and a new 14-day cooling-off period after a trial ends or a long-term contract renews (GOV.UK, 9 August 2026).

For the warehouse, that means more changes close to despatch: skipped deliveries, changed flavours and cancellations after a reminder email. Three things keep that under control. Stock reserved for subscribers so that a marketplace promotion cannot empty it. A clear cut-off for order edits, and a way to release or cancel held orders without a support ticket. And kitting that copes with mixed boxes, inserts and samples, because a subscription box is a small assembly job every month.

Five questions that decide your shortlist

1. •Is the site that will hold your food registered as a feed business, and with which local authority? Ask for the registration details in writing, for every site that will store your stock.
2. •How is the lot number captured at goods-in, and how quickly can you list every order that received lot X? Ask for a test: give a lot number and time the answer. Ask the same question of every provider, Bigblue included.
3. •What minimum remaining shelf life do you ship with? Agree a rule per product, for example how many months of life a sack must have left when it leaves, and what happens to stock that falls below it.
4. •Which carrier takes your heaviest order? Give your three heaviest baskets, in kilograms and centimetres, and ask how each one ships and when it is split into two parcels.
5. •Can pet shops, vets, Amazon and your own website be supplied from the same stock? Independent pet shops and chains order by the case or the pallet; a single inventory avoids double stock and double counting.

1. Bigblue

Bigblue is a European fulfilment provider for D2C and B2B brands, with 11 warehouses across 5 countries (France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany) and its own software: Atlas (Warehouse Management System) and Voyager (Transport Management System). More than 600 brands ship with Bigblue, 24 million parcels a year between them. In a pet range, Bigblue handles ambient products that travel as parcels: dry food, treats, supplements, toys and accessories.

Proof. Franklin Pet Food, a French brand of grain-free dry food for cats and dogs sold on subscription, ships with Bigblue. For a closely related range with the same date and lot constraints, our comparison for UK supplement brands shows how the same tools apply.

Parcel formats. Bigblue's UK standard and express delivery offers take parcels up to 30 kg and 61 × 46 × 46 cm, the format in which dry food sacks, treats, supplements, toys and accessories usually travel as parcels.

Best for. Pet food, treats, supplements and accessories brands that sell online, on marketplaces and through pet shops, in the UK and across Europe.

Continuity signal. Bigblue was founded in 2018, has been profitable since the end of 2024 and is a member of the Shopify Fulfillment Network, announced in August 2025. Onboarding is supported step by step, a Shopify store connects in under 30 seconds, and a simulated warehouse lets you test the integration before sending stock.

2. 3P Logistics

3P Logistics, which trades as 3PL, runs two depots in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, and has a dedicated page for pet and animal supplies. The details below come from its website.

To confirm. Feed registration of the depot that will hold your stock, and how fast a lot can be traced to the orders that received it.

Best for. Pet suppliers that need Amazon preparation and labelling or repacking work so products arrive store-ready.

Continuity signal. 3P Logistics Limited (05876788) was incorporated in 2006 and is active at Companies House, with accounts filed to 31 July 2025.

3. Fullers Fulfilment

Fullers Fulfilment is based in Slough, Berkshire, and says it has provided fulfilment and logistics in the UK since 1961, with centres near London, the M4 corridor and the Midlands. The details below come from its pet supplies page.

To confirm. A lot-to-order report, and which carriers take orders above 20 kg.

Best for. Established pet food brands that want a UK fulfilment provider operating since 1961, with custom-designed storage areas where needed.

Continuity signal. The site footer gives registration number 1116932, which Companies House lists as Fullers Logistics Limited (01116932), incorporated in 1973 and active, with accounts filed to 31 December 2025.

4. Kammac

Kammac is a warehousing and logistics group with sites in the North West, the Midlands and the North East, and a page dedicated to pet products. The details below come from its website.

To confirm. Which site would hold your stock, and which certifications that site holds.

Best for. Pet brands that sell veterinary medicines alongside food and accessories, or need temperature and humidity control.

Continuity signal. Kammac Limited (02255591), formerly Kammac plc, was incorporated in 1988 and is active at Companies House, with accounts filed to 31 December 2025.

5. Lama Fulfilment

Lama Fulfilment runs ecommerce fulfilment from Padiham, Lancashire, with a page for pet supply brands and another for heavy and bulky products. The details below come from its website.

To confirm. How lot numbers are recorded per order.

