PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 19

"We can only
lower the
carbohydrates so
far in an extruded
food so we feel
strongly that by
incorporating
freeze-drying into
our product lines
we can make a
better product for
the animals."
Mitch Felderhoff

explains. "As distributor consolidation took place, pretty
much everybody became part of a national distribution
channel and we became one of 50 dog foods that these
distributors carried, and we were told that we need to
put our food in all of their locations. We didn't have the
marketing budget or available sales staff capacity to support it, so we chose to go a different direction."

The company also pulled out of Chewy last year.
Muenster sells direct to independent pet stores, feed
stores and boutiques and produces private label products for regional feed mills. Its niche is smaller-scale
private label customers with a volume of 20 tons or less.
"We are less efficient, and we realize that, but there is a
need for it," Mitch says.
He expects the private label freeze-dried business to
stretch their reach beyond the area they currently support. In addition to being more cost efficient to transport,
Mitch believes the Muenster freeze-dried brand will help
independent retailers offer that option and successful
stores will eventually transition to private label lines.
An additional business line for Muenster is specifically designed to bring private label to the independent
retailer. My Custom Pet Store produces custom pet
food for individual stores. "We don't want to ship the
Muenster brand all over the country. We can't support
that, but we can make food for a group of stores in a particular location," Mitch says. "The fact that we manufacture all of our own food is a big selling point."
Muenster has designed packaging with a complementary aesthetic and has the ability to print die-cut labels in
house that seamlessly blend into the package design and
customize the product for each private label customer.
The minimum volume for an order is 600 lbs. per SKU.
"My Custom Pet Store is currently the smallest portion of
our co-manufacturing but it's our fastest growing portion,"
Mitch says. "We are just now starting to hit our stride with

www.petfoodprocessing.net | September 2019 | PET FOOD PROCESSING

19


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PET Food Processing - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PET Food Processing - September 2019

PET Food Processing - September 2019
CONTENTS
OFF THE LEASH - JOINT EFFORT
TRENDS - COMPLIANCE retooling
PLANT PROFILE - FREEZING IN TEXAS
FOOD SAFETY - Navigating FSMA inspections
REGULATORY - it's time
FEATURE EVENT - COLD KIBBLE
INGREDIENTS - BOOSTING the appeal
FORMULATION - THE PULSE ON PULSES
UNDERSTANDING DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY
EQUIPMENT - CUTTING them down to size
EQUIPMENT - NO STRINGS ATTACHED
OPERATIONS - improved EFFICIENCIES
PACKAGING - ADEPT AT ADAPTING
BEST IN SHOW
PATENTS TO PONDER
EVENTS
SIT, STAY, READ
AD INDEX
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - PET Food Processing - September 2019
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - PET Food Processing - September 2019
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 2
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 3
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 4
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - CONTENTS
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - OFF THE LEASH - JOINT EFFORT
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 7
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 8
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - TRENDS - COMPLIANCE retooling
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 10
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 11
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 12
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 13
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - PLANT PROFILE - FREEZING IN TEXAS
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 15
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 16
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 17
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 18
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 19
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 20
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 21
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 22
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - FOOD SAFETY - Navigating FSMA inspections
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 24
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 25
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 26
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 27
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 28
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - REGULATORY - it's time
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 30
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 31
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - FEATURE EVENT - COLD KIBBLE
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 33
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - INGREDIENTS - BOOSTING the appeal
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 35
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 36
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 37
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 38
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 39
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 40
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - FORMULATION - THE PULSE ON PULSES
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 42
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 43
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - UNDERSTANDING DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 45
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 46
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - EQUIPMENT - CUTTING them down to size
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 48
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 49
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 50
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 51
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 52
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - EQUIPMENT - NO STRINGS ATTACHED
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 54
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 55
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 56
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - OPERATIONS - improved EFFICIENCIES
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 58
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 59
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 60
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - PACKAGING - ADEPT AT ADAPTING
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 62
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 63
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 64
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 65
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 66
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 67
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - BEST IN SHOW
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 69
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 70
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - PATENTS TO PONDER
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - EVENTS
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - SIT, STAY, READ
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - AD INDEX
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 75
PET Food Processing - September 2019 - 76
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