ALL NATURAL PET FOOD MAUFACTURING PLANT OPENS IN MUSKEGO

Stella & Chewy’s Raw Pet Food opens a state-of-the-art facility combining expertise from leading animal nutritionists and meat scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with food safety systems developed at Kansas State University.


 


According to Dr. James Marsden, Regents Distinguished Professor in Food Safety and Security, Kansas State University, “Stella & Chewy’s is incorporating the latest in food safety technologies including advanced oxidation cells, UV lighting technology, and high-pressure technology to ensure the safety of their products.  This is a company that is going to set the bar for all other pet food companies.  Stella & Chewy’s is a company to watch.”


 


Marie Moody founded Stella & Chewy’s in March of 2003 in New York City when she had a sick dog, Chewy, and couldn’t find a commercial pet food that was as wholesome as the food she was making in her own kitchen.  Moody says, “A raw food diet provides your pet with exactly the kinds of food that they would naturally seek out in the wild.  Nothing can replace wholesome foods in their natural, unrefined state.  Raw foods contain WHOLE nutritional complexes, and the nutrients in raw foods are totally bio-available.  That means that your pet can easily absorb the nutrients they need.  As a rule, the closer to the natural source food is, the healthier it will be.”


 


Opening this plant means that Stella & Chewy’s has stringent quality control over the entire manufacturing process. This quality control begins with the procurement of wholesome ingredients and continues throughout the processing stages.  The 12,000 sq. foot plant employs 15 people and is growing.  “Opening this plant has been a dream of mine for some time.  My customers want the best food possible for their pets—we are uniquely positioned to become a national brand.  Right now most of our customers are on either coast but we definitely have plans to expand now.” Moody says.


 


The expansion was made possible in part by an SBA loan through Wisconsin Business Development in Milwaukee.  “I’ve had an extraordinary amount of support from the community here in Milwaukee as well as mentoring from A New York based not-for-profit organization called Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence. Count Me In’s Make Mine a Million $ Business program was instrumental in providing assistance with writing my business plan and encouraging me every step of the way.”  Make Mine a Million $ Business™ is a national community of women entrepreneurs who believe in an unprecedented goal:  one million women achieving one million dollars in revenue by 2010.  The program provides money, mentoring, marketing and technology tools to help women-owned businesses reach the million dollar mark in revenues.  Marie Moody was a recipient of the Make Mine a Million $ Business Award in October 2006.  The state of Wisconsin is hosting the first ever statewide program on May 21 in Madison. 


 


To celebrate the opening of the plant we are having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday, May 20th from 11am-2pm.  There will be champagne and of course doggie-goody bags for the four legged family members.  “We will be giving tours of the plant and basically taking a few hours to acknowledge all of the people that have helped us reach this milestone.” Marie says.  All are welcome, for more info and directions to the plant please call 414-422-1701.


 


 


KEY CONTACTS:


 


For further press follow-up, please contact the following:


 


Marie Moody, founder of Stella & Chewy’s, is available to discuss anything from the growth of her business to important questions that consumers should be asking.


(414) 422-1701


marie@stellaandchewys.com


 


Dr. James Marsden, Regents Distinguished Professor in Food Safety and Security, Kansas State University, a world renowned expert in food safety working with Stella & Chewy’s, is available to discuss important food safety issues.


(785) 532-1952


jmarsden@ksu.edu


 


Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of on-line business loans and resources for women to grow their micro businesses into $million enterprises. Find us at www.countmein.org.


 


Melanie Frenkel, Orca Communications Unlimited, is available to discuss Count Me In and the Make Mine a Million $ Business Program. 


(602) 445-6460


Melanie@OrcaCommunications.com


 


Carol Maria, Wisconsin Business Development


(262) 970-8533


cmaria@wbd.org