Premium, natural and pure, Natures Menu is leaving its print on the pet food industry 

In an industry where the consumer is king, Natures Menu measures customer satisfaction with three things: empty bowls, wet noses and waggy tails. Founded in 1981 in Norfolk, England, Natures Menu is a premium pet food brand leading the raw food revolution. A significant contributor to the commercialization of raw feeding, since its foundation, Natures Menu has experienced remarkable growth and success.  

Today, Natures Menu is a pet food powerhouse and remains renowned for its unparalleled quality, keeping raw feeding at its core. Crafted by its in-house veterinarian experts, the brand offers a comprehensive range of raw, wet, dry and frozen food, as well as tasty treats and snacks, for cats and dogs across the nation. To learn more about how Natures Menu continues to provide the very best for our furry friends, Food Chain sat down with Richard Franklin, General Manager, and Guillermo Munoz, Commercial Director, who gave insight into the company’s approach to quality control and its priorities for the future.  

Richard begins our conversation by explaining why quality control is so fundamental to the company’s ethos and shares some of the measures it has in place to maintain its high standards.  

“Quality is hugely important in our products. What you put in is what you get out; the quality of the product must be perfect because, if it’s not, our customers will let us know, and quite rightly,” Richard affirms. “It’s not just about the raw materials themselves, but also the way that they’re processed. In our factory, we have a dedicated hygiene team and, when we give tours, we love to show people that the ingredients are real, raw materials that they’d even eat themselves. We’re audited by several bodies who also audit human food grade factories, and they’ll find that we’re far cleaner than most human food facilities. We also audit ourselves internally to highlight and deal with any issues, and we have our own dedicated auditing team who visit our suppliers’ factories and ensure they’re compliant with what we want.  

“We’ve also invested a huge amount of money to have our own laboratory on site, so that we can constantly test and assess everything we do. Every load of raw material that comes in is quality checked, and our colleagues are empowered to reject the material if they’re not happy with the quality.”  

This passion to provide a perfect product is just one of the reasons why Natures Menu has garnered such a respectable reputation. Meticulous quality control is implemented at every single stage of the production process, from the initial research and development of the product to responding to customer feedback post-sale.  

“Our approach is very much centered around knowing that we are the best but wanting to be better. Our research is focused on making the best, better,” Richard continues. “Of course, we want to keep growing with the market, but we don’t want to compromise on our values and our quality. We test all new recipes on site in our own dedicated testing facility with our consumers and look out for empty bowls and waggy tails!”  

Product innovation 

Going from strength to strength, Natures Menu is pleased to introduce its latest innovation: freeze-dried raw food. An emerging trend in the pet food market, freeze-dried food offers a plethora of benefits, including easier storage, a longer shelf life, and, in Natures Menu’s case, retention of the great, nutritional value loved by pets and owners alike. 

“Raw freeze-dried, by definition, is the fastest growing category across the UK because it’s a great blend. It’s raw, natural, offers more nutrition and taste, and is very convenient because you don’t need a freezer to store it,” Guillermo explains. “It’s in our very ethos that, because we lead the way in raw pet food, we need to be innovative. We need to be trendsetting. The market is crowded with brands and private labels that follow us, so we have the responsibility to lead, and we’re very lucky to have sister companies in Europe and the US to help us remain ahead of the curve in terms of global trends.  

“We have a very strong marketing and innovation team who, coupled with our R&D team, always help us make the best products. Even though we are part of a multinational group to some degree, we still operate similarly to a start-up; we are constantly testing and learning to improve our portfolios.”  

As well as research and development, sustainability is incredibly important to Natures Menu, and is one of the key pillars of, not merely its production processes, but internal operations company-wide.  

“Investing in our sustainability journey is one of our main focuses,” Richard says. “Our water treatment plant has been an ongoing project for a few years and is now fully operational. The impact has been amazing; we’ve reduced our water usage by 80 percent, and we have other local companies asking us how they can do the same.  

 “We’ve also introduced larger, electric vehicles into our fleet, meaning we have less vehicles on the road but are still able to deliver the same amount with a reduced carbon footprint. We’ve invested in a new production line, which is all based around energy efficiency, as well as a comprehensive energy and water usage system. Our ultimate aim is to install a wind turbine here which, along with our solar panels, would make us completely self-sufficient in our energy needs. We’ve even created the role of Environmental Manager, who will always bring more projects to the table.”  

Premium pet food portfolio 

Embracing excellence in every bite, Natures Menu is set to continue pleasing people and pooches for many more years to come. Building on its past legacies, the brand will continue to prove the benefits of raw feeding as it extends its expertise to new horizons, expanding its portfolio to even more products for even more pets.  

“Our future is going to be focused around two things: transformation and growth. Our reviewed strategic plan intends to move from a mono-pet, mono-technology company to a multi-pet, multi-technology company,” Guillermo shares. “Historically, we’ve been a dog food company focused on raw frozen, with very few cat products available, but we’re now heading towards a future where we can provide for other pets and offer a wider portfolio,” Guillermo says. “We’ve produced lots of different brands, but our big bet now is to focus only on the Natures Menu brand. Our brand has more than 50 percent awareness and by expanding into these other technologies, we can reach more homes and more pets. We intend to leverage that strong brand and proposition, as well as the outstanding route to market that we have.  

“We picture Natures Menu to keep a few fundamental elements, but we also expect change. The things we intend to keep belong to our very ethos. We’ll stay committed to leading the natural premium pet food market in the UK, with a special focus on independent trade. We’ll maintain the highest quality standards and health and safety levels, with sustainability in mind. In five years’ time, we expect to be twice as big as we are now, with an innovative and diversified portfolio under one single brand: Natures Menu.”   

www.naturesmenu.co.uk