Pet owners increasingly expect the brands they purchase to reflect buyers’ values and support the diverse communities they serve. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives remain part of the global pet food industry’ business strategy, although companies use a range of terms beyond DEI. A review of the companies in the Petfood Industry’s Top Companies database identified the following businesses with publicly documented DEI policies, employee programs, accessibility initiatives or other structured inclusion efforts beyond a basic equal-employment statement. This list is not exhaustive, and some companies may have been overlooked.
1. Adimax Indústria e Comércio de Alimentos
Brazilian pet food manufacturer Adimax operates a formal Diversity and Inclusion Program built around six pillars: respect, dialogue, equity, combating prejudice and discrimination, accessibility, and information and awareness. The program includes a Diversity Committee, trained D&I ambassadors, employee affinity groups and company-wide training, making it one of the more comprehensive programs identified among dedicated pet food manufacturers.
2. ADM Animal Nutrition
ADM supports inclusion through employee resource groups that are open to all employees and designed to provide community, networking and a sense of belonging. The corporate program covers ADM's Animal Nutrition operations, which participate directly in the pet food and pet nutrition supply chain.
3. BRF Pet / MBRF
BRF Pet is now part of MBRF, which maintains current diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives focused particularly on women, people with disabilities, Black employees and immigrants and refugees. MBRF says its career-development programs include opportunities specifically designated for these groups, while recruitment efforts also emphasize participation by underrepresented candidates.
4. Central Garden & Pet
Central Garden & Pet has implemented a diversity and inclusion council and a company strategy addressing recruiting, employee education, mentorship and leadership development. More recent reporting continues to describe attracting and developing an inclusive workforce as a priority, with particular attention to expanding opportunities for women in leadership.
5. Century Pacific Food
Century Pacific Food, whose portfolio includes the Goodest pet food brand, incorporates diversity and inclusion into its People Development sustainability pillar. The company reports a workforce gender split of 56% men and 44% women, with women heading four of its seven manufacturing divisions, and says its hiring and talent practices emphasize different skills, backgrounds and potential.
6. Champion Petfoods
Champion Petfoods, maker of ORIJEN and ACANA, publicly states that diversity strengthens the company and that equity and inclusion contribute to a culture where employees can thrive. Since Mars Petcare acquired Champion in 2023, it also operates within Mars' broader Inclusion & Diversity framework, which includes five global Associate Resource Groups and more than 100 local chapters.
7. Elmira Pet Products
Canadian private-label pet food manufacturer Elmira Pet Products maintains a formal multi-year accessibility plan intended to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. Its program includes continuing employee accessibility training as well as accessible communication, customer service and physical environments.
8. Freshpet
Freshpet maintains a dedicated Diversity & Inclusion initiative and says it has intentionally assembled employees with varied educational backgrounds, cultural influences, lifestyles, ideas and ambitions. Company filings also describe recruiting from diverse communities and seeking diversity in professional experience and skills as part of building an inclusive workforce.
9. General Mills
General Mills, owner of Blue Buffalo, currently frames much of its inclusion work around its core value of Champion Belonging. Seven employee networks and additional Belonging Councils provide opportunities for development, connection and inclusion across functions, business segments and manufacturing locations.
10. Hill's Pet Nutrition
Hill's Pet Nutrition participates in Colgate-Palmolive's broader inclusion and employee-resource-group structure, including disability-focused activities involving the Hill's Abilities Network. Colgate describes its ERGs as important tools for professional development, connection and creating workplaces where employees can be their authentic selves.
11. i-Tail Corporation
Parent company Thai Union explicitly identifies “Celebrating Every Identity (DEI)” as part of its corporate culture, emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion and ensuring employees' voices are heard. That framework encompasses i-Tail, Thai Union's dedicated PetCare business and a major manufacturer of wet dog and cat foods and treats.
12. Industrias Bachoco / Grupo Bachoco
Grupo Bachoco operates an inclusion program aimed at employment opportunities for people with disabilities and received Mexico's 2025 Empresa Comprometida con la Inclusión Laboral de Personas con Discapacidad distinction. A program initially implemented in its Península business unit recruits people with disabilities for operational and administrative positions, with Bachoco reporting plans to extend the model to other regions.
13. Irish Dog Foods
Pet food manufacturer Irish Dog Foods has a Women in Leadership Programme intended to increase female representation in senior positions, along with recruiting and career-development practices aimed at improving gender balance. Its 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report also identifies pay equity, fair representation, career pathways and a formal Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy among its continuing initiatives.
14. J.M. Smucker
J.M. Smucker, whose pet portfolio includes Milk-Bone and Meow Mix, calls its inclusion strategy A Workplace for All. Its Advocate Alliance organizes learning sessions and guided conversations, while employee resource groups provide support and seek to increase understanding, empathy and allyship throughout the company.
15. KLN Family Brands / Tuffy's Pet Foods
Family-owned KLN Family Brands, parent of Tuffy's Pet Foods and NutriSource, holds monthly Diversity & Inclusion Luncheons for its Latino workforce. The program is intended to give employees a stronger voice and improve leadership opportunities, providing an unusually concrete DEI example among smaller privately held pet food manufacturers.
16. Kormotech
Ukrainian pet food manufacturer Kormotech describes inclusion as creating equal conditions regardless of gender, disability, age, family circumstances or other differences. Among its initiatives, the company pays for childcare when women return to work, reports that women make up about one-third of top management and has joined a program supporting employment and reintegration of military veterans.
