Our new packaging is here!

Hey everyone! As some of you may or may not know we've been working hard behind the scenes to bring you new packaging. We are thrilled to announce that our hard work has paid off...new packaging for sliders and patties in now ready to hit the freezers! Our new bags have lovely updated images, no labels(images are printed right on the bag), and have more information than before. We really think you will like them as much as we do, or at a least we hope you do! Don't worry, it's only a fresh new look, what's inside is still as amazing as before, actually we've made a few ingredient adjustments that we feel will make our food even better than before. Say hello to bilberry and wheat grass! These two amazing ingredients will now be added to all our dog batches: 

Bilberry- High in Vitamin C and Bio-Flavonoids.  Known for its eye support and ability to regulate blood sugar. 

Wheat grass- Wheat Grass is many times richer in chlorophyll and iron than spinach. It's protein level averages 25 percent and it contains virtually every vitamin known, along with 20 amino acids, exceptionally rich in vitamins E, K, and B-complex. It also has twice the vitamin than carrots. 

But wait, there's more! Rabbit batch and Lamb batch get an ingredient makeover. We were getting lots of requests(an overwhelming amount) to remove root veggies from those diets.  So, we set out to remove the root veggies and replace them with nutrient dense alternatives. While we were at it, we decided to give the veggie and herb profile for these two diets a complete overhaul and makeover. It was fun, we really got into it! Felt like the old days, back when we first started. One part inspiration, and one part nostalgia. 

We welcome these wonderful ingredients to our lamb and rabbit batches: winter squash, celery, green beans, bok choy, cauliflower, cilantro, thyme and oregano. 

We feel it's a favorable change for two reasons. 

-Variety. For those who rotate proteins now you'll also be rotating some new produce in the mix.

 -Alternative. A no root veggie, single sourced protein option, it's not always easy to find in the pet food world. You hyper allergenic pups, we're looking out for you!

Wait, wait, wait...one more! Cat batches also get a little update with the help of barley grass. Full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Felines never get left out at camp smallbatch. 

As always, please contact us if you have any questions, we're happy to talk about our changes with you. And we're happy to hear from you, period. 

Many thanks, 

the smallbatch team

Bringing it all back home.

Our heart and soul will always remain in San Francisco, it's where smallbatch was created and where we drew so much inspiration and gained so much love, support and strength, the place that put us on this journey. A few months ago, we decided to move our facility back to where it all started, back in San Francisco. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task otherwise we would of done it a long time ago! It's not as easy as moving your house or office, it requires build out, applying for grants, inspections, more inspections from city, state etc. In the interim, while things are sorted out, we are working hard to iron out the necessary tasks at hand. We're continuing the processing of our formulas up in Oregon, where we do our Pacific North West production. Since we don’t make large batches of food and store it, timing of materials, production and delivery have to be in-sync. Because of this, we'd like to apologize in advance...if you go to your local store and find yourself in a pickle because they're out of your dog or cat's favorite smallbatch flavor or product don't freak out. Just hang tight and know we are working our tails off to sort it all out and make it all work for everyone in a timely fashion. As always thank you for the tremendous amount of support and love.

see ya in two shakes of a lamb's tail, San Francisco! 

woof & meow, 

-the smallbatch team 

Ash in food

This is volcanic ash. This is not the same ash found in our pet food!

Every now and then we'll get a phone call or email from a concerned customer inquiring about the ash content in our food. Questions such as...do you really add ash to your products? or...is it the same stuff you find in your fireplace?

To this is there is an easy reply, ash isn't what it sounds like. So what is ash? It is the total mineral content in food and every food has ash regardless of whether it is raw or processed(kibble or can). The ash reported on a label represents the total of all minerals found in that food. These minerals are calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, zinc along with trace amounts of others. Generally, any natural food will have less than 5% sometimes up to 8% ash in content while processed foods have ash content of 10-14%.

Pet owners become easily confused and concerned with ash specially cat owners, as vets will sometimes recommend they only purchase foods low in ash (high ash content is often associated to feline lower urinary tract disease). Sometimes people will take it further and want to do whatever it takes to nearly eliminate ash completely not knowing exactly what their vet really means. Because ash is made up of essential mineral nutrients, feeding too little can lead to a mineral deficiency and cause other health problems in their pets. 

We can probably get into many different discussions just by explaining ash, perhaps we'll save some topics for future posts! 

Meet Purl

Hey, it's Purl!

Hi world!

Two new flavors were added to our cat slider line, turkey and lamb. Although we had a mix of opinions from customers on which should be the next two, we ultimately went with the opinion of none other than an actual feline. Of course, we plan on adding more flavors to the line and soon everyone will be pleased, but this time around our feedback came from a very finicky source. 

Let us introduce you to one of the smallbatch head honchos, her name is Purl and she is quite delightful. She came to us from a litter of rescued cats and has been on raw food since she was weaned from her mother. She is athletic, incredibly sweet, head huntress, pillow warmer, a lover not a fighter. And she is by all means, a true finicky eater. We have another boss cat around who eats all of our flavors, including the dog batches and blends, complete opposite of little miss picky pants. 

