In 2014, Katie McCarron experienced an entrepreneurial lightbulb moment—why did the pet food aisle need to be filled with cheap, artificial ingredients? And why would we feed our pets meals with ingredients we wouldn’t go near ourselves? With expert guidance from vet nutritionists and support from Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center, the first recipes of the Portland Pet Food Company (PPFC) were created. Today, PPFC is a multinational business that serves fresh, human-grade pet products to cats and dogs in homes around the world.
Who
Katie McCarron BA ’82
Major
Psychology
Top Selling Flavor
Rosie’s Beef N’ Rice
Surprising Industry Fact
Just how many types of salmon there are!
Business Tradition
“Naming products after family pets
What was your path to founding a pet food business?
It wasn’t a planned business venture. I ran another consulting business called Academic Network and ended up selling that to a Fortune 500 company. I was happily retired, but I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. It was around this time that my dog, Rosie, became ill and stopped eating. I started cooking for her and, lo and behold, at 14 years old, she started eating again, gained weight, and lived to be nearly 17!
I noticed that while there were a lot of fresh-frozen and raw products being sold in the Pacific Northwest, no one was creating shelf-stable meals in retort pouches, which were new at the time.
This packaging offers convenience––fresh meals are cooked right in the shelf-stable pouch––and the ingredients are all sourced and made in the U.S. These elements have been so important to consumers looking for an alternative in traditional pet food. But it really all started because of Rosie, my poodle.
What did the launch of Portland Pet Food Company look like?
It was me at home, working on these recipes. Then I connected with the OSU Food Innovation Center to create formulas that were targeted toward dogs’ needs. My son was on a gap year before starting medical school, and the two of us formulated the recipes, created labels, and started going out to farmers markets. I had a hard time getting into the markets with dog food, but I noticed other vendors selling treats. I looked around in Portland at all our breweries and thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to create a ‘brew biscuit’ made with the leftover brewing grains that would otherwise go to waste?” Those were the humble beginnings. The next year, we started knocking on doors to get into retail.
What’s the reception been from pet owners?
We get so many responses from customers who tell us, “Thank you so much … until we found your food, my dog or cat wasn’t eating, and feeding them has been such a struggle.” Many customers have found that our products are a great complement to a dog’s prescription diet, since those tend to be fairly bland and tasteless. Our products are all natural and human-grade, so there are no concerns about preservatives or additives––and no synthetic vitamins or minerals. Our belief is that this is whole food. I tell customers, “If you don’t know how to pronounce it on the label, and don’t know what it is, why would you feed it to your best friend?”
How has the business grown since those early days at farmers markets?
We started out with my son and me, with my husband doing the deliveries. My daughter joined when she finished college, and she’s now the brand manager. At the beginning, we would rent kitchens by the hour, and now we have our own facility in Southeast Portland. We have 36 employees today, and we’re in 5,500 stores around the U.S. We’re also in Canada, Japan, and South Korea, and we’re certified to go into China. I love working in the global side of the business. In terms of what’s next, we’re looking to expand our product line, and we’re excited to enter into conventional groceries––in February, we signed a deal with Fred Meyer.
