There's nothing saying you should find your dog's food palatable, not to mention appetizing.
But ask yourself if you'd want to eat the ingredients contained therein, and that's another question. The same way we check the backs of food containers at the grocery store, attention is being paid to what's in lots of big-name and trusted dog brands' food. And increasingly, it's not passing the sniff test of many a discerning pet owner.
Emily Lagasse experience this firsthand after returning from a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in South Africa with her dog Fenway. There, he ate what she ate – local, fresh ingredients prepared daily. Back stateside, though, and on a diet of more traditional dog food, Fenway became so ill Lagasse at one point feared she'd lose him.
So she learned to cook him a homemade diet consisting of the protein, vitamins, fat and fiber he needed to be healthy. Soon, she started thinking bigger. Now it's a full-blown business in FedWell, which she currently operates out of her parents' house in Sudbury.
"After some time I realized there was an opportunity because there was lot of people facing the same challenges," Lagasse, a Babson College grad, told me. "It took me about a year to figure out how to scale up what I'd been making in a crockpot."
There have been setbacks, most notably her first manufacturer being acquired and deciding FedWell didn't fit their portfolio. That was directly in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign in October 2014, which generated more than $20,000 – another setback; she's just now able to fulfill those orders through her new supplier in Oklahoma.
But the Kickstarter backers were willing to wait, and other fans have joined the ranks since, largely due to Lagasse's transparency about what goes into her pet food and how it's made.
FedWell currently offers lamb and chicken dog food in several sizes, but will expand to cat food and a cricket-based dog food within six months if all goes according to plan. "In the health food world, crickets have become a really interesting alternative protein source," said Lagasse.
Look at the chicken dog food, and the appeal starts to speak for itself. Here are the ingredients, in full:
Chicken, Lentils, Chickpeas, Sweet Potato, Flax, Salmon, Ground Crab Shell, Ground Pumpkin Seed, Coconut Oil, Salt, Kelp, Spinach, Broccoli, Carrot, Beet, Tomato, Shitake Mushroom, Apple, Blueberry, Cranberry, Cherry, Orange, Strawberry, Rosemary Extract
That's not pet food, that's human food made for pets.
And that's a key distinction. FedWell food is oven baked at low temperatures to maintain its nutritional value and flavor, an innovation that's not widespread in the industry. A 25-pound bag of FedWell's oven baked chicken kibble will run you $92.99; on Amazon, you can get a 24-pound bag of grain-free chicken and egg formula from Purina for $47.99. Take a second to compare the ingredients lists, though.
"There are no secrets about what we're doing or why," said Lagasse. "Think of your own diet: The less processed foods, the better you're going to feel."
There was a time when her parents' house was the de facto warehouse, home to 2,400 pounds of food ready to ship. Now that inventory is up around 35,000 pounds, and has been outsourced to a proper storage facility in Westborough.
The market is competitive in terms of going against the major brands, but there's a hole in the local market for companies like FedWell, Lagasse said. Currently, her products are sold online and in eight locations throughout Massachusetts, a number she plans to add to going forward. Also on the growth plan: Expanding to similar markets as Boston, like Seattle, Portland, Denver, LA, DC and NY.
Right now, Lagasse is focused on one question: What's getting people to switch to FedWell and stay on it?
In a nutshell, that means getting the word out. Lagasse will appear on an episode of PBS's "StartUp," airing locally on Nov. 22, which ought to help.
The product is something she believes strongly in, and she's got Fenway as proof. "Everything listed on my ingredients label is something you'd consider to be a real food," she said.
Images via Beth Oram Photography