Purl's favorite of the two new flavors is the lamb. We know, when on earth would a domestic cat take down a lamb out in the wild? Although we do try to mimic a prey diet let's face it, never would their food be perfectly formed into sliders and served to them on pretty little dishes, mother nature doesn't offer fancy dining. The lamb we use in all of our products is not only grass fed and free range, it is never placed in feedlots or given hormones or antibiotics. This is an incredibly important aspect for us when sourcing not only our lamb but also all our other proteins. Imagine lambs that forage and eat on green pastures the way nature intended. Because they graze for long distances on large open pastures they are lean fit and healthy. Their diet consisting of wild grasses, herbs and rich alfalfa fields making,  them rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and beta-carotene and much lower in fat than grain fed lamb. 

Sure, Purl likes the lamb sliders over the turkey ones, but that's because she's a red meat kinda girl. Our turkey also amazingly sourced, are never fed anything with animal by-products, GMO's, pesticides, chemicals, or synthetics and free of antibiotics and hormones. These turkeys, are allowed to roam in areas four times the size of commercial turkey ranches, they breed naturally, as well as run and even fly. Only healthy lean and nutritious turkeys here, full of amino acids, good lean protein, full of vitamins, and low in fat. 

For now, we can relax knowing we have pleased one finicky feline, but we know our work does not end here...there are many more to please and we will continue introducing new flavors! 

Rabbit News!

Our rabbit sales rep Dominic Moll and his two youngest sons.

In recent months we have come across some sourcing issues. Finding local rabbit has been increasingly difficult, so much that we have had to search outside California. We strive to source as much of our ingredients right here at home, but when sources become so scarce that it affects our ability to produce products, we're forced to find the next best thing. We feel that we've found something even better, and we didn't have to source from New Zealand or even China like you'll find in many other pet foods. 

Enter De Bruin Brothers from Oskaloosa, Iowa. We came across this wonderful company a while back at a family dinner, and when it came time to look for another rabbit source that was consistent with our demand and met our expectations of quality, we turned to them. De Bruin Brothers, are a small family owned company with many values... and they're fun to talk to. All of their rabbit come from small family farms that raise their rabbit on a diet of sweet alfalfa, oats, wheat and barley with no antibiotics or hormones ever. We welcome you to check out their website www.debruinbrothers.com and see what they're all about.  
If you have any questions or feedback for us, feel free to call or email us. 

Pacific Northwest

      

The many out-of-state inquiries are about to decrease...just a wee bit. This week, smallbatch has begun production in the Pacific Northwest. We have now expanded our business model, accommodating customers outside of the sunshine state. 

Yes, we're now proudly making batches in Oregon! Woo hoo! Sourcing our ingredients, producing and distributing there, as well as to neighboring states(mainly Washington). Pretty exciting and scary stuff. We never imagined being available outside of San Francisco(home to all smallbatch beginnings), let alone outside of California. Our main focus has always been to make products that are sourced and made locally, we did not want to deviate from our main mission and beliefs. By applying this principle we feel that we've managed to expand without compromising our ideals or our products. 

It's exciting to make new connections with farms and ranches as well as stores outside of California. Much like California, Oregon has a bounty of resources and everyone has been incredibly friendly and helpful with us making the expansion easy. Of course, none of this would ever be possible without the support from all our customers throughout the years. Thank you, we are forever grateful. 

chicken source

Mary and her family.

Some of the chickens on the Pitman Family Farm.

People often ask us about our sourcing and how we determine what farms and ranches we work with. Our criteria is always simple yet stringent. We work with local farms and ranches all who share the same beliefs and practices that we do. This not only guarantees the freshest and healthiest products, but also helps keep our california economy vibrant while helping to reduce your pet's carbon paw print. Okay, so who are these amazing sources?

Let's start with one and go over what they do and why they do it so well!

Here we go...

Let us introduce you to Pitman Family Farms. They are located in Sanger California near Fresno. They provide us with all of our poultry that goes into our chicken, turkey, and duck batches and blends. Their Mary's organic brand can be found in many natural grocery stores across the state and it's the same chicken that your dog or cat are eating when fed our products. Here's a little bit you should know about Mary's Organic chicken, we think you'll find their practices pretty darn awesome.

- All of their chickens are air chilled. This system inhibits the spread of bacteria also saves about 30,000 gallons of chlorinated water(a method typically used in the industry) from being used. The results are healthier and better tasting chicken.

-All of their chickens have outdoor access, with outdoor areas that always include water and shade. Natural chicken behaviors are encouraged by providing the chickens with bales of straw used by chickens for pecking. Also eucalyptus tree branches used by chickens for playing and hiding. Oh, those silly girls!

-All chickens have access to large grassy foraging areas, this encourages tons of running around under bright, warm sunny skies.

-Their chickens are of a slow growing breed a non-commercial type, these chickens have a stronger immune system and stronger bone structure.

-All chickens are  hand raised in small groups.

If you'd like to browse their site or call Mary, do it! Also, next time you're shopping for yourself make sure to look for Mary's chicken in your butcher aisle, they offer whole pre-packaged chickens along with pre-packaged chicken breasts. You'll really taste the difference.