Primal Pet Group has a lot going on these days. Comprised primarily of two different business units, Primal Pet Foods and Himalayan Pet Supply, the company has built a name for itself in two main segments of the pet food world: Frozen and freeze-dried raw pet food, and pet chews with a unique ingredient twist.
“Primal Pet Foods, starting in 2001, was founded by Matt Koss, who was, I believe, a trained chef,” says Jon Balousek, CEO of Primal Pet Group. “He had a dog at the time, Luna, and Luna was getting a little bit older (displaying early signs of renal failure). On the advice of a holistic veterinarian he started saying, ‘Hey, I'm going to start feeding my dog with some cooked food, and I'm going to make it home.’ So he started making his own food, blending raw ingredients, including raw protein, and he noticed the benefits of that diet in terms of longevity and energy level and [other] things, and so really became an advocate. Then, he started giving product to friends. It’s sort of the classic American entrepreneur story: He started giving products to friends, then other friends started asking him about it. He eventually started thinking, ‘Maybe I can sell this,’ and went to some American Kennel Club-type local events and set up a little booth and started offering the product. I believe his first sale was to a pet store in the San Francisco, California area — which is where Matt's from — and it just took off from there.”
