Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Wu.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It all started when my partner Zach & I got our first puppy, Karoo, together. Both of us had multiple pets in the family when growing up, and we witnessed firsthand the detrimental effects of kibble-based diets. We were committed to keeping Karoo as healthy as possible & fell in love with fresh feeding immediately after researching & starting her on the diet.
However, things weren’t so rosy behind-the-scenes 😫
We both worked 9-5 jobs & ended up creating crime scenes in our kitchen during weeknights in order to keep her on a fresh & real diet.
So, we began trying raw food brands… but everything just looked like mush & were just so messy to feed!
At the start of 2021, we decided to try making a few batches of food and see if others in our area were looking for the same things we were. Turned out they were, and we slowly grew from working in a shared commercial kitchen space all the way to working in a USDA-inspected facility.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Sourcing has always been one of our biggest challenges. We have very high standards for the farms we work with and require them to raise their animals with no hormones or antibiotics ever and have a humane handling certification. As we continue to grow, it’s always going to be a challenge finding farm partners that uphold the same standards as we do and can grow & supply the volumes we need.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
We sell frozen pet food made with 100% human-grade ingredients with no starchy fillers. All of our farms raise their animals with no hormones or antibiotics ever and have a humane handling certification. We also use a whole foods-based approach to balancing our recipes and avoid synthetic vitamins & minerals.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
We’re here to help pet parents improve the health & lives of their pets! We firmly believe that food is medicine and a solid foundation for health starts with a good diet. A fresh, species-appropriate diet helps with improved GI health, higher & more stable energy levels, better dental health, and a healthier skin & coat. We saw so many positive changes when we switched our own pup to raw, and want to help more pet parents do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: vivarawpets.com
- Instagram: @vivarawpets
