Fresh pet food is a relatively small piece of the overall pet food pie, but it’s an ever-growing trend. Pet owners want what’s best for their animals, and pet food that looks like something a human might put on their own plate for dinner fits the bill — fresh, whole ingredients, complete nutrition and dogs running to their dinner bowls? What’s not to love? Still, there are a couple barriers for pet owners that might keep them from indulging their animals with fresh food. First, there’s the cost — understandably more than kibble or canned food. Second, there’s the need for refrigeration, which means pet food is now taking up space in the refrigerator alongside the rest of the perishables.
This is where Top Shelf Dog comes in with its shelf-stable fresh dog food formulas.
How Top Shelf Dog got started
“We are a small company offering a superior product,” says Chip Bergstrom, company CEO and co-founder. “This didn’t happen by accident and is the result of our commitment to Top Shelf Dog. Our beginnings trace back over 12 years, yet we have only been selling for about three years. We worked to create a great product and then further improve it; it now exists. The process is similar to creating software or a new drug: We invested heavily upfront and now have what we believe is wanted by the most demanding consumer (although many are not aware of us yet).”
Top Shelf was determined to provide solutions to problems Bergstrom himself was having with his pets’ food. Prior to founding the company, he was either cooking for his dogs or purchasing meals via monthly subscriptions. But the process of cooking or storing perishable meals for his dogs was taking too much time as well as too much refrigerator space. In coming up with those solutions, the company had to acknowledge several aspects of the pet market and how they operated.
Courtesy Top Shelf Dog
Playing into the growing trend of fresh pet food, Top Shelf Dog uses premium ingredients to create the kinds of recipes pet owners in this segment are looking for. | Courtesy Top Shelf Dog
“Like many businesses, we have different types of competition,” says Bergstrom. “The first type of competitor is the large, traditional manufacturer of kibble. We strive to introduce a higher-quality food to some of these kibble consumers. The second type of competitor is the relatively newer manufacturer, which often is producing a high-quality, all-natural, fresh product. While we are pleased that there are great offerings on the market today that didn’t historically exist, we believe that our recipes are superior in terms of quality, nutrition and convenience, without sacrificing taste. Our recipes are ready to serve without the hassle of refrigeration or preparation. Ultimately, we strive for nutritious meals for pups, and convenience and peace-of-mind for pet parents. We worked with a leading university and co-manufacturer to perfect a retort process that yields a food whose freshness is guaranteed without the use of artificial preservatives, freezing or refrigeration. That’s a key differentiator.”
Lessons learned: Getting the message to pet owners
The last three years have been a growth process for Top Shelf Dog, and customers have been the ones helping the company refine its direction along the way, especially when it comes to getting their message out into the world.
“Like any new company, we’ve learned by trial and error, particularly when it came to advertising,” says Bergstrom. “The lion’s share of our ad copy now speaks exclusively to three concepts: Versatility, convenience and nutrition. It’s no longer enough to only offer whole, all-natural ingredients and recipes. We’re serving a growing niche — consumers who expect premium-quality ingredients for their four-legged family members but also demand the convenience of ready-to-serve meals that don’t require freezing, thawing or refrigeration.”
The company’s biggest opportunity and challenge is two sides of the same coin: Marketing.
“[Our biggest opportunity is] mainstream sales and marketing, including greater social media presence and influencer relationships,” says Bergstrom. “We offer a great product, and it is now time to roll it out through more channels and to make it a known brand, just as many of our competitors have done with very large marketing budgets and campaigns.”
Keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak, is a challenge for any company, let along a small and newer brand.
“The greatest challenge we face is keeping up with the larger companies in terms of media spend,” says Bergstrom. “It is a crowded space with a lot of noise and inaccurate claims by many competitors. We are always looking to educate and inform potential customers, and that is difficult when competing against marketing budgets that have so far dwarfed our self-funded efforts. Competing well in this space requires a large marketing budget and we are currently looking for a financial partner to join our team.”
Continued growth and looking to the future
Top Shelf Dog has done a lot this year, from introducing a new recipe (beef) and improving another (chicken), to new packaging and a refreshed brand look and feel — all in response to customer feedback.
Top Shelf Dog recently improved its chicken recipe and launched new packaging, putting feedback from customers to good use as the company grows. | Courtesy Top Shelf Dog
“We’re particularly proud of the new look and packaging and the continued improvement of the user experience,” says Bergstrom. “We initially launched during the pandemic while there were worldwide supply chain challenges. We have since improved our products with a new type of carton that is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified, packaging that is sustainable and recyclable, a refreshed brand and improved recipes that are more in line with our high-quality product. Most importantly, we believe we improved even more in the ‘convenience’ category for dog owners. The feedback from customers has been incredible. We have also been active from a grassroots perspective, attending local events in areas where customers expect the very best.”
The company is ready to move forward, but is prepared to do it the right way, no matter how long it takes.
“Our keys to growth are delivering on our promise of convenience, using only ‘top shelf’ ingredients and, from a business perspective, patience,” says Bergstrom. “In a competitive market such as pet food, oftentimes it’s the most patient who survives and thrives. We are at the point where we will invest significantly more resources into sales and marketing. We have mostly been in test mode since launch and are now looking for more scale. This will involve raising funds from investors and continuing to build out our team. To date, our co-founders have self-funded our operations. Our product has been very well received by our customers and it is now time to ramp up our sales.”
Patience may very well get Top Shelf Dog to where it wants to be.
“We are in this for the long run and are not expecting market dominance overnight,” says Bergstrom. “We are working to establish a strong brand and loyal customer base for the right reasons, and not as a result of flashy or tricky sales efforts to get quick sales that are not recurring. Internally, we often refer to our activities as tests. We are constantly testing and evaluating sales channels and activities and invest more resources in those areas showing promise and a positive response to our efforts.”
According to Bergstrom, as a company with a current online-only sales model Top Shelf aims to be on, well, the top shelf of physical retailers, as well.
“We think our next big move will be to make Top Shelf Dog a known brand with availability in more channels,” he says. “We will, in time, be on the shelves in your favorite grocery store, in national chains and in local stores, while continuing to provide the convenience offered through Amazon and through our website. We see specialty refrigerators or freezers in grocery stores and pet stores with our competitors’ products. None of that is needed with Top Shelf — our food belongs on the shelf without any special accommodation from the retailer.”
Fast Facts
Headquarters: Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Officers: Chip Bergstrom, CEO and co-founder; Tom Rosedale, co-founder
Brands: Top Shelf Dog
Website/Social Media: www.topshelfdog.com; @top.shelf.dog.food on Instagram
Notable: We trademarked “Top Shelf Poops” because our food is that nutritious!