Big Country Raw, Canada's leading raw pet food brand, has partnered with Frontier Distributing to expand distribution into the United States beginning in March 2026. The initial territory covers Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The partnership follows significant capital investment by Big Country Pet Co., the parent company. In late 2025, the company expanded its facility with a 30,000-square-foot cold storage addition providing 3,000 additional skid spots and two new loading docks. The company also installed an additional cartoner and added a night shift to increase production capacity.
Waterless decontamination process
On the food safety side, Big Country Pet Co. said it has held HACCP certification since 2023 and has received an "Excellent" rating — the highest available — in every third-party audit conducted by Bureau Veritas. The company has also registered with the FDA and received CFIA certification for export.
For pathogen mitigation, Big Country Pet Co. partnered with Clean Works to deploy a waterless decontamination process using bacteriophages, fogging product during mixing. The company says it will also test and hold all product before shipment to verify safety standards are met. Big Country Raw will be the first pet food brand to use Clean Works technology in production.
"Food safety is a continual investment for us and just as important as the quality and nutrition of our recipes," said Rob Brouwer, co-founder. "We investigated different pathogen mitigation processes that are currently used in the category. However, we did not feel like any of them balanced both food safety along with nutrient and taste preservation.
"We made the decision to leverage our current process in Canada, using bacteriophages, and partnered with Clean Works on a scientifically proven, safe and natural process used in the human food chain that fogs our product during mixing," he continued. "In addition to these mitigation processes, we will also test and hold all product to ensure we meet all safety standards before shipping."
Denise VanderVeen, director of business development, Clean Works, said his company is excited to partner with Big Country Pet Co. to bring their waterless decontamination technology into the pet food sector. "This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to innovation, green technology and food safety," VanderVeen said.
U.S. launch portfolio
The U.S. launch portfolio includes 14 SKUs: eight complete and balanced dinner recipes formulated for all life stages (chicken, turkey, pork, beef, duck, lamb, whitefish and rabbit); two 12-lb. Grab N Go boxes, each containing 4 lbs. of three different dinner recipes; 18-count quail eggs; and three 30-lb. XL variety boxes.
"We're excited to partner with the largest raw pet food manufacturer in Canada, Big Country Raw, as they enter the U.S. market for the first time," said Anil Ganga, vice president of business development, Frontier Distributing Inc. "Their commitment to high-quality, responsibly sourced raw nutrition aligns perfectly with the growing demand we're seeing from independent retailers and pet parents across our region.
"What ultimately made this partnership compelling for us is Big Country Raw's proven track record of manufacturing excellence, strict quality controls, and strong retailer support," continued Ganga. "They've demonstrated an ability to adapt and scale without compromising product integrity. At a time when consumers are increasingly focused on transparency and premium nutrition, this partnership allows us to bring a trusted Canadian leader to the U.S. in a thoughtful, strategic way. We're confident that Big Country Raw will resonate strongly with our retail partners and help drive meaningful growth in the frozen and raw category."
Big Country Pet Co. first connected with U.S. industry contacts at Global Pet Expo in 2024, where it exhibited with Pets Canada.
"We are very energized by the response from both distributors and retailers, which has been humbling to receive," said Geraldine Brouwer, co-founder. "Our strategy is to walk before we run. We walked for two years trying to get organized, and now we're picking up the pace.
"We have a great launch partner with Frontier Distributing, along with a plan to launch with other distribution partners who we've built relationships with along the way," Brouwer added. "We have a proven process in Canada and we intend to replicate our learnings and successes and pivot when we need to."
