Andy Lapthorne, the United Kingdom’s most prolific wheelchair tennis player, is also a dog lover.
His rescue, Bernie, has been with him for four years, including through some of his most intense match preparation.
Andy is an 18-time Grand Slam wheelchair tennis champion, Britain’s No.1 quad wheelchair tennis player, and one of the most celebrated names in a sport marking its 50th anniversary in 2026.
He’s not just preoccupied with being a champion; he also takes great care of his pet and constantly worries if what he feeds Bernie is good enough.
So one day, while scrolling through Instagram, Andy discovered Marleybones, a UK-based dog food brand that uses real meat, vegetables, superfoods and gut-friendly prebiotics.
Using their patented Pantry Fresh® method, the product includes no preservatives and no freezer is required.
Instead, Marleybones gently steam-cooks every meal in-pack at an average temperature of 89°C – the same method used in premium baby food.
Fed up with ultraprocessed, freeze-dried dog food, Andy instantly became a customer.
“I stumbled across Marleybones on Instagram. And then got talking from there and I knew straight away that that was the way I wanted to go. I can see the difference, feel the difference. Bernie’s energy is much higher for longer – and you can see it.”
Soon, that customer-client relationship blossomed into something more.
The pet food supplier and sports legend have announced a partnership in celebration of Wheelchair Tennis’s 50th Anniversary Year.
As Andy competes in grass court season, the Marleybones logo will appear on his kit – the brand’s first kit sponsorship, and a landmark moment for a start-up taking on the mainstream pet food industry.
“We built Marleybones because of my dog, Marley – and the belief that every dog deserves better than processed food,” said Josephine Bager, Co-founder of Marleybones.
“Andy found us the same way thousands of our customers do: by simply looking for something better. As Andy would say, stop feeding your dog like they’re a qualifier. We’re proud to have him and Bernie as part of the Marleybones family.”
Marleybones was launched by Bager and her co-founder Mikala Skov in 2020. They set out to find a solution to traditional, overprocessed kibble and freezers full of fresher dog food options.
Every recipe using their Pantry Fresh® technology contains one protein, three vegetables, and seven superfoods, with gut-friendly prebiotics to support digestion.
The first UK brand to bring premium fresh dog food out of the freezer entirely, and the one that fits the life Andy actually lives.
In a press release, the company said that they have over 12,000 dog parent customers and their products are stocked in retailers like Waitrose, Ocado, Co-op and Whole Foods Market, with a growing D2C subscription base at marleybones.com.
And they hope to expand as the UK dog food market hit a whopping £2.2 billion last year.
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
