One of the most enjoyable and inspiring aspects for me of covering the pet food industry has always been learning about how various pet food companies and brands started. While many follow the same main theme — a pet owner/lover couldn’t find what they wanted to feed their beloved pet or believed was best for the dog or cat, so they decided to make their own food or treat — the unique twists and other variations on the theme continue to delight and educate. I think they also keep the pet food market fresh, dynamic and always moving forward.
Sled-dog racing and an angry moose
An example I was reminded of recently is Annamaet Petfoods, founded by Rob and Mary Jo Downey in 1986. During college, Rob started racing sled dogs, following his hobby as he studied companion animal nutrition in grad school, where he also met Mary Jo. Eventually his entire family fell into his passion of sled-dog racing — in his case, sprint races, rather than long-distance ones like the Iditarod. The canine athletes running sprint races have unique nutritional needs, which Rob researched, eventually publishing studies on how nutrition affects stamina and exercise in running dogs.
Besides developing nutritional products for them, Rob and Mary Jo wanted to create “optimum nutrition to maximize the health and well-being of dogs and cats worldwide while maintaining a responsibility to the environment and our natural resources.” That’s the mission statement of Annamaet, which is still pursuing this focus 39 years since its founding. And seemingly succeeding at it; for instance, Annamaet continues to introduce new products regularly and was among the first 20 pet companies to be accredited by the Pet Sustainability Coalition.
Having met Rob several years ago, I was aware of how Annamaet came into being, along with the reason behind the name of one its dog food products, Manitok, an Inupiat Eskimo word that means “rugged.” You can read about that specific origin story (hint: it involves an angry moose) here or in Rob’s memoir, “Until the Last Dog,” released in November 2024.
Reading the book reminded me of just how passionate pet food company founders are and how involved they become with every aspect of the company, often from product development to branding to pitching to retailers and distributors and interacting with pet owners.
Iditarod-inspired dog food development
Dr. Tim’s Pet Food is another company that arose from a passion for dog racing, and in this case, it did involve the Iditarod. Tim Hunt, DVM, a veterinarian who opened his own clinic in northern Michigan more than 20 years ago, began volunteering to help with veterinary care of the dogs running the famous Alaskan race. His experiences soon had him hooked, and he began racing dogs himself. (His last race was in 2009, when he won the infamous Red Lantern Award for finishing last.)
And, as with Downey, those experiences inspired him to develop his own dog food, because he “understood his dogs’ need for a food that promoted stamina, endurance and performance through proper digestion; a food that just made them feel good,” reads the website for Dr. Tim’s. “Armed with a cement mixer, a cache of ideas and an aversion for other kibbled diets on the market, Tim took to his garage in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” setting out to formulate a food that replicated a natural, wild diet for his Alaskan Huskies.
That eventually led to the creation of Dr. Tim’s Pet Food, a full-fledged company offering food, treat and supplements for dogs and cats, as well as nutritional advice via a frequently updated blog. Since its inception, the company’s foods have fed many Iditarod winners.
A breadth of tales and inspirations
These are just two examples among the dozens, maybe hundreds, of pet food companies’ origins and histories. We’ve featured some as profiles on the cover of Petfood Industry magazine, adding up to years of stories that range from companies with five generations of family ownership to newer ones inspired by human food diets and cuisines, or based on alternative formats, even home devices for preparing them.
If your company has a unique origin story that you want to share, please send information to [email protected].
