Calvin Smith, who co-owns Pet Nutrition New Zealand with his wife Jo, has been in the pet food industry for a long time. His passion for improving pet health through high-quality nutrition made him an early advocate of the freeze-drying process, which preserves a high percentage of nutrients that are naturally bioavailable to animals. When we first had the idea to introduce a high-protein, vitamin-and-mineral dense snack that dog owners could take out on the trail to boost their pup’s energy, Pet Nutrition New Zealand was a perfect fit.
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Calvin has long been a proponent of freeze-drying because it aligns with his focus on providing pet foods with higher protein, vitamin and mineral contents to support pet health. The freeze-drying process preserves a higher nutritional value than other pet food processing methods because of its use of very low heat over an extended period of time to extract moisture. Pet NZ has focused on optimizing their freeze-drying process to keep food as nutritionally dense as possible.
The benefits of using freeze drying to preserve nutrients in pet food are only as good as the quality of the food you start with. Mud Bay’s Dog Tales treats manufactured by Pet Nutrition New Zealand use a mix of organ meats instead of muscle protein to further increase their nutritional value. Organ meats are the choice bits that animals naturally eat first in the wild, because of their higher concentration of vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamins A and B. The mix of organs in the Beef and Venison Trail Mixes provide an enticing variety of flavor and texture for your pet.
Pet Nutrition New Zealand sources its meat exclusively from New Zealand. Not only do New Zealand’s high standards of farming mean meat sourced there is grass fed, cleaner and richer in nutrients while remaining free of antibiotics and GMOs, but Calvin’s long-standing personal relationships with farms in the country means Pet NZ has a greater ability to weather supply shortages.