FreshPet sees more retailers carrying products, says CEO

Roughly 35,000 major US retailer stores are looking to stock FreshPet's fresh petfood, according to company CEO Richard Thompson, as FreshPet continues to benefit from the ongoing pet humanization trend.

"We're a very young company with a lot of runway in a very involved category," said Thompson. People are becoming more willing to spend on their pets, which is good news for specialty petfood manufacturers like FreshPet. In December 2014, the company announced revenue of US$22.5 million for the quarter, up 34.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Buddy's Kitchen releases fresh prescription petfood diet

Canada-based Buddy's Kitchen has created a fresh prescription petfood diet, FreshRx, which can only be found in veterinarians' offices in Ontario, Canada. 

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FreshRx is a fresh, frozen food for pets, and contains no meat meals, artificial preservatives, by-products, grain, corn, wheat, soy or gluten, according to the company. FreshRx is a low-carbohydrate, protein-based diet with recipes containing 70% fresh, Canadian, human-grade cuts of beef, chicken or salmon. Buddy's Kitchen gently cooks the meats while maintaining the integrity of nutrients within the meats. After the meats have cooled, the company adds legumes, fruits and vegetables that are locally sourced in Ontario, as well as a proprietary blend of vitamins, minerals, prebiotics and probiotics to ensure the needs of today’s modern dog are met.
FreshRx is a balanced maintenance diet, but FreshRx can also be used as a supplement over a preferred kibble diet, to add nutrients, variety and increased palatability, says Buddy's Kitchen.
 FreshRx comes packaged into 4.5-oz nutrient dense patties that are frozen to preserve their natural freshness. The thaw and serve patties come individually wrapped, and are sold in bags of 12 patties.

Freshpet expands to meet demand for natural petfood

Freshpet is projecting an increase in sales, after it spent $25 million to relocate its production and distribution facility to Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA, according to a report. The company says its new location will enable it to get fresh products to a huge population base quickly.

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Freshpet says its products are made with minimally processed and "gently cooked" meat, fruits, vegetables and brown rice, and without preservatives.
"Obviously the Lehigh Valley is a great location for a distribution center," said company CEO Richard Thompson. "It's a one-day drive from a third of the population in the U.S."
Thompson said the company purchased its new factory in 2012 for $2.94 million, and expanded it from 60,000 square feet to 80,000.
"We rehabbed the building to our own specs and immediately installed our Freshpet equipment for starting plant operations," Thompson said.
He said two additional expansion phases will add 20,000 square feet at a cost of about $5 million by July 2014. He also said the natural petfood company's business has grown 300 percent in the past three years and that 2014 sales are expected to approach $100 million.
"Natural petfood has really taken off," he said.

New Freshpet contest promotes importance of feeding fresh foods to pets

Freshpet refrigerated petfood company is hosting the Freshpet Fridge Challenge in honor of October's National Pet Obesity Month. The Freshpet Fridge Challenge asks pet owners to consider life without the refrigerator, ultimately raising awareness about the importance of feeding pets fresh food, too.
Pet owners can enter the Freshpet Fridge Challenge online by sharing, in 50 words or less, "Why you couldn't live without the refrigerator," along with a photo of their pet in front of their fridge.
The contest runs through October 21, after which time winners will be chosen at random to receive the following prizes:
• Grand Prize: One winner will receive a Freshpet refrigerator and year's supply of Freshpet food
• Two winners will receive a US$500 gift card towards their favorite fresh food store
• Five winners will receive a US$100 gift card towards their favorite fresh food store
As part of the challenge, Freshpet asked veterinarian Dr. Katy Nelson and several pet bloggers to pledge to live without their fridge for seven days. They will share their experiences without the fridge, including how they've reconsidered the importance of fresh, refrigerated foods for pets. 

My Perfect Pet exhibits new pet food blends at SuperZoo 2012

My Perfect Pet, a frozen and fresh pet food company, participated in SuperZoo 2012, which took place September 11-13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. My Perfect Pet showcased two new specialty pet food blends and provided informational packets for distributors and retailers.
The company showed its new Ultra-Low Glycemic Chicken and Ultra-Low Glycemic Beef blends, formulated for dogs with special dietary needs. The new blends will be available through all current and new retailer and distributor channels in late September.
“Having a presence at SuperZoo 2012 is a great opportunity for us to engage with distributors and retailers nationwide and introduce My Perfect Pets’ latest products to the industry’s leading professionals,” said Karen Scoggins, founder and president of My Perfect Pet. “We also hope to establish new relationships with distributors in other regions so we can provide My Perfect Pet products to new consumers asking for it across the country.” 

Frozen, fresh pet food company named to 'List of Best Pet Foods'

My Perfect Pet, a frozen and fresh petfood company in California, USA, has been added to the 2012 Truth About Pet Food "List of Best Pet Foods."
The list was compiled to raise awareness of and recommend the best pet food companies based on four criteria: quality of ingredients, transparency/customer service, "things" known about the pet food industry from research, and integrity based on quality, care and concern for customers, according to the list's developer, food safety advocate, Susan Thixton.  “To be recognized as a top commercial pet food company by a professional expert such as Susan Thixton, who truly knows and understands the importance of knowledge and its impact on pet health is such an honor,” said president of My Perfect Pet, Karen Scoggins. “Within days of posting 'The List,' My Perfect Pet has been selected by nationally recognized teams as superior to the big companies that once ruled the pet food industry.” 

Freshfetch dog food expands petfood production in California, USA

Freshfetch pet food company recently built a 1,400-square-foot kitchen in Palm Springs, California, USA, to expand its line of fresh dog food meals, mydesert.com reported.

The company was founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Jay and Mike Smith who were looking for alternative healthy petfood options for dogs. The company now employees four others at an industrial site that produces 15,000 to 20,000 petfood meals weekly, kept frozen to ship.
The company says its dog food consists of whole, unprocessed foods with unaltered proteins, natural enzymes, essential fatty acids, and US Department of Agriculture-approved fresh meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. The back of all Freshfetch packages contain US Food and Drug Administration nutrition information as well.  
The dog food was tested on animals with health conditions and after proven successful in managing these conditions, it was sold to local pet specialty stores before being picked up by Whole Foods Markets. 
“We had US$140,000 in sales in 2010 and hope to triple that in 2011,” said Jay Smith. “We are looking at a 3 to 4 percent market niche.”

Freshfetch meals are available online at www.freshfetchpetfoods.com, or by calling +1.877.433.8241 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +1.877.433.8241      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Freshpet offers new pet food, treats at pet specialty stores

Freshpet now offers five more refrigerated petfood options for dogs and cats.

Refrigerated pet food maker Freshpet introduced five meals and treats for pets, available in Freshpet refrigerators at pet specialty stores.
Freshpet says its latest offerings include grain-free Vital Complete Meals for Dogs, grain-free Vital Complete Meals for Cats, Dognation Sweet Potato Chews, Dognation Fresh Bones and Dognation Free-Range Fillets.
“We’ve created our new meals with pet owners in mind – people who want their pets to live a healthy lifestyle just like they do,” CEO Richard Thompson said. “Now, pets can gain the same nutritional benefits you and I get from eating fresh foods.”

Companies join forces for pet store grand opening

My Perfect Pet, a frozen fresh petfood company, will help kick off the grand opening of the newest location of Unleashed by PETCO – a small concept pet store – later this month in Chula Vista, California, USA.
My Perfect Pet will offer pets and their owners samples of all-natural dog food.