K9 Natural is one of only a handful of manufacturers who are funding research to really help us understand the benefits of high meat diets. For more than 5 years, K9 Natural has funded the research of Animal Nutritionist Mark Roberts at Massey University in New Zealand. He’s studied how high meat high fat diets help keep dogs and cats healthier. Mark recently visited us at the Mud Bay Home Office to share his findings that dogs not only prefer a high meat high-fat diet but that they naturally self-regulate their intake on high meat diets better than diets with lower meat and fat. His studies have also begun to help us understand the positive metabolic changes high meat diets can have.
Partner Stats
Manufacturers
Making Food in Operations Based in New Zealand
It is hard to overstate just how different New Zealand’s agricultural system is. Because of the mild climate and long growing season, New Zealand livestock are almost exclusively pasture raised. Pasture raising these animals is the foundation for the entire New Zealand food production chain. New Zealand’s ability to produce steroid-free, antibiotic-free, humanely raised meat is all a direct result of allowing animals to live in the best possible environment right up to the time they are processed. Imagine an entire agricultural economy based on an all-natural “Farm to Table” concept. During our time in New Zealand, in 2018, we got to see every step in the processes; touring farms, processing plants, and manufacturing facilities. Our time in New Zealand has redefined what we see as the gold standard in both human and pet food production.
Manufactures Foods with Only New Zealand Ingredients
High-quality meat is important, but to make a pet food diet complete and balanced requires a carefully sourced blend of many ingredients. Each ingredient provides important nutritional components specific to dogs or cats. It can often be hard to find all of the needed ingredients within one country so many pet food manufacturers are forced to source products outside of their own country. But thanks to New Zealand’s incredible diversity of geography and climate, K9 Natural is able to source all of their ingredients right in their own back yard, often directly from the grower or producer.
Great production Partners
K9 Naturals has built amazing partnerships with some of New Zealand’s best human food manufacturing companies. K9 manages a majority of all of the sourcing and formulation for all of their products and does the pre-production mixing and formulating on most of their formulas. This attention to every aspect of sourcing allows them to have great control over what is going into their foods. The final finished production of their freeze-dried and canned products is done by their co-packing partners who are all human certified.