James Middleton spent years trying and failing to grow his marshmallow company Boomf. For years, he was gathering up shady “investors” and raising millions of pounds to expand Boomf and/or keep it running. Even James’ brother-in-law, Terribly Moderately Wealthy James Matthews, had to throw some money at Boomf (almost like some kind of reverse-dowry). And yet every year, Boomf lost money. A few years ago, James stepped back from working full-time at Boomf, and while I suspected at the time that the company had shuttered, I think it was still limping along, occasionally making Nazi marshmallows on-demand, while James worked on his brother-in-law’s Scottish estate as some kind of tour guide. I would love some clarification on just what James has been doing, career-wise, for the past three years, but here we are. It now looks like James is starting a NEW business: dog food.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s brother loves his dogs so much he has now set up a business dedicated to their welfare. James Middleton, who looks after nine dogs, has founded Ella & Co, a happiness and wellbeing company for canines — and I can reveal that his first product is a new type of pet food.
Middleton has previously credited his furry friends with playing a ‘vital role’ in helping him get out of depression — and also helping him find love. His spaniel, Ella, bounded over to Alizee Thevenet, a French financial expert who went on to become his fiancee. Now to return the favour, James has spent a year developing yummy canine grub in consultation with vets and nutritionists.
‘The food category is ‘Freeze-Dried Raw’,’ he tells me. ‘This means it’s raw food, as it hasn’t been cooked (which removes natural nutrients), but it doesn’t have to be kept in the freezer. It’s room temperature stable so it’s very convenient. The best thing you can do for your dog is feed them the best possible diet,’ he adds. ‘Dry and canned food just lack natural nutrients and are highly processed. Raw feeding is fantastic, but it’s a hassle keeping it frozen and defrosting every day.
‘Freeze drying takes the best of both worlds; it has the benefit of being raw, but the convenience of a dry kibble you can just scoop and serve. All of my dogs love the food and helped in the development of the recipes. It’s available online at ella.co with a subscription, meaning we will keep you topped up with food without having to go to the shops.’
The ingredients include chicken (including heart and livers), cranberries, carrots and fish oil.
‘Dogs give us so much, and feeding them the healthiest diet is the best way to give back to them,’ adds Middleton. ‘So, for the price of a coffee, you can feed them human-grade ingredients with all the meat sourced from UK farms delivered to your door and no need for freezing, defrosting or excess packaging.’
It’s so nice of the Daily Mail’s Sebastian Shakespeare to give James Middleton a free advertisement in his column. Methinks there was some kind of tit-for-tat with the Middletons/Cambridges for this free promotion. I wonder how Sebastian Shakespeare will collect? Perhaps Willileaks will give Shakespeare some very special dirt on Harry & Meghan. As for James’ new dog food business… this one at least makes more sense than “fancy marshmallows.” But… James is still James and everyone knows that he’ll run this business into the ground very quickly. I just hope Pippa’s husband hasn’t invested too much into it.
Photo courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
Oh, well: at least he never fails at the same thing twice.
This explains the photos of the Cambridge kids being used for a DM insert, which Lainey was talking about yesterday. That’s the tit for tat right there.
Yep. Merching but it’s okay because it’s the white in-laws.
His fiance is an investment advisor? Oh my…she should advise him, non?
The Middletons seem to be stuck in the 28 the century. They prepared their daughters for marriage e their son for being a “gentleman”, this James inane business in which do seem like attempts at setting up passive earning since he does not have a estate to collect rent.
It all fits now. Daddy and Uncle act as providers; Mam pimps her daughters and son’s only job is not to “embarrass” them.
I actually think this sounds quite sensible. Raw food is a pain to keep in the freezer, and you can now get dog food you keep in the fridge but takes up a lot of room. However, as usual he’s late to the party and subscription dog food is available already. I’ve got a mongrel so I feed her the best the supermarket can provide which seems to suit her well.
When he says “the price of a coffee,” does he mean every single serving costs as much as one cup of coffee? Because considering the ingredients I wouldn’t be surprised. My mom only gives our family dog high-quality wet food, started after he first time our sweet boy got cancer, because his oncologist said diet does make a HUGE difference. However I don’t know if my mom would go for this because I’m not sure if the expense is worth it. Like how much of a difference does it make?
And that’s why he instagrammed shaving his beard. A little attention-seeking stunt right before he debuts yet another company. Here’s hoping his interviews promoting his new company will be less arrogant.
At the time there was a discussion about behind the scenes gossip about a lawsuit. People thought it was about Party Pieces. What if it was about Boomf and the Middletons had to settle something over mismanagement of the company? It would tie into the London apt being sold and talk about selling PP as well.
Maybe he’ll do better at this than the marshmallow thingies. People spend A LOT on their pets.
