GA Pet Food Partners hosted 238 independent pet businesses from 12 countries at its Plocks Farm facility in Chorley, Lancashire, England, for its annual partner event on June 4-5, 2025.
The two-day event provided attendees with facility tours, networking opportunities and educational sessions focused on pet food innovation and manufacturing processes. Participants represented independent pet specialty businesses from across the UK, Ireland, Italy and nine other countries.
Day one featured exclusive tours of GA's Freshtrusion HDP production system, including laboratories, the £75 million (US$102.3 million) Ingredients Kitchen, extrusion plant and packaging lines. The company highlighted its Peptide+ innovation, which was introduced to partners earlier this year.
"I have been around most of the pet food factories in the UK and GA's Plocks Farm is the best by a long way," said Carl from Healthy K9.
The day concluded with a dining experience featuring locally sourced ingredients and a discussion with company founder and chairman Roger Bracewell about GA's partnership approach.
GA Pet Food Partners welcomed 238 independent pet businesses from 12 countries to its annual manufacturing event at Plocks Farm in Chorley, Lancashire, on June 4-5, 2025.GA Pet Food Partners
Technical sessions and case studies
Day two focused on educational content, including GA's four-year development process for Peptide+ and technical approaches to producing hydrolyzed food with high fresh meat content. Three GA partners from the UK, Ireland and Italy presented business growth case studies.
Pet consumer research company Yummypets delivered a session on current pet owner needs and competitive strategies for independent businesses.
"The highlights were the passionate people, the family aspect and the quality of the labs. We appreciated the transparency of the manufacturing on the tour. We are leaving with more confidence to sell our own recipes," said Gerry & Fiona Veerman from Veerman's Pets and Co.
During the event, attendees toured GA's Freshtrusion HDP production system and attended educational sessions on pet food innovation, including the company's new Peptide+ range.GA Pet Food Partners
Industry partnership focus
"We remain committed to supporting the independent pet specialists who are the beating heart of the pet food industry," said Roger Bracewell, chairman of GA Pet Food Partners. "It has been a fabulous couple of days with lots of opportunities and a chance for GA and our Partners to continue to develop our partnership."
GA Pet Food Partners operates as a private-label pet food manufacturer based in the UK. Since 2012, the company has developed Freshtrusion methodology for producing dry pet food using fresh ingredients. The company's Freshtrusion HDP system produces its Peptide+ product range.
