Canidae Pet Food Introduces Innovative, Environmentally Friendly Kibble Refill Stations in Exclusive Partnership with Petco

To help curb reliance on single-use plastics and encourage sustainable business practices for pet food, Canidae™, the premium pet food company, today announced the nationwide rollout of Canidae’s first-of-its-kind environmentally-friendly Kibble Refill Stations at participating Petco pet care centers across the country.

The Kibble Refill Stations operate similarly to bulk gravity-feed coffee bean or nuts systems, combined with a reusable zipper bag that eliminates the need for single-use reinforced bags, more than 99 percent of which are disposed of in a landfill rather than recycled, according to the Pet Sustainability Coalition. Following a successful pilot at Petco locations in Southern California, Canidae and Petco expect to expand the kibble refill technology to 100 Petco pet care centers in 2022.

Pet parents can expect to save up to 45 percent per pound on their purchases, as opposed to the premium price generally associated with environmentally-friendly offerings. For example, four pounds of Canidae Pure kibble from a Kibble Refill Station would save a consumer more than $9 per bag as opposed to a regular, pre-packaged 4-pound bag. The Stations feature two recipes:

• Pure Real Salmon & Sweet Potato– a grain-free, limited ingredient diet and Canidae’s most popular premium flavor
• Sustain Premium Recipe with Cage-Free Chicken– an overall sustainable option with wholesome grains

“The pet food industry has long lagged behind the rest of the food and CPG industries when it comes to sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices,” said Bret Furio, Chief Executive Officer of Canidae. “At Canidae, we’ve set a goal for ourselves to eliminate more than 80 percent of our plastic packaging in the next eight years, in hopes that the rest of the industry follows suit. We know Petco shares a passion for wellness and sustainability for pets and pet owners alike, so this partnership is a great first step in our journey to deliver Goodness to pets, people and the planet.”

The Pet Sustainability Coalition estimates that 300 million pounds of plastic pet food and treat bags are generated in the United States each year. Canidae expects to eliminate the need for 50,000 dog food bags in the first year of this program, with plans to expand its reach across the country through 2023 and beyond. As part of the system’s development, Canidae also rethought the way bulk kibble is distributed to stores, moving to fully recyclable bulk bags in addition to the reusable zippered bags that consumers will use to take the kibble home. The elimination of single-use bags also allows Canidae to mitigate supply chain constraints related to packaging development.

“As a health and wellness company, all of us at Petco are acutely aware of our collective impact on our planet’s natural resources and we’re committed to driving positive change across our business, industry and the world at large,” said Shari White, Petco Senior Vice President of Merchandising. “We’re dedicated to offering pets and pet parents more products made with sustainable ingredients and materials, and we are incredibly proud of this exclusive partnership with Canidae to bring their innovative Kibble Refill Station technology to Petco customers.”

The Kibble Refill Station—patent pending for utility and design—is a natural extension of existing Canidae initiatives such as expanding their reliance on regeneratively-farmed ingredients through the company’s farming co-op efforts, using verified sustainable proteins, exploring alternative means of transport like rail as opposed to interstate trucking and rethinking the company’s carbon footprint overall as it pertains to food production, refinement and transportation.

But Canidae’s Cycle of Goodness goes beyond sustainably produced, nutritionally dense food for dogs and cats to promote Goodness for pets, people and the planet. In addition to supporting local producers and cutting down on energy use and emissions, Canidae is dedicated to nurturing the human/pet connection in other ways. For more information, click here. To find a Petco location near you, visit Petco.