My business partner Tonya and I had the good fortune of being invited to tour the raw facility of Nature's Variety this week in Lincoln, NE. I feed raw to most of my dogs and we were anxious to see where the food was being manufactured as well as meet those who are responsible for making my pets' and our customers' pets' food. Mouthfuls was part of a very small group of retailers chosen from throughout the country and we were warmly greeted at their first-ever organized tour by the whole team at Nature's Variety including the CEO - Reed Howlett, CFO -Aaron Grimm and Chairman - Bob Milligan.
Dr. Doug Kneuven, D.V.M., a passionate raw-food advocate and author of two holistic pet books, spoke with us at length about pet nutrition. We especially appreciated his tips on transitioning cats to raw food! (Be sure to ask us for help on this as we've had great success with lots of kitties.) Dr. Doug (as he is known by everyone at Nature's Variety) enlightened us on his clinical nutrition training at his vet school - a one hour course. No wonder vets aren't usually as helpful as we'd like them to be when it comes to dog and cat nutrition!
The tour of their raw facility and distribution facility was the highlight of our trip. We pictured a large factory prior to our arrival and instead were pleasantly surprised to discover an extremely clean, odor-free, compact facility - complete with dogs greeting us in the office with their tails wagging. The facility houses a lab used for testing surfaces and ingredients for bacterial contaminants as well as individual customer complaints on particular batches. The production room itself was freezing (as you'd imagine and hope!) and clean enough to eat off the chilly floor. We were particularly impressed with the care and individual attention they took to keep the ingredients as well as the final product at the perfect temperature. As you're separating those frozen patties on your kitchen counter next time, keep in mind that those papers are placed individually by real people and not machines!
We were particularly impressed with the openness and honesty of all the Nature's Variety team, especially Mary Helen Carty - their Western Regional Sales Manager. There was not a question we asked that she couldn't/wouldn't answer and that is impressive and incredibly rare. Their customer service "staff" consists of one delightful woman who actually answers the phone and passionately researches questions and concerns with her dog at her feet.
Essentially, we left Omaha feeling secure in our choice to highly recommend Nature's Variety Raw to our customers and to feed it to our own pets. Raw really is the healthiest way to feed most dogs and cats and their easy-to-use, complete diets are the most convenient way we've found to feed our four-legged babies. If you are curious about feeding raw but have questions, definitely stop into our store to pick our brains and ask for a sample. We love to help our customers transition to healthier diets and have years of experience feeding raw to our own animals. We're even hoping to help Aaron Grimm and his family learn how to feed this to his darling dog someday - right Aaron?
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