Nature’s Variety

What Nature’s Variety does

Nature's Variety is a Saint Louis, Missouri-based privately held pet food company founded in 2005 that manufactures and sells premium raw, fresh, and minimally processed dog and cat food under its consumer-facing Instinct brand. The company's core technology is its multi-format raw processing capability, which produces FreshRaw Meals (refrigerated fresh), Frozen Raw Meals (minimally processed, never cooked), and FreshDried (freeze-dried, shelf-stable) SKUs, complemented by Boosted Kibble, RawBoost Mixers, Raw Coated Kibble, Toppers, Wet Food, and Kibble formats that allow pet owners to layer raw nutrition into any feeding routine without committing to an all-raw diet.

Nature's Variety generates revenue through one-time sales of branded pet food products distributed via three channels: direct-to-consumer e-commerce at instinctpetfood.com (supported by a FreshRaw Meals loyalty program with tiered 'Buy More, Save More' discounts), pet specialty retail storefronts, and general retail. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but the brand positions itself in the premium segment with comparable pricing to other fresh pet food brands and a 15-35% premium over conventional kibble implied by the raw/fresh category dynamics. The target customer is pet parents who treat pets as family members and prioritize natural, high-protein nutrition for pets with food sensitivities or digestive issues.

The company operates with 501-1,000 employees and received a strategic investment from Spanish food conglomerate Agrolimen in July 2014. Its go-to-market blends product-led growth (product recommender and feeding calculator tools) with content marketing (Instinct University, Science of Raw, vet professional channel, customer testimonials) to drive raw-diet adoption across dog and cat owners. Founder Bob Milligan remains associated with the company, and R&D is led by Julianne Kopf.

Name

Nature’s Variety

Website

https://naturesvariety.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Nature's Variety, operating through its Instinct brand, manufactures and sells premium raw, fresh, frozen, and freeze-dried dog and cat food via DTC e-commerce, pet specialty, and general retail channels across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Food

NAICS

Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111), Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (459910)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen & Raw Pet Food (incl. freeze-dried) (CRADAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Raw & Fresh Pet Food (Refrigerated/Frozen) (AFADAFAE), Functional & Veterinary Diet Pet Food (CRADAFAF), Dry Pet Food (Kibble) (AFADAFAA)

Keywords

• Raw pet food
• Premium pet nutrition
• Freeze-dried pet food
• Fresh pet meals
• Pet food manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pet Food Product Sales: Nature's Variety generates revenue through the sale of premium raw, fresh, frozen, and freeze-dried pet food products for dogs and cats across multiple product formats including meals, kibble, wet food, and toppers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nature's Variety, through its Instinct brand, manufactures and sells premium raw and fresh pet food products for dogs and cats across multiple formats including refrigerated FreshRaw meals, Frozen Raw meals, freeze-dried FreshDried meals, Boosted Kibble with raw bites, RawBoost Mixers, Raw Coated Kibble, toppers, wet food, and traditional kibble. The portfolio is positioned around whole-food ingredients without fillers, enabling pet owners to add raw nutrition to any feeding routine.

Product overview

Instinct Pet Food is a brand under Nature's Variety offering a portfolio of raw and fresh pet food products. The product line ranges from complete fresh meals to add-on/raw-enhanced options: FreshRaw Meals (refrigerated fresh food) and Frozen Raw Meals serve as complete meal solutions, while FreshDried provides shelf-stable freeze-dried alternatives. The portfolio includes Boosted Kibble (kibble with freeze-dried raw bites), RawBoost Mixers (toppers for adding raw to any food), and Raw Coated Kibble as modular ways to incorporate raw nutrition into traditional feeding routines. The products fit every pet, preference, and lifestyle with the positioning that raw doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FreshRaw Meals Fresh, refrigerated raw meals for dogs and cats made with real whole-food ingredients without cheap fillers like white rice or pasta. Designed for pet parents seeking the freshest raw feeding option.
• Frozen Raw Meals Minimally processed, never cooked raw meals frozen for freshness, positioned as the purest form of raw nutrition for dogs and cats.
• FreshDried Shelf-stable raw meals freeze-dried for convenience, positioned as an easy upgrade from kibble for dogs and cats.
• Boosted Kibble Protein-packed kibble combined with freeze-dried raw bites, providing boosted raw nutrition in a traditional kibble format for dogs and cats.
• RawBoost Mixers Topper products (Raw Boost Shakers) designed to add raw nutrition to any food for enhanced protein, taste, and nutrition for dogs and cats.
• Raw Coated Kibble Kibble coated with freeze-dried raw for simple raw nutrition, available for dogs and cats.
• Wet Food Wet/canned pet food options for dogs and cats.
• Kibble Traditional dry kibble options for dogs and cats.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Freshpet: Public refrigerated fresh pet food brand with broad grocery and mass retail distribution. A larger incumbent in the fresh/refrigerated segment where Instinct's FreshRaw Meals compete, with much greater scale and shelf presence.
• Blue Buffalo (General Mills): Mass-market premium pet food brand owned by General Mills with broad retail distribution across dry, wet, and treat categories. Represents a larger, well-funded incumbent competing for premium pet parent wallet share.
• Champion Petfoods (Orijen & ACANA): Premium global pet food manufacturer behind Orijen and ACANA, with strong whole-prey and biologically-appropriate positioning that overlaps with Instinct's premium natural/raw brand narrative.

Direct peers

• Open Farm: Premium pet food brand with a strong sustainability and ingredient-sourcing story across kibble, wet, freeze-dried raw and toppers. Overlaps with Instinct's Boosted Kibble, RawBoost Mixers and FreshDried categories.
• Smallbatch Pets: Boutique raw and freeze-dried pet food maker competing in the same premium raw niche as Instinct, with a similar ingredient-transparency and minimal-processing value proposition.
• Primal Pet Foods: Direct competitor offering frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, and raw toppers for dogs and cats. Competes head-to-head with Instinct's FreshRaw, Frozen Raw, and FreshDried lines across DTC and pet retail.
• Northwest Naturals: Regional-to-national raw and freeze-dried pet food manufacturer offering frozen raw diets, freeze-dried and raw toppers — a direct competitor in the same raw-product formats as Instinct's Frozen Raw and FreshDried lines.
• Stella & Chewy's: Direct competitor in the premium raw and freeze-dried pet food category for dogs and cats, with similar raw-ingredient positioning, frozen and shelf-stable SKUs, and pet specialty retail distribution.
• The Farmer's Dog: DTC-native fresh, human-grade dog food brand with a subscription model. Directly competes with Instinct's FreshRaw DTC offering on convenience, freshness positioning, and direct customer relationships.
• Spot & Tango: DTC fresh pet food subscription competitor offering fresh and 'UnKibble' formats. Competes with Instinct on premium fresh positioning and digital-first customer acquisition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NaturesVariety
• Facebookfacebook.com/NaturesVariety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nature’s Variety