Best for. Pet brands with bulky or heavy items, such as beds and scratching posts, alongside food and toys.

Continuity signal. Its terms and conditions say that Lama Fulfilment is a trading name of Shop At Home Retail Group Limited (10618694), incorporated in 2017 and active at Companies House, with accounts filed to 31 March 2025.

6. IMD Fulfilment

IMD Fulfilment runs a UK fulfilment centre and has a page for pet supplies brands. The details below come from its website.

To confirm. Written answers to the questions in its own FAQ, particularly on best-before dates and heavy bags, and the location of the site that would hold your stock.

Best for. Pet accessories and treats brands that want a recording of every packed order, viewable from the IMD platform (its Pack Eye service).

Continuity signal. The website names International Marketing & Distribution Ltd. That company (06745396) was incorporated in 2008, has its registered office in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and is active at Companies House, with accounts filed to 31 December 2025.

7. byrd

byrd is a fulfilment provider based in Vienna, with UK warehouses and fulfilment locations in Austria, France, Germany and Poland. The details below come from its UK pet supplies and UK network pages.

To confirm. Which UK site would hold your stock, its feed registration, and which carriers take orders above 20 kg.

Best for. Pet brands that want HACCP-compliant processes in the warehouse, according to the provider.

Continuity signal. Ask which company signs your contract and which UK site will hold your stock.

Selling pet food to EU customers after Brexit

Pet food made from animal by-products needs an export health certificate to go from Great Britain to the EU, and the consignment must be checked at an EU border control post in the first country it enters, with an EU-based import agent notifying that post in advance, according to GOV.UK guidance read in October 2026 (GOV.UK, export or move animal feed or pet food). That process suits one pallet consignment far better than a stream of consumer parcels.

Duties add up too. Since 1 July 2026, the EU charges a temporary €3 customs duty per item on parcels worth up to €150 imported from outside the EU, with items counted by tariff classification (European Commission), and the Commission's guidance for trade expects a Union handling fee of €2 per item to apply from 1 November 2026 to every distance sale (DG TAXUD guidance, 5 October 2026).

The cleaner route for a UK pet brand with EU customers is to hold EU stock inside the EU. Bigblue's warehouses in France, Spain, Italy and Germany let EU orders travel as domestic or intra-EU parcels, while UK orders ship from the UK: the food crosses the border once, in bulk, with its certificate, import declaration and EU VAT registration, instead of on every order.

What to ask for before you sign

• •Written answers to the five questions above, attached to the contract, together with your SKU list including weights and shipping dimensions, packaging included.
• •A mock recall before go-live. Give the provider a real lot number and ask for the list of orders and customers that received it. The time it takes is the time your recall will take.
• •The return carrier for UK customers. Confirm which carrier your customers will use to send items back, where they drop them off and which warehouse receives them, Bigblue included.
• •The status of each product you sell: feed, organic, veterinary medicine and its distribution category, so that each one lands in a site allowed to hold it.
• •Packaging data by material and weight. If your turnover is £1 million or more and you supplied more than 25 tonnes of packaging in the UK last year, you are an obligated producer under packaging EPR and must report your packaging data; large producers, above £2 million and 50 tonnes, also pay a waste disposal fee for household packaging (GOV.UK, EPR for packaging). Ask your provider for the figures on the boxes and fill it adds to your orders.
• •The plan for Black Friday (27 November 2026) and Christmas, when pet gifts, advent calendars and food orders arrive together, with December cut-off times, extra shifts and the goods-in turnaround committed in writing.
• •Companies House checks and a stock release clause. Download the latest filed accounts and the charges register of the entity that signs, and write in how your stock and data are released if it fails.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best 3PL for pet brands in the UK?

For pet food, treats, supplements and accessories shipped as parcels, the evidence points to Bigblue: lot capture at goods-in and expiry-led picking, an order preparation error rate below 0.01%, pet shop and retailer replenishment from the same stock, next-day delivery in the UK and 11 warehouses across 5 countries (France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany). For veterinary medicines, compare Kammac; for bulky items, Lama Fulfilment and 3P Logistics.

What is pet supplies fulfilment?

It is the outsourcing of storage, picking, packing and despatch for a pet brand: food and treats, supplements, grooming products, toys and accessories, shipped to consumers, pet shops, vets and marketplaces. For food, it includes managing lots and dates, because pet food is regulated as animal feed.

