Carnivore Meat Company, manufacturer of frozen and freeze-dried pet food brands Nature's Advantage, Vital Essentials and Vital Cat, has been named one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States by Inc. Magazine. This is the second consecutive year Carnivore Meat Company has been recognized for this achievement based on the company's success in the natural pet food category, with an impressive 3-year growth rate of 187%.
Inc. Magazine releases the Inc. 5000 each year which is a list of the most successful independent small businesses and the 2020 list ranks Carnivore Meat Company at #2241 nationally and #23 among Wisconsin businesses recognized.
"We have an incredibly dedicated workforce that has helped us achieve great results over the past year, and we're honored to be recognized again by Inc. Magazine,," commented Lanny Viegut, Carnivore Meat Company CEO and Owner. "We implemented a number of sustainability initiatives along with efficiency improvements that contributed to our overall success. This, combined with the new brand introduction of Nature's Advantage, gave us some great momentum that we will continue to build upon."
Carnivore Meat Company brands are sold in over 6,000 pet specialty stores, online at Chewy and Amazon and exported to 14 international markets. In addition to its branded products, the company provides private label, co-pack services and ingredient components for other brands globally.
"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."
Although 2020 brought many challenges, the year also brought opportunities to connect with local and industry communities through Carnivore Meat Company's COVID-19 response initiatives which included a Vital Relief Challengeand the donation of the use of UV equipment to help local healthcare workers and first responders.
"Our pandemic response made us much stronger and more unified as a company and within the community," Viegut stated. "Our team pulled together to achieve some phenomenal results."
Despite the difficult business environment facing brick-and-mortar retailers this year, Carnivore Meat Company launched a new frozen dog food line, Vital Essentials FUSION, that is intensely consumer focused, delivering quality product at an exceptional value-based price point. In addition to this new product launch, the company forged new partnerships with Wisconsin-based Festival Foods to distribute its Hemp Chews throughout the state and with Costco to launch its newest brand, Nature's Advantage, throughout the Midwest.
"Our innovative new product lines and expanding product reach puts us in a great position to answer the demands of our newest generation of pet parents," Viegut says. "It's an honor to be named among the fastest growing private companies in America based on our efforts to enhance the lives of pets through quality nutrition."
Methodology
The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.
