New Freshpet Kitchen Will Help Feed Furry Family Members And Growth

SECAUCUS, N.J., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT), the leader in fresh, real food for pets, today announced the plans for a third Freshpet Kitchen to further its dedication to making the highest quality nutrition for pets. The company has selected Ennis, Texas, as the site of its expansion, which will further Freshpet on its mission to improve the lives of dogs and cats by providing pet parents real fresh food to serve to their four-legged family members.

Freshpet created the fresh, refrigerated pet food segment in the US and immediately disrupted the traditional kibble and wet canned foods on the market. The new kitchen will be designed to meet ever-increasing consumer demand for Freshpet recipes – pet food made in the USA with fresh, 100% natural whole ingredients, gently cooked without preservatives and kept refrigerated where real meat belongs. The Texas-based kitchen will increase the company’s production capacity significantly, ultimately providing the company with the capacity to sell more than $1 billion of fresh pet food from its two locations. 

The first phase of the new kitchen is expected to open in 2022 and will be located 40 miles south of Dallas in Ennis, Texas, which is spurring its own tremendous growth. Ennis is in the middle of a five-year economic improvement plan to grow its local economy and improve the quality of life for its residents. At full capacity, the new Freshpet kitchen will employ more than 400 people in the area, nearly doubling Freshpet’s current employee base.

“Like a growing number of pet parents, we believe that our dogs and cats are our family and they deserve fresh, healthy food to help them live their best lives,” said Billy Cyr, CEO of Freshpet. “Our third Freshpet Kitchen is in the perfect location to help us drive new innovation while making our food in a way that’s best for pets, people and the planet.  We wanted the home of our next Kitchen to be a place that we would be proud to send our employees to live and work and Ennis blew us away with the compelling vision of their leadership, the ongoing investments they have made to their infrastructure, and the availability of top-notch talent to support our growth.”

The first phase of the new Freshpet Kitchen will be approximately 400,000 square feet and will help meet the company’s rapidly growing demand driven by 8 consecutive quarters of at least 20% growth. In June 2019, the company broke ground for its second kitchen at its campus in Bethlehem, PA. That expansion will take the company’s capacity to in excess of $500 million and the new facility in Ennis, TX will take the total capacity over $1 billion by the time it is fully built out. The company has nearly doubled its business every three years since 2009, with over three million households feeding Freshpet today.

“From the very beginning, there has been great chemistry between Texas and Team Freshpet,” said Angeline Juenemann, mayor of the City of Ennis. “Our values and commitment to a culture of ‘live, work and play’ are at the heart of everything we do. Ennis is the very best place in the world to call home. We are very proud to have Freshpet as the newest member of our family.”

Freshpet is dedicated to providing the highest quality nutrition for pets while simultaneously protecting the planet through sustainable business practices. Freshpet Kitchens are landfill-free facilities and use 100% wind energy. Freshpet can be found in over 20,000 in-store fridges across the U.S., UK and Canada and in large retailers like Walmart, Target, Petco and PetSmart.

About Freshpet

Freshpet’s mission is to improve the lives of dogs and cats through the power of fresh, real food. Freshpet foods are blends of fresh meats, vegetables and fruits farmed locally and made at our Freshpet Kitchens in Bethlehem, PA and ultimately in Ennis, Texas. We thoughtfully prepare our foods using natural ingredients, cooking them in small batches at lower temperatures to preserve the natural goodness of the ingredients. Freshpet foods and treats are kept refrigerated from the moment they are made until they arrive at Freshpet Fridges in your local market.

Our foods are available in select mass, grocery (including online), natural food, club, and pet specialty retailers across the United States, Canada and Europe. From the care we take to source our ingredients and make our food, to the moment it reaches your home, our integrity, transparency and social responsibility are the way we like to run our business. To learn more, visit www.freshpet.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute “forward-looking” statements, including statements regarding our expectations with respect to the new Freshpet Kitchen in Ennis, TX. These statements are based on management's current opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, not historical fact, and involve certain risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions. Actual results, levels of activity, performance, achievements and events could differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. While Freshpet believes that its assumptions are reasonable, it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could affect actual results. There are several risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made herein, including, most prominently, the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. Freshpet undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be made that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Media Contact
Katie Turner for Freshpet
Email: katie.turner@icrinc.com
Phone: (646)-277-1228

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