From start-up to scale-up: how WMG helped The Muzzle Movement cut lead times by 80%
From start-up to scale-up: how WMG helped The Muzzle Movement cut lead times by 80%
Founded in 2022 by CEO Clara Hewson, The Muzzle Movement is an East Midlands-based manufacturer creating well-designed and comfortable muzzles for dogs.
The company exists not only to shake up an outdated muzzle market, but to shift public perceptions; demonstrating that muzzled dogs aren’t ‘scary’, but friendly, supported, and approachable.
To support their ambitions for growth, The Muzzle Movement partnered with WMG’s SME Group to scale-up production, improve business processes and expand their customer base.
Challenge: Seeking support and structure
Clara and the team had a clear vision but needed expert guidance to turn it into an efficient, scalable business. They wanted to grow The Muzzle Movement, introduce structured processes and improve shopfloor efficiency.
Clara was introduced to WMG through NatWest’s Accelerator programme, designed to help start-ups evolve into established businesses.
“We had no real structure to our business processes, and WMG has definitely helped us with that.”
– George Cassapi, Head of Operations, The Muzzle Movement.
To support production scale-up, WMG’s SME Group developed a tailored improvement roadmap and managed hiring two graduate interns through WMG’s Internship Programme.
“By bringing in skilled graduates to collect data, analyse results and assess existing business processes, The Muzzle Movement was able to understand how to improve productivity, increase profit margins and reduce waste.” – Katy Wilson, Project Manager, WMG.
The interns were supported by specialists from the SME Group with expertise in productivity improvement, business management, leadership skills and product development.
Solution: Bespoke support for a growing business
WMG supported the selection, interviewing and hiring of interns Yayra Agbo and Kalindi Suchak into the business, ensuring their skills aligned perfectly with the company’s needs.
Between March 2024 and August 2025, the interns and experts from WMG’s SME Group continually reviewed the business’ evolving needs and delivered a series of targeted interventions.
“During the last 18 months of our journey with The Muzzle Movement, their challenges and business needs evolved. We actively adapted our approach throughout to fit these changes and supplied the right skills to address those challenges.” – Gun Gokmen, Technology Transfer Engineer, WMG.
The SME Group provided hands-on technical and operational expertise to guide the interns and embed improvements across the business.
“WMG helped The Muzzle Movement with an effective approach to process optimisation, including 3D modelling of the shopfloor and warehouse, to add improvements while reducing risks.” Aryan Bharmani, Engineer, WMG.
“WMG created a design that made sure we were really efficient, and everything was in the correct place in the building.” – Clara Hewson, CEO, The Muzzle Movement.
Focusing on both internal operations and the wider business, the SME Group reviewed the entire value stream to identify opportunities for improvement to ensure sustainable long-term growth.
Impact: Cutting lead time and increasing turnover
WMG’s support helped The Muzzle Movement better understand their operations, increase factory efficiency and expand production capacity.
In just one year of collaborating with WMG, The Muzzle Movement achieved:
- 54% increase in Q1 shipments
- 80% reduction in manufacturing lead time
- Projected 90% increase in annual turnover
The improvements guided by WMG helped unlock further growth, increasing the expected annual turnover by over £108,000, a 90% increase expected within two years.
“Everything that they’ve done for us has helped us be probably 1000% more functional.” - George Cassapi, Head of Operations, The Muzzle Movement.
“We now have structured processes for manufacturing, product launches and customer support, which takes a lot of weight off my plate, as I don’t have to worry about what comes next.”– Clara Hewson, CEO, The Muzzle Movement.
Thanks to WMG’s SME Group, The Muzzle Movement is on an upwards trajectory, evolving from a small local start-up to a nationwide, award-winning industry leader.
Are you a small manufacturer looking for support to grow? Spark your success story today, by getting in touch with WMG’s SME Group.