(March 2024)
Key Takeaways
Milestone Achievements
Environmental Stewardship
Holistic Sustainability Approach
Leaders in the premium food category have been perfecting their sustainability practices while educating consumers about their food options, which are curated to meet individual pet needs. These practices and curated food solutions continue to redefine the category, taking it to new heights in an ever-evolving market.
“We’re committed to helping create a more sustainable future for our environment, our community and our business,” said Matt Pirz, President of Primal Pet Foods. “We want to take a holistic view of sustainability, considering environmental, social and economic factors as well as the sustainability of our people at Primal.”
“Sustainability is integral to everything we do at Petcurean-it is at the core of who we are as a company,” said Christine Mallier, Sustainability and Community Relations Manager. “Our passion for advancing sustainability in the pet food industry has allowed us to achieve significant milestones, both within our company and beyond. Recently, we released our third annual Sustainability Impact Report, which illustrates Petcurean’s ongoing journey to translate ambition into action as we seek to advance sustainability. Highlights from the report include exceeding our carbon footprint reduction goals, launching an eco-friendly insect protein recipe (Go! Solutions Sensitivities Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Insect recipe), calculating Scope three greenhouse gas emissions; donating more than 2.4 million meals to dogs and cats in North America, and more. We also recognize that advancing sustainability requires an ongoing commitment, and we will continue to set goals and make strides for the betterment of pets, people and our planet,” said Mallier.
“Our goal is to improve the well-being and joy of pets while offering pet parents dependable and reputable pet food options,” said CEO and President David McLain. “At Alphia, sustainability encompasses many aspects of our pet food manufacturing processes, and all ladder up to our No. 1 priority-food safety. Alphia utilizes operational discipline, rigorous quality control and ongoing R&D investments to make products that are both safe and high quality. Importantly, we are committed to combating food waste by ensuring efficiency throughout the manufacturing process, maximization of throughput and creation of products that meet precise specifications. We are dedicated to selecting quality-sourced ingredients and working with suppliers who share our environmental and ethical responsibility. This approach allows us to meet the needs of specific pet diets, whether there are allergen or digestibility concerns, or special requirements such as additives. This guarantees each meal we craft is not only delicious for pets but also promotes their overall health.”
“At Wellness Pet, we recognize that the mutual well-being of our pets and pet parents are clearly linked to environmental and social responsibility,” said Greg Kean, Global VP of Advanced Innovation, R&D and Sustainability. “This philosophy drives not only our product development, but our work with outside partners and other internal efforts. It’s crucial that our products not only offer high-quality nutrition for cats and dogs but also support the environment these pets and pet parents live in every day.”
“Applaws has always embraced a forward-thinking approach to pet nutrition, striving to create simply better pet food using natural, limited ingredients,” said Global CEO Julian Bambridge. “Our commitment to this vision entails not only delivering high-quality products but also ensuring sustainability across our entire value chain. This can only be maintained and achieved by setting goals and targets for reducing environmental impact, investing in research and development for more sustainable packaging, ingredients or production methods or advocating for broader industry-wide sustainability standards. By integrating sustainability into every aspect of our business, from ingredient sourcing to product development and beyond, we remain steadfast in our mission to provide pets with simply better nutrition while safeguarding the planet for future generations.”
“Sustainability for Open Farm embodies a comprehensive approach to pet nutrition and environmental stewardship,” said Megan Tuttle, Senior Director of Impact. “It involves responsibly sourcing ingredients, prioritizing animal welfare, minimizing our carbon footprint and championing regenerative agriculture practices. Recognizing that pets contribute to a significant carbon paw print, especially with the increasing number of pet-owning households, we understand the urgency to reimagine every aspect of our operations, from supply chain management to packaging. Our core mission is simple: to do good for animals and the planet. We meticulously craft quality, wholesome, nutritious, sustainable and ethical pet food that consumers can trace from farm to bowl. Our aim is to foster a beneficial impact on the environment while delivering top-tier nutrition for pets.”
Companies lean on the reputation of premium foods as already featuring more whole and less processed meal options for pets. This segues easily to a branding objective that they are able to deliver a more holistic purchasing option where the product is not only better for pets but supporting the company behind the product is also better for the world at large.