- 8800 Grant Ave. Overland Park, KS 66212
Let’s take a journey back in time and imagine you’re a pet owner in the early 20th century, looking for commercially made pet food. According to a Pet Food Institute article on the history of pet food, you had two options: biscuits or kibble. Enter “Ken-L Ration” in 1922, and suddenly pet owners in the U.S. had another option: canned food. Fast forward to today and pet parents have an array of pet food options to choose from, including air-dried and freeze-dried food.
Commercially prepared pet food has come a long way since James Spratt introduced the first dog biscuit to pet owners in England around 1860. From flavors to textures to storage conditions, pet food has certainly evolved since Spratt’s original biscuit formula of beef blood, a wheat meal mixture, beetroot and other vegetables. Pets now have a smorgasbord of options for their owners to choose from.
At the 2024 Global Pet Expo, Debbie Phillips-Donaldson from Petfood Industry noted that new air-dried and freeze-dried pet foods and treats continue to be launched — maintaining the trend from previous years, where freeze-dried or air-dried raw pet foods, treats and toppers were popular new products. These dried products are meeting consumer demands while also providing benefits to retailers and manufacturers, since they are lighter, easier to handle and cheaper to ship.
If you’re considering adding air-dried or freeze-dried pet foods to your product line, or you’re already manufacturing them, we can help with sourcing ingredients suitable for air or freeze drying. Some of the compatible ingredients we offer include:
We’re here to help you keep up with the latest pet food trends. We can coordinate with suppliers to source ingredients, provide QA and make sure your ingredients are up to regulations. We can also handle storage, transportation, inventory and re-orders for you, so you can concentrate on developing the new products your customers are asking for. Give us a call today!
