New Products

2018 Freeze Dried & Frozen Raw Product Updates

Nicole Groshek | February 8, 2018 | 4 minute read

The following product updates are for our Freeze Dried Patties and Morsels, Meal Mixers and Frozen product lines!

Refreshed packaging graphics

We have refreshed the look of our packaging bringing a cleaner design while keeping the same whimsical spirit our customers have known us for. This packaging update is on our freeze dried and meal mixers. It is in the process of being rolled out on our frozen lines as well. Dog food remains in primarily red bags and cat food remains in primarily purple bags.

Improved opening and closure system

We’ve improved the opening system on our freeze dried patties and morsels and meal mixer bags. The opening system remains the same on our frozen products. To open our new bags look for the bone shaped pull tag (where it says “Easy Open” on the front of the bag) and pull it across the front of the bag. To seal the bag simply press the front and back together along the lines of the seal until the seal is locked in place.

This opening system means you no longer need to rip or cut with scissors along the top of bag in order to open the bag. We believe this creates an easier way to open and close our bags insuring your food stays as fresh as possible.

Ingredient updates

Starting January 1, 2018 AAFCO, the governing body of pet food, has revised its guidelines for pet food manufacturers. In order to be responsible and compliant we have made a few enhancements to our recipes. We have been sure to maintain what makes our products special: great taste, great nutrition and unmatched quality. In total our industry leading levels of meat, organs and bones is unchanged and the order of primary ingredients remains consistent. We have added a few minor quality ingredients:
• Dandelion Greens: a great natural source of essential vitamins and minerals
• Fenugreek Seed: a natural source of beneficial nutrients
• Probiotics: we’ve added bacillus coagulans which aids in digestive health
• Kelp: packed with vitamins, minerals and amino acids

We have also updated our feeding guidelines to best align with new AAFCO guidelines and our enhanced recipes. Feeding guidelines are truly just guidelines. Much depends on the age, activity level and overall genetics of your dog. You will notice we have increased our daily feeding guidelines, these changes more accurately reflect new recipes as well assumes a slightly more active dog which we think is most representative of our consumer. If your dog is maintaining the proper weight and health at the daily feeding level you are currently feeding you do not need to adjust the dog’s diet.

Virtually all our protein and fat levels on our diets are unchanged, except for freeze dried Lamb, Duck and Salmon & Cod. Slight changes were required to conform to the new AAFCO requirements. All of our diets remain appropriate for All Life Stages, but Venison Blend is now appropriate for All Life Stages except the growth of large size dogs and Salmon and Cod Meal Mixers will be only appropriate for supplemental feeding.

Bag size changes

With our new packaging we have chosen to couple that with a 1oz decrease in our 15oz freeze dried patties going to 14oz and our 9oz Meal Mixers going to 8oz. This is a common way of adjusting for our increased costs without increasing the actual retail cost. It is the first time in 3+ years that we have adjusted the price or weight for these particular bags. The increased cost is reflected in the rising raw material costs and other related costs of doing business while maintaining the premium quality on which Stella & Chewy’s has been built. Since our beginning, almost 15 years ago, we have had very few price increases and done our best to find ways to avoid price increases while maintaining the pristine quality of our products in order to offer the best dog food possible at a good value.

Meal Mixers scoop

We have removed the plastic scoop inside our Meal Mixers bags. This was done for a number of reasons including growing feedback from customers that the scoop was no longer needed, changes with our new bags and a new automated bag filling system. For some this will be a welcome change as it means it lowers our environmental impact without having a plastic scoop in each bag. For others, we recognize this will be a slight inconvenience. For one scoop the guidelines are a standard ¼C measuring cup which makes for an easy measurement cup found in most kitchens.

A note on our kibble products:

No changes have occurred to our kibble. These products were formulated to already meet the updated 2018 AAFCO changes.