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The company has also committed itself to using only sustainably raised food. In researching the Kentucky location, the company made sure that all necessary ingredients could be grown or raised nearby. That’s because all ingredients are sourced locally. One distinctive feature of Champion is its commitment to using locally raised ingredients.Ī company spokesperson says the pet food produced in Auburn, Kentucky, will taste different from the pet food made in Alberta. Committed to Locally and Sustainably Raised Ingredients Exporting grew from distribution to 45 countries to 80 countries. facility in Kentucky, then another in Parkland County, Alberta. To facilitate its stellar growth, the company built a U.S. Starting the decade with 92 employees, the company grew to employ 550. Even so, according to Champion Petfoods sales and marketing manager Peter Muhlenfeld in 2006, “we see Orijen as our future.”įrom 2010 to 2017, Champion Petfoods saw unprecedented expansion.

While it seems obvious that the food should match the animal, the science is more complex, the spokesperson said.Īround the time of the Orijen launch, existing brand Acana was already being shipped from Canada to dozens of countries around the world.

To explain the term, a spokesperson pointed to the example of a cow that chews sideways. In conjunction with the 2005 launch of Orijen, Champion also trademarked the expression “biologically appropriate,” which means the food matches the specific breed of animal. In 2005, Champion Petfoods launched the Orijen brand.Īccording to the parent company’s CEO at the time, Frank Burdzy, Orijen stands for “back to the beginning to nourish as nature intended.” Brudzy claimed that Orijen has disrupted the pet food industry with its higher-than-typical meat content. His obituary noted that “throughout his successes, Reinhard’s approach of treating people honestly and respectfully never wavered.” The Orijen Brand Disrupts the Industry Reinhard Muhlenfeld, founder of Champion Petfoods, died in 2018 at age 86. The company was producing premium brands Acana and Canutra, as well as more budget-minded brands like Brown Bag, Yukon Gold 30/20 Mushers Mix, Champs Choice Deluxe and Masterfeeds Sportsman dog foods, and Kitty Krunch cat food. Muhlenfeld made the unusual decision to manufacture pet food that meets European standards from the start, which greased the way for exporting Champion Feed Services pet food to 90 countries, beginning in the 1990s.įinally, in 2001, Champion Petfoods was spun off from the feed mill as an independent company. In 1985, as hog feed demand decreased, the company branched into pet foods. He was known for hiring recent immigrants to Canada for helping out employees with his own money and for saying, “If you have money, you share it.” Muhlenfeld’s excellent treatment of his employees has sometimes been called the key to the company’s early success. His company came to be a “value-added agri-processing operation,” according to one newspaper account.īack then, he had just a handful of employees. Muhlenfeld approached local farmers and businesspeople directly to find buyers for his products. started in a small factory in Barrhead, Alberta, in 1975. With the thought that local is better, he set out on a quest to become the first animal feed producer in his home province of Alberta.Ĭhampion Feed Services Ltd. Reinhard Muhlenfeld was a German-born Canadian who succeeded in launching several successful businesses before entering the animal feed industry.Īn engineer by trade, Muhlenfeld noticed that animal feed was being imported into Canada from the United States. Headquarters: 301, 1103 95 Street SW, Edmonton, AB T6CX 0P8, CanadaĬontact info: 1-87, email, website Orijen History Where to buy: Latest deals on Orijen dog or cat food Brand line includes: Orijen Original, Orijen Six Fish, Orijen Regional Red, Orijen Tundra, Orijen Fit & Trim, Orijen Senior, Orijen Freeze-Dried, Orijen Cat & Kitten, Orijen Dog Treats, Orijen Cat Treats