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Who are the top 5 oven-baked pet food co-packers in the United States?
Hello! Thanks for your request for information on the top five oven-baked pet food co-packers in the US. The short version is that, per your definition of top co-packers, and based on your requirements that these companies are currently able to produce oven-baked products, I was able to determine that CJ Foods, Elmira Pet Products, and Crosswinds fit these standards. I also noted that two other companies, Simmons Pet Food and Diamond Pet Company, manufacture dry dog foods for over two dozen different pet food brands, noted to dominate the production market alongside CJ Foods. However, as noted, these didn't meet your standards for quality or oven-baked production capacity.
Sources also noted that there is an overall lack of transparency in the pet food production industry, making it hard to determine what co-packers are utilized by current oven-baked dog food brands, and thus limiting the scope of information available as a whole on production. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
To select and research the top five co-packers, I used pet food industry reports, sources on the pet food supply chain, co-packing/co-manufacturing directories, business reports, and other relevant media sources.
Per your request, that top co-packers were defined by best as fewer recalls, high safety, and high price or high quality brands, rather than revenue, I bypassed contract manufacturers that were ranked as high based on company size or earnings but had consistently poor reputations for safety (Diamond Pet Company for example, which was investigated by the FDA after a massive recall), or low quality standards. I also only included co-packers that offer oven-baked dog food production, and omitted those that only produced wet or extrusion dry food, which as mentioned limited the scope quite a bit.
OVERVIEW
When pet companies choose to produce a product, they can either opt to manufacture independently, or use a contracted manufacturer/co-packer that manufactures to their brand specifications. Additionally, some co-packers exist as hybrid models, in which they both as contract manufacturers for other brands, as well as producing their own private lines.
Thus one thing I noted in my research is that because most co-packers work within a private contract with the hiring company to manufacture pet food as if the hiring company was doing it themselves, to save the company time and money, the brands produced by co-packers are often not made public. In fact, some critics have even noted that the pet food industry as a whole suffers from a lack of production transparency.
Thus please note that while I was able to list some brands produced by each co-packer I describe below, these lists are by no means comprehensive due to many pet food brands keeping their production/outsourcing/supply chain processes private.
CJ FOODS, INC
CJ Foods, Inc has pet food manufacturing facilities in Pawnee City, Nebraska and Bern Kansas USA, and packs for Blue Buffalo, Castor Pollux, Drs Foster & Smith, Rotations, Timberwolf, Nature’s Variety. They are noted to have been associated with some of the more premium and organic pet food brands over their 25 years in business.
I was able to confirm they produce oven-baked products, as Nature’s Variety oven-baked line is manufactured via CJ Foods. Plants are inspected multiple times per year by Federal and state regulatory agencies. CJ Foods also implements an internal quality system to manage food safety risks and ensure safety of products, a program that was certified by Safe Quality Foods (SQF) as well as recognized by Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSI). I found no evidence of recalls.
While they don’t note the minimum run, they do note that they are able to produce a wide range of sizes and containers, from one ounce vertical bags to 2,000 lb bulk super bags. Their price information is also not publicly available, but rather available via direct contact with their sales team.
ELMIRA PET PRODUCTS LTD
Elmira Pet is a co-packing company that produces for a range of grocery and pet specialty brands, and notes a diverse customer base that includes niche pet food markets. They have been in business for 30 years and note their ability to produce holistic, premium, mid-range, price sensitive, and therapeutic formulations. Brands they carry include Happy Paws, Happy Tails, K9 Premium, Nutram, Sigma 7, and Petcurean’s dry food lines.
I was able to confirm they produce oven-baked via their partnership with Petcurean, that carries oven-baked products as part of their premium dry food line. They also have stringent health, safety and quality standards, which includes custom value testing practices, including a HACCP Food safety program. Additionally I was unable to find any records of recalls for the brands they are publicly associated with producing.
CROSSWIND
Crosswind was noted to be the largest pet food contract manufacturer/ co-packer in North America, and while their brands are not listed, they have a wide range of production capacities, which include the ability to produce oven-baked items. The company has over 20 years of experience and produces their industry knowledge to have some of the broadest abilities to produce in the industry. They produce dog food, cat food, and foods for other animals including reptiles and zoo foods. They currently have over 130,000 square feet committed to supporting their pet food manufacturing partnerships.
The company has a commitment to health, safety, and quality, and because they also manufacture human foods, likely higher standards than many pet food producers. They also note they have documented cleaning and sanitation procedures, quality control and Food Safety programs. I found no evidence of recalls or quality standard issues with their pet food production. Prices and production volumes are not listed on the website, but instead via email.
Again, beyond these three co-packers, I was unable to find any contract manufacturers companies produce oven-baked, as most focused on the far more common extrusion type of dry food, or had a history of recall or food safety criticisms. I also excluded companies Simmons and Diamond per your previous request, both of whom are large players in co-packing services, and produce a majority of dry pet foods in the US.
So in summary, the top co-packers for oven-baked pet food in the United States were CJ Foods, Elmira Pet Products, and Crosswind. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!