Can he just… not. Carole come get your boy and just give him a salary lol.
That James…so entrepreneurial. Won’t let failed businesses or bankruptcies dampen his grifting, work shy ways. Given that mummy’s business is seemingly failing, I wonder how much his brothers-in-law are financing yet another of his doomed-to-fail ventures.
why won’t carol marry him off to the richest woman she can find like she did her daughters?
Honestly it’s not a bad idea. Dried dog food is pretty tough to store, long term. Too high in humidity to use O2 absorbers. And raw dog food is even worse…I can’t exactly have a freezer full of dog food. So storage is pretty much cans/packets or nothing. With supply chain issues, I’d prefer to stock up. I quite like the freeze dried option.
I give my cat something like this called Ziwi Peak and he loves it. It’s a little on the expensive side and the ingredients are air-dried instead of freeze-dried but the science behind it makes sense to me.
Pet products are all the rage, so he may actually succeed at this business!
Completely agree.
Pet products are HUGE right now.
I think this business could actually be a winner for him.
Can’t he just work a regular job? Why doesn’t he find one? Does he consider regular jobs to be beneath him?
At least he’s venturing into a territory he feels natural passion for — dogs. Because do you know any other adults that really want to devote their lives to marshmallows? Me neither.
Right? his dogs are why I follow his IG, they’re pretty cute lol. And he’s been so open over the past year or two about his struggle with depression and how much his dogs have helped him. I can see this being a much better fit for him than…..marshmallows.
It’s not a terrible idea, and maybe his fiancée will help him stay in the black and actually succeed in this one. It is, however, terrible timing. So many of us who might have considered spending a bit more on our pups to give them this type of food are having to cut back due to furloughs or layoffs. There’s only so many terribly wealthy people around to spend on this product; the rest of us are out for at least a year until we can get back on our feet.
The idea seems sound, as described above. But I’m pretty certain that others with that same idea gave more business savvy and hustle than he does.
Maybe Carole did want him to marry an aristo or rich lady. He might have an idea of himself as a great businessman that he won’t let go of. Of course, if your dream is to succeed in business but you don’t have the knowledge or skills, much of that can be taught. Doing a uni course would do it. I suspect he doesn’t want to work that hard though. Hustle can’t be taught……
I mean his marshmallow company has had some financial woes and at one point wasn’t he working at his brother-in-law’s estate in Scotland as a tour guide? So he doesn’t have the greatest luck with businesses
Any reason why Carole and Mike just don’t train him to take over PP?
This is such a bad idea. Nazi marshmallows are one thing, but frozen dog food has infinite possible ways to be messed up and end up hurting or killing people’s pets. No no no does this man not have friends who will tell him that it is OK to get a regular job? The pet owner in me is terrified and the lawyer in me just got a migraine uugh
At least in the US, this market is already saturated. There are several brands that already offer this type of food and treats. It’s been around for almost a decade. It’s not “new”.
This. I’ve been feeding my dog raw dehydrated for probably 8+ years. Is this a new concept in the UK? Because it’s old news state side.
I think this is a rather perfect fit for JMiddy.
Its not a bad idea but he will eff it up as he always does – remember the comment he made about boxes for sending cakes via the post. He said something like he never thought about the practicalities of it.
Wow he has the worst business instincts !
If James wasn’t the brother in law of the future king of the UK his get rich quick schemes wouldn’t have gotten off the ground. With his tract record in business what sensible bank would loan him money? I bet Jimmy was getting bailouts from the KP Foundation.
This guy is a wastrel. Definitely starter husband material.
Maybe he & Meghan’s sister can get together & write a book about how they thought they were going to reap the benefits of being a royal in law, but that only works if your name is Pippa.
Sounds like something I’d buy for my allergy-ridden old dog if I had money, so not a bad idea, imo. Bad diet can literally send her to the brink, and given our relationship her breakfast costing a Starbucks coffee would be fine, if it actually does.
I wish it well. Dude clearly loves his dogs, who are clearly happy and healthy, and apparently my pets’ freeze-dried chicken is amazing (and odor-free): seems like the best possible fit under the circumstances.
I feed my dog freeze-dried raw food and she LOVES it. I would not feed my dog anything made by this fool, he doesn’t seem trustworthy
I didn’t know he had 9 dogs. He must have a very big place.
His entrepreneurial ideas are very questionable. He tries too hard.
Do the family still live off uncle Gary or was he cut off? I feel bad for James, he’s the rob kardashian of the family. Ma Middleton doesn’t seem to have a plan for him like she did her daughter’s. I don’t really see how the middletons in general have benefited from Kate’s marriage, their businesses aren’t doing well financially, they have fame but can’t really use it for anything other than getting a good seat a Wimbledon. Plus the aristocracy have shunned them. They seem more and more desperate.