Our Story

HayPigs!® is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Rik and Helen Cridland, from Essex. It all began in 2014, when they adopted a pair of male guinea pigs called Nutmeg and Neptune from their local rescue. That was the start of a love affair with one of the most endearing and characterful critters on the planet: the guinea pig.

Spoilt rotten, but something was missing

Nutmeg and Neptune were spoilt rotten. They had every toy, hidey and tunnel on the market, and a big run to play out in the garden. But as toys wore out or were ignored as "boring", huts fell apart and tunnels got grubby, new, exciting and original products were very hard to find.

Then one day at the rescue, Tracey, the lady who ran it, asked Rik whether he could design something for guinea pigs. "I could," he replied, and he went away thinking.

Rik just happened to be a professional product designer, with years of experience designing merchandise for some of the world's biggest brands and film studios. He was just the chap to solve the conundrum.

Designed for and tested by Guinea Pigs™

Rik and Helen spent almost two years developing their own range of guinea pig products, with their own herd testing every prototype. On World Circus Day, 15 April 2017, the Guinea Pig Circus™ opened its doors, with six circus-themed products including the Cavy Cannonball™ and the Piggy Weightlifter™.

The face of the brand was Crunchie, the "ginger ninja" in our social media icon and the star of the famous Cavy Cannonball™ photo. Sadly she passed away in spring 2017, and that September, when the Piggy Weightlifter™ won our very first award, we dedicated it to her.

From the Den to the UK's first guinea pig festival

Since then, HayPigs!® has collected more than 25 award wins, podium places and finalist spots. We've pitched in BBC One's Dragons' Den (where the Dragons guessed we'd be bringing in a hamster), featured on ITV and the BBC, and made the cover of The Sunday Times Home supplement. Rik and Helen also rescued and relaunched Guinea Pig Magazine, designed the Guinea Pig Village at Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park, and in 2026 created Piggy Fest, the UK's first guinea pig festival.

It has always been a family business. Our children, Scarlett and Reuben, have been coming to shows since they were babies, and every HayPigs!® guinea pig is a rescue piggy and a family pet. Spending so much time with piggies has given us a real insight into their wonderful personalities and their welfare needs, and that's what drives everything we do.

"At the core of our business is a passion and desire to change the way we view small animals as a pet. Guinea pigs are an incredibly intelligent, social animal with far more complicated welfare needs than many currently give them credit for."

Rik Cridland, Managing Director and Ringmaster at HayPigs!® (aka "The Guinea Pig Guy")

"We are proud to be the first UK small animal accessories business to specialise in guinea pigs and proud to be at the forefront of changing attitudes towards their welfare needs. We are giving guinea pigs a voice."

Helen Cridland, Co-founder of HayPigs!® (PigMum)

Thank you for visiting. If you have any questions, please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

Wheek to you soon,

Rik, Helen, Scarlett, Reuben and the HayPigs!®