If it ain't broke...

August 02, 2020

If it ain't broke...

Mark Twain said continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. I’m not sure there’s such a thing as THE perfect dog meal, but an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement is how we become all round better humans for our already awesome dogs, right?!

So what inspired the upcoming rollout of our refreshed ready-to-serve recipes? Well, there’s four key areas of inspo:

1. Our beloved market, esp when it comes to supps

Dog food land has changed a lot even since our 2016 kick off. Client awareness, knowledge and expectations have changed, and naturally we’ve been watching like the dog food nerds we’re proud to be.

We’ve gradually reviewed a range of the natural supplements we see being repeatedly added to all kinds of bowls, and adopted those we feel can genuinely enhance our offering - making sure we stick to maintenance rather than medicinal doses, and without doubling up similar-purpose supps for the sake of it. Because it’s not about show, but functionality.

2. Our appetite for variety, esp when it comes to greens

We produce up to 1000 meals a week, so we know when it comes to wanting more, we’re gonna hit that point before all of you! And we encourage clients to eat as widely as possible across our range.

So we’ve diversified the greens offered in each of our meals based on ingredients now tried and tested via our meal mixes. We’re mindful of tweaking things gently for the numerous sensitive tummies we love servicing, so you’ll find your pups gaining nutritional variety from one new green in each of our four meals.

3. Our growing purchasing power, esp when it comes to organs and bone

We’re fortunate to have worked with suppliers who respected our approach from the start, and who’ve been willing to grow with us – whether that involves combining custom cuts or mincing to order for optimal freshness. So don’t worry, our base proteins will stay the same – that’s beef, chicken and turkey – but we’re gently introducing new organs to help broaden nutritional range.

And turkey is our most popular primary protein of course, but the supply of all-important organs and bone is often inconsistent. This has led us to challenge our existing and new suppliers to find reduced allergen alternatives, without turning to the legume proteins substitutes relied so heavily upon by the commercial pet food industry.

4. Our commitment to continuous improvement, esp when it comes to labelling

As a business who essentially sells peace of mind, this has been a key investment. So while we’ve never subscribed to Australia’s totally voluntary and truly baseline pet food industry standards, we’ve upped the ante on our longtime work with suburban pup’s consulting nutritionist, and undertaken micronutrient analysis of each refreshed meal with reference to both NRC and AAFCO standards of America - while remaining true to our promise of fresh, human-grade ingredients, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives ever.

We’ve also met changes to broader food labelling regulations, and included a few more details you ask us about regularly. Yep, we’re always listening :)

Oh, there’s one more BIG inspo:

5. Our own Chief and Co-Chief Tasters, esp when it comes to proteins 

Semi-recently our mobile vet suggested limiting Vin’s protein types for a fixed period, to address a specific condition. Without beef and chicken on the menu, he was facing reduced allergen turkey. And more turkey. And we know premium human-grade protein does SO much of the heavy lifting when it comes to necessary nutrients, so we went looking further afield.

Of course we’d already added make-your-own meal mixes to our product range a year or so ago, for clients keen to meal prep with alternative proteins. But it turned out these weren’t enough convenience for the tops and tails of our busy days either…so, we’ve added to our production capacity lately, and have a BRAND NEW READY-TO-SERVE MEAL FLAVOUR in the pipeline before our birthday. You heard it here first!





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