Wilsons Pet Food, a Perthshire-based pet food company, has launched a new range of cold press recipes for dogs and announced plans to invest in the growing raw food sector of the market.
The company will build a plant to manufacture the recipes so it can take advantage of the increasing popularity in high meat content premium pet food diets and the growing trend to feed raw.
Wilsons Pet Food which is now owned by Craig Wallace and his family, can trace its origins to the time of the Crimean War. Wallace bought Wilsons Pet Food after spending a decade in the manufacturing sector.
The Wilsons cold press food is currently available in three varieties, Mountain Stream which is Scottish Salmon and Sweet Potato, secret pasture which is British Lamb and Brown Rice and Sunrise Song which is Chicken and Vegetables. The recipes can be purchased in 2.5 and 10 kg bags.
Wilsons currently has a factory being commissioned in Blairgowrie, after removing their small pilot line, which will be purpose built for the cold press manufacturing process and the project is being supported by the Scottish government. The second unit Wilsons are getting is for raw frozen food and has been built by the Perth Council. This unit has its own solar farm.
Wallace said: “It was a philosophy actively embraced by John Wilson, and we are proud to continue that long tradition. Our cold press food is the only one to have the correct level of protein as well as the right balance of fat to protein. Our range was developed with the help of pet nutritionists Milka and Damir Tesla who organise the Nordic Pet Food Conference and are experts in the field of cold press pet food.”
“Cold Press Dog Food is a dry dog food which is pressed at a lower temperature of 55 – 65°C compared to ‘kibbled’ dry dog food which is extruded at a temperature of approximately 145°C. High temperatures result in the denaturing of proteins and complexing of starches (sugars) reducing digestibility and thus absorption within the gut. Cold pressing minimises the impact of temperature damage and produces a food with greater digestibility and superior nutritional value.”
He added: “The lower temperatures used with Cold Press Technology allow a greater range of beneficial raw materials to be added, including fragile herbs which have significant health benefits for dogs and are sources of essential vitamins and antioxidants. These cannot be used effectively in traditional extruded ‘kibble’ as they would be almost entirely destroyed in the high temperature process.
“The Cold Press process itself brings a number of benefits however, at Wilsons we are mindful that a well-rounded product needs good quality ingredients and a well-balanced, nutritional recipe. We have worked with the top nutritionists specialising in Cold Press products, who have, based on scientific studies, created a complete dog food with all six of the major nutrient groups: carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water.”
Wilsons’ range is stocked at Vital Pet Food, Broomhall Wholesalers, Harbo, Pets at Home and Tarff Valley. The company is looking to expand its stockists further south and work with retailers who specialise in stocking premium and raw food diets, especially independent and grouped pet stores.
