Champion Petfoods Today
Brands born from a desire to make the world’s best pet food
Talented experts craft our award-winning foods
Passionate about being Trusted By Pet Lovers Everywhere
Donating over 3 million meals to pets in need
Champion Petfoods
From the Start
In 1979, Reinhard Muhlenfeld began producing dog food in his small but thriving feed mill in Alberta, Canada.
With second-hand equipment and a single bagging unit, Champion made its first dog foods, which were sold to local farming and ranching communities.
ACANA
Alberta-born Greatness
Named for its home in Alberta, Canada, and grounded in Reinhard’s belief in supporting the local economy, the ACANA brand was created with a strong focus on fresh, quality ingredients from the region.
Champion quickly became recognized by Pet Lovers as an innovator in pet specialty foods.
Our First Kitchen
NorthStar
In 1990, we opened our first Kitchen in the nearby town of Morinville, Alberta, providing the scale we needed to enter the pet specialty market as a leader.
ORIJEN
Our Biologically Appropriate Nutritional Philosophy
Reinhard’s son Peter, and wife Yona, had a beloved Dachshund named Lucky. They wanted to find the best diet for him, but most pet food companies back then focused on cheap ingredients and marketing rather crafting great tasting, healthy pet food options.
Peter’s desire to create a diet that best allowed Lucky to eat the way nature intended led to the development of our Biologically Appropriate nutritional philosophy, inspiring the creation of our ORIJEN brand. Built on animal-based, protein-rich foods for dogs and cats, the Biologically Appropriate philosophy revolutionized the pet food industry.
ORIJEN
Freeze-Dried Food & Treats
In 2011, we demonstrated our commitment to innovation when we bought a Kitchen where we could make new ORIJEN freeze-dried food and treats.
DogStar Kitchen
Dedicated to Innovation
Located in the rich, fertile farmland of Kentucky, our DogStar Kitchen opened in 2016. Built to our own industry-leading standards and to handle the large quantities of fresh and raw meats our foods are known for, DogStar has won significant awards in the pet food industry. With the highest food safety achievements including the 2017 Global Food Safety Initiative Award, DogStar reflects our commitment to be Trusted by Pet Lovers Everywhere.
Research & Innovation
Constant Progress
Our Research & Innovation Centre also opened in 2016 and is home to our team of highly qualified scientists and nutritionists. Pet Lovers themselves, they continuously advance our award-winning foods and create new recipes that provide their pets and yours with the absolute best food available.
New State-of-the-Art NorthStar Kitchen
A Steadfast Beacon of Excellence
Our new NorthStar Kitchen, widely recognized as the most advanced pet food facility in the world, helps us meet the global demand for ORIJEN and ACANA brands. Situated among the rich farmlands of Alberta, NorthStar Kitchen gives us access to an abundance of fresh, trusted ingredients.
Our philosophy for pet food is centered around our BAFRINO nutritional guidelines.
Biologically Appropriate foods mirror the diet that nature and evolution intended dogs and cats to eat. This means high amounts of protein from real animal ingredients, and as few carbohydrates as possible.
Our Fresh Regional Ingredients are sourced from farms, ranches, and waters, by people we know and trust, who share our values for creating the best possible pet foods.
Our foods are Never Outsourced. Unlike most pet food makers, we craft our recipes ourselves in our state-of-the-art kitchens and we don’t make food for other pet food companies.
As makers of award-winning pet foods our passion for the health and happiness of pets has always inspired us to meet the highest expectations.