17. Mars Petcare
Mars, whose Petcare division encompasses brands including PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, IAMS, CESAR and SHEBA, maintains a global Inclusion & Diversity strategy. Its five global Associate Resource Groups and more than 100 local chapters address areas including race and ethnicity, generations, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, disability and neurodiversity, and women and caregivers.
18. MPM Products
Pet food producer MPM Products, owner of brands including Applaws, Encore and Reveal, identifies equality, diversity and inclusion as foundations of its employee culture. Its FY2024 impact report says diversity, inclusion and engagement metrics are reported to the board and senior leadership to measure progress and accountability toward a more inclusive workplace.
19. Nestlé Purina PetCare
Nestlé Purina PetCare maintains a dedicated Belonging and Engagement program with a stated objective of embracing diversity of experience, perspective and culture so employees feel empowered and included. The program operates within Nestlé's broader DEI initiatives, which include efforts addressing gender balance, disability inclusion and other dimensions of workforce representation.
20. Partner in Pet Food
European manufacturer Partner in Pet Food makes a Diverse & Inclusive Workplace one of the components of its sustainability strategy's Team pillar. The company is developing inclusive policies and practices, preparing for EU pay-transparency requirements, plans annual gender-pay-gap reporting beginning in 2027 and has developed employee training materials addressing discrimination and harassment.
21. Perfect Companion Group
Thailand-based Perfect Companion Group, a dedicated pet food company within Charoen Pokphand Group, is covered by CP's formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy. CP supplements the policy with Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices and reviews its human-rights and inclusion policies regularly across the group.
22. PetSelect
Spanish wet pet food manufacturer PetSelect partnered with the Galician Confederation of People with Disabilities, COGAMI, in 2025 to promote employment for people with disabilities in the Barbanza region. The initiative is designed to remove barriers to entering the labor market while creating opportunities for hiring, development and professional advancement.
23. Pilmico Animal Nutrition
Pilmico Animal Nutrition, part of Aboitiz Foods and producer of pet food brands including Maxime, Woofy and Tommy, participates in company initiatives highlighting the advancement of women in food and agribusiness. Aboitiz Foods' 2026 HERstory campaign focuses on women in leadership, STEM, nutrition, veterinary science and frontline business roles while explicitly linking women's advancement with a more inclusive business culture.
24. Real Pet Food Company
Australia's Real Pet Food Company incorporates diversity and inclusion into its formal People and Culture Strategy. The strategy combines attracting and developing talent, workforce planning, employee experience and governance with an explicit commitment to championing diversity and inclusion throughout its dog and cat nutrition business.
25. San Miguel Foods
San Miguel Foods has formally adopted parent San Miguel Corporation's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy. The policy calls for an inclusive and safe workplace, while San Miguel says its approach includes attracting, developing and retaining people from different backgrounds and valuing differing perspectives.
26. Special Dog
Brazilian pet food manufacturer Special Dog Company operates a named inclusion and diversity initiative called De Igual para Igual, or “Equal to Equal.” The program translates the company's diversity principles into specific workplace strategies and initially concentrated on gender equity, including a target for women in senior leadership positions.
27. Spectrum Brands / United Pet Group
Spectrum Brands, whose Global Pet Care business includes the former United Pet Group operations, has documented a company-wide diversity, equity and inclusion program and described its approach as holistic. Its policies emphasize an inclusive workplace, development opportunities and a workforce reflecting different backgrounds, while its Global Pet Care segment remains an operating business in 2026.
28. The Honest Kitchen
Pet food manufacturer The Honest Kitchen explicitly lists a DEIB Committee & Trainings among its employee programs. The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging committee and associated training are intended to support the company's diverse workforce.
29. Umios Corporation
Umios Corporation, formerly Maruha Nichiro, identifies diversity and inclusion as a key corporate priority requiring involvement across management levels. Its Human Resources Department coordinates policies, education, awareness efforts and cross-department initiatives intended to allow employees of different genders, nationalities, ages, lifestyles and abilities to contribute fully.
30. Unicharm Corp.
Unicharm, whose businesses include pet food, maintains a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion component within its human-resources sustainability strategy. Its disability-inclusion efforts include participation in the Valuable 500 initiative, through which the company committed to expanding opportunities for people with disabilities.
31. United Petfood
Private-label manufacturer United Petfood publishes one of the most detailed formal DEI policies found among dedicated pet food companies. Its board-approved Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy establishes workforce and diversity-of-thought objectives, integrates D&I throughout the employee lifecycle, requires recruiting safeguards and training, and calls for annual monitoring of key performance indicators across the organization.
32. Virbac
Animal health and pet nutrition company Virbac has maintained a formal diversity policy since 2008 and subsequently developed specific programs for recruiting, integrating and retaining workers with disabilities. Measures have included specialized recruitment, workplace adaptations, employee training and disability ambassadors intended to increase awareness and support inclusion.
33. Wellness Pet Company
Wellness Pet Company maintains a dedicated Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging program that applies from recruiting through employees' subsequent career development. The company emphasizes creating an environment where employees can bring their whole selves to work and supplements that approach with professional-development resources through Wellness Pet Company University.
The initiatives vary considerably in scope. Some companies maintain extensive global DEI structures with employee resource groups and measurable representation goals, while smaller pet food businesses more often focus on specific issues such as disability inclusion, women's advancement or inclusive recruitment.
