PET Food Processing - March 2022 - 16

PROCESSOR PROFILE
Left: The in-house lab
at Northwest Naturals
matches the testing labs
used by the USDA meatprocessing
facilities
across the country.
Bottom: The Northwest
Naturals turkey recipe
for dogs is offered in
frozen nuggets, bulk
dinner bars and chubs,
as well as freeze-dried
nuggets.
shelf stable, but Morasch said the better product for the
pets' overall health is the raw frozen due to the moisture
in the products. However, the distribution and the logistics
challenges for frozen products are serious and compounded
in today's markets, making freeze-dried products
an important component in the retail marketplace.
Continually investing
Northwest Naturals products are manufactured out of
165,000 square feet of processing space divided between
two buildings that sit five miles apart in Portland. One
building is 90,000 square feet and the other is approximately
75,000 square feet.
The company runs two shifts of production under
USDA as well as two shifts of production for pet food.
As demand for products has continued to grow, the
company has added more processing equipment, packaging
machinery and a second HPP machine.
" We have continued to invest in our operations to
make our people and processes more complete
so we can reliably meet the needs of our
Northwest Naturals' customers, as well
as our co-manufacturing customers, "
Morasch said.
Northwest Naturals products are
currently sold across the United
States and in Canada, as well as in
Hong Kong, Singapore and South
Korea. The company's distribution
is focused on the independent pet
retail market.
At a time when other manufacturers
serving the independent pet retail market
are experiencing significant inventory
challenges and attributing that to a " perfect
storm " of unprecedented demand, raw ingredient delays,
labor shortages in the supply chain, and transportation
challenges, Northwest Naturals has been maintaining
a 95% to 97% fill rate on orders to their customers.
" In this environment with the logistics challenges, we
are knocking it out of the park, " Morasch said. " When a
16 PET FOOD PROCESSING | March 2022 | www.petfoodprocessing.net
Northwest Naturals' nuggets are blended, formed and individually
quick frozen.
Northwest Naturals salesperson talks to a distributor or
retail customer, they can be assured that the customer
will get the order they requested. "
A challenge for raw frozen product is having enough
freezer capacity in the supply chain, but the company reports
its distribution partners are aggressively investing
in more freezer capacity.
" I have a distributor right now who is adding a
60,000-square-foot freezer because he is growing so
much, " Snell said. " That gives you an idea of how fast
that category is growing. We have multiple stores that
are taking out kibble shelves to add more freezers. We
have multiple stores that have what they call a 'raw room'
which is one big room full of multiple brands of freezers.
Freezer space is always an issue, but it is being worked
on from all sides, from the distributor to the retailer
down to the consumer. "
Recent Northwest Naturals product additions have
included new 28-oz bags of freeze-dried products and a
new beef and trout recipe for both dogs and cats offered
in raw frozen and freeze-dried formats. The company
has also added a unique two-way display box that can be
presented vertically or horizontally with labeling in both
directions. Coming out this spring, Northwest Naturals
will introduce new functional powders in three different
two-ingredient recipes.
Good stewards
Equally as important as meeting its customers' needs,
Northwest Naturals is also committed to being good stewards
of the environment. Located in one of the most naturally
beautiful parts of the United States, the company is
reminded of the importance of using green, environmentally
friendly process controls. Its efforts in support of the
environment include accreditation for sustainable business
operations by the Pet Sustainability Coalition, being
a Green Fleet Pioneer in Oregon's Clean Fuels Program,
a comprehensive recycling program, and an energy
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