OUR STORY

Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals was founded in 2007, when a group of independent pet store owners met to discuss what was happening in the pet food industry. They were concerned that many premium pet food brands were being acquired by large corporations or investment groups, and when control of these companies passed from the founders, often the quality of the product declined while prices went up. In many cases, the pressure for increased profits led to taking short-cuts with ingredients and processing as well as to an increase in cost.

To provide their customers with a product of the quality they demanded, these small business owners, who had devoted their lives to selecting the highest quality products for pets, pooled their funds to start Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals–the independent retailer owned pet food.

Today, Grandma Mae’s is still controlled by independent business owners who care about your pets as much as you do. If you haven’t heard of us yet, it is because as a small, privately-owned company, we put our profits into providing your pets with the highest quality ingredients and processing, and not into advertising or huge sales forces traveling the country. At Grandma Mae’s, what’s best for pets comes before everything else.

Tish, New Hampshire

“We switched Molly to your grain-free and she has never been healthier on a Dog food. We have tried everything and this grain free is by far the best. Thank you for providing a food so well made.”

Erika, NJ

I am so happy I found your company! I have a 4 year old German Shepherd who has a severe chicken allergy and can’t eat potatoes.  So far, he is doing great on your food and he loves the taste. I think it’s amazing that your company gives dog food to active military families. My husband and my father are both combat veterans so I like to support companies that support the troops. Your food is great and your company is doing something amazing, Trigger and I will continue to be customers for the rest of his life.

Claire, Arizona

My kittens love Country Naturals! I like that it can help prevent common kitty health problems.

Rebecca G, Connecticut

Our Golden was overweight but your low-fat dog food brought her down to a “perfect”, healthy weight (said the vet). Now we feed it to her because she likes it so much.

Ashley, New York

My dog Brindle loves her dog food. Every time I bring out the yellow Country Natural’s food for puppies she goes CRAZY!!!! She runs to her food bowl at full speed.

Kelli, Tennessee

When we first got our puppy, we could not find a food that agreed with him. Our Golden Doodle has now been eating Grandma Mae’s for 5 years and has never had a single health issue. Thank you for keeping your ingredients simple, pure, and healthy for our beloved pets.

Jo Anne, Delaware

We have a German shepherd with a sensitive belly. I tried your Grain Free Whitefish and immediately Riley is showing a huge difference! Thank you!

Carolyn, Oklahoma

Twinkle (American Cocker Spaniel) had grey discharge from her eyes and itching. After half a bag of Country Naturals, she was all better! Also, the flat kibble makes it easy for her delicate throat.

WHY GRANDMA MAE'S IS BETTER

QUALITY INGREDIENTS

A pet food is only as good as its ingredients, and ingredients with the same name can be very different from one another. For example, one chicken meal could be 60% protein and another could be 70% protein. While many brands shop around for what is available at the cheapest price at the time they are producing, Grandma Mae’s buys the highest quality ingredients, available only in small quantities, and only on long-term contracts.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

The protein in our foods is over 70% from animal sources. We also supplement to high levels of Methionine, the key building block of Taurine, to prevent Taurine deficiency. Our foods contain no by-products, artificial colorants, flavors, or preservatives, no corn, soy, wheat, gluten, dairy, or ethoxyquin, and there are never any growth hormones or antibiotics loading in our ingredients.

IT’S NOT EASY TO PLEASE PICKY EUROPEANS

Our facilities are also among the most highly certified in the USA, with certifications most large-corporate facilities don’t have. They are EU (European Union) certified, which means all meat must come from animals that pass an additional inspection proving the animal had no illness and thus are human grade. It also means that all our meats must have the spinal column, nervous system and brain removed, so Mad Cow and other diseases cannot be transmitted. Many other premium foods do not meet these standards.

COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENT

At Grandma Mae’s we care about the environment too, which is why we are reclaiming the carbon emitted by transporting our products by partnering with Clearloop, a carbon solutions platform, to support the development of new solar projects. In Panola County, MS, we are supporting Clearloop’s 6.6-megawatt solar project which will prevent more than 393 million pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere and generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 1,000 homes annually.

Our bags also boast the Susta-Pak™ logo, which represents our trademarked program of sustainability efforts. Currently this includes our partnership with Clearloop as well as the conversion, over time, to recyclable packaging materials.

SLOW COOKING IS BEST

Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals’ kibble is made with a unique low-temperature, slow-cooking process. This process retains higher levels of proteins, vitamins and minerals than the high-temperature fast-cook processes used by large corporate brands. Our equipment has been modified to achieve unusually high standards for nutrition and digestibility, with the percentage of ingredients fully cooked among the highest in the industry. This means that most dogs and cats will get more nutrition from less food and their stools will be smaller.

STRICTEST LEVEL OF TESTING

We are committed to providing the freshest and safest pet foods available anywhere. As a small independent company, we have stricter quality controls and shorter lead times to ensure that the food you give your pets is of the highest quality. Our technicians perform extra tests on all ingredients when they arrive at our facility. These include sampling for protein and fat content, pH samples, and tests of off-gassing which predict whether food will spoil in the future.

Our production facilities are a huge asset. The facility where our kibble is made in upstate New York is run by a family that has been making pet food over three generations. They are well-known in the industry for sending back ingredients that fail our tests, so the suppliers send us only the best. Once completed, every batch of food is tested to be salmonella free and Country Naturals has never had a recall.

A HIGH LEVEL OF EXPERTISE

Grandma Mae’s employs two consultants who are among the most experienced and distinguished pet nutritionists in the world: Dr. David Dzanis and Serge Boutet.  Dr. Dzanis has a DVM from Purdue and a PhD in Veterinary nutrition from Cornell, and is a Diplomate and past chair of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Serge Boutet is the previous manager of pet foods and nutrition for J.E. Mondou Ltee and Hagen Pet Foods.  Serge Boutet is instrumental in formulating our foods, with Dr. Dzanis reviewing them before the formulas are finalized.