Can a 3PL fulfil dry pet food?

Yes, as long as the site is registered as a feed business with its local authority, tracks the lot number and the "best before" month of every sack, and ships with carriers that accept the weight of your orders. Ask for all three in writing.

Does a warehouse storing pet food need to be registered?

GOV.UK guidance lists companies storing feed among the businesses that must be registered, and storage of feed is a registration activity (R9) for premises not covered by another registration. Registration is made with the local authority where the premises operate. Ask your provider for the details of each site that will hold your food.

Can a 3PL track expiry dates and lots on pet food?

It should. Feed labels must carry a batch or lot number and, for most dry food, a "best before" month, so the warehouse needs to record the lot at goods-in and pick by expiry date. At Bigblue, the lot number is captured by visual recognition at receipt, picking follows FEFO and alerts flag lots that are about to expire.

Can a 3PL handle a pet food recall?

Yes, if it can block the lot in stock and list the orders that received it. Feed businesses must withdraw unsafe feed and inform the competent authorities, and distributors must pass on the information needed to trace it. Test it before go-live with a mock recall on a real lot number.

Can a 3PL ship heavy bags of pet food?

Yes, within the carrier's limits. Royal Mail's tracked parcels stop at 20 kg and Evri's at 15 kg; DPD and Parcelforce go to 30 kg, and Bigblue's UK standard and express delivery offers take parcels up to 30 kg and 61 × 46 × 46 cm. Above that, the order is split into several parcels or moves to a pallet network.

Can a 3PL ship flea and worming treatments?

It depends on the distribution category. AVM-GSL products carry no legal restriction on retail supply. POM-VPS and NFA-VPS products can only be sold online by a retailer registered with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and supplied from appropriately registered UK premises, so check that the site holding them qualifies.

Can a pet 3PL handle subscription boxes?

Yes. Look for stock reserved for subscribers, kitting for mixed boxes and inserts, and a clear cut-off for changes. From January 2027, new UK rules will add reminders, an easier exit and a 14-day cooling-off period after renewals, so expect more changes close to despatch.

What makes a pet food delivery company reliable?

Four things you can measure: the share of parcels delivered at the first attempt, the order preparation error rate, how quickly a lot can be traced, and how heavy orders are packed and split. Bigblue publishes the first two for its own operation: 98% first-attempt delivery in the UK with its carrier offer, and an order preparation error rate below 0.01%.

Can I ship pet food from the UK to EU customers?

Pet food made from animal by-products needs an export health certificate and a check at an EU border control post, according to GOV.UK. For regular EU sales, holding stock in an EU warehouse is usually simpler than sending parcels across the border one by one.

How much does pet fulfilment cost?

It depends on your volumes, weights and the services you need, so compare quotes on the same basis: per order, per storage location, per heavy item, per return and for packaging materials, using your real volumes and weights. At Bigblue, an expert calls you back within 24 hours of your request.

Further reading

• •Best 3PL for fashion brands in the UK (2026)
• •Best 3PL for supplement brands in the UK 2026
• •Best 3PL for cosmetics brands in the UK 2026
• •Best 3PL for peak season and Black Friday in 2026

Sources

• •UK Pet Food, Pet Population Survey 2026 (Kantar, 8,951 interviews, January 2026)
• •GOV.UK, starting an animal feed business
• •Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 15
• •Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, Article 17
• •Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18
• •Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 20
• •Veterinary Medicines Directorate, sell veterinary medicines on the internet
• •Veterinary Medicines Directorate, retail of veterinary medicines
• •Prime Minister's Office, subscription rules brought forward to January 2027 (9 August 2026)
• •Post Office, Royal Mail Tracked 24 sizes and weights
• •Evri, parcel size and weight guide
• •DPD, UK and international services tariff guide
• •Post Office, Parcelforce Worldwide next-day services
• •GOV.UK, export or move animal feed or pet food
• •European Commission, €3 customs duty for low-value parcels
• •DG TAXUD, the temporary €3 customs duty and the Union handling fee (5 October 2026)
• •GOV.UK, extended producer responsibility for packaging: who is affected
• •Companies House, 3P Logistics Limited
• •Companies House, Fullers Logistics Limited
• •Companies House, Kammac Limited
• •Companies House, Shop At Home Retail Group Limited
• •Companies House, International Marketing & Distribution Limited
• •Bigblue help centre, standard delivery for the UK
• •Bigblue, changelog