Carnivore Meat Company, manufacturer of Vital Essentials and Vital Cat brands, was one of seven Wisconsin companies awarded a Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. The 2018 categories included: growth and service, enterprise-wide precision and global brand growth.
Out of 23 nominees ranging in size from mega (800+ employees) to small (1-99 employees), Carnivore Meat Company took home the Global Brand Growth Award for the growth of its Vital Essentials pet food.
Carnivore Meat Company specializes in the raw pet food category and has invested in the global growth of its raw pet food brands. Their products are available in over 6,000 independent pet retail outlets around the world, sold direct on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Chewy.com, and are exported internationally to 14 countries. According to the company, there are over 20 products manufactured in its Green Bay, Wisconsin facilities that are not made anywhere else in the world.
The expansion of Carnivore Meat Company
Carnivore Meat Company has also invested in the state of Wisconsin. The company expanded operations in 2017 with the addition of a 20,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center that includes a 90,000 cubic foot freezer. The company broke ground in December 2017 on a 5,350 plant expansion that will double their freeze-drying capacity and create at least 20 jobs in the greater Green Bay area. This latest expansion will be complete by the end of March 2018.
The growth of high meat pet food formulas
A pet food industry executive observed that on both sides of the Atlantic, pet food manufacturers have been turning their attention to raw pet foods, reflecting dog and cat food demand trends. However, European and US raw dog and cat food buyers may have different notions of what high meat inclusion means, said Urs Wuest, director of product management at Buhler, in a video from Pet Food Forum 2017.
“If there are new trends coming into the industry, of course you feel it in the number of inquiries we get on the subject,” he said. “And fresh meat is of course a big issue at the moment. If you look at the pet shops there more and more projects with whole meat in the stores.”
