As the brightest star in the night sky, the dog star is the symbol and name of our kitchen. known in ancient cultures as ‘heavenly wolf’, the dog star represents steadfastness of purpose, a beacon
of inspiration, reflecting our commitment to pet lovers everywhere.
Located on 85 acres of lush farmland in Auburn, Kentucky and custom-built from the ground up to advance our Biologically Appropriate Recipes, our DogStar Kitchen has won significant awards in the pet
food industry.
DogStar beat organizations in both human and animal food industries to win the inaugural 2017 Global Markets Award from the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). This recognition is one of the highest food safety
achievements in the world.
Our state-of-the-art DogStar Kitchen also won a prestigious Design-Build Institute of America Award – the first pet food facility in the world ever to receive such an accolade.
Put simply, we are committed to making the world’s best food in our Award-Winning Kitchen. That means advancing our award-winning dog and cat foods with more fresh meat, poultry or fish inclusions.
And you can rest assured that we only prepare ACANA and ORIJEN – we do not produce other brands or private label. We wouldn’t have it any other way and we believe you wouldn’t either.
Our kitchen principles
We believe that the food you choose for your dog or cat is one of the most important decisions you can make which is why we kept these 6 principles in mind as we purpose-built the world’s best kitchens:
A new way of preparing foods for dogs and cats, according to their evolutionary diets. That’s why we designed every aspect of our kitchens to enhance our Biologically
Appropriate capabilities. From freeze-dryers and plate freezers, to innovative fresh meat, poultry or fish handling capabilities, we custom-fit and purpose-built our DogStar Kitchen to bring ORIJEN foods ever closer to the natural
diets of dogs and cats.
KNOWING WHERE OUR INGREDIENTS COME FROM MEANS EVERYTHING TO US. The world’s best recipes come from the world’s best ingredients. That’s why we collaborate with a specially curated group of leading farmers, ranchers, and fisheries that we have had relationships with for decades. Our strong network enables us to source only the best, including lamb from New Zealand, fish from Scandinavia, and other premium ingredients from our neighbors. No matter what, every ingredient we choose is selected for its nutritional value, digestibility and superior flavor.
Our commitment to trust and transparency has led to a robust supplier vendor audit approval program and detailed ingredient traceability system.
No one makes foods like we do. Our kitchens are some of the most advanced in the industry. They are purpose-built and custom-designed specifically for our unique recipes that take advantage of the inclusion of fresh and raw ingredients. We locate them in agricultural heartlands so they can be closer to many of the sources of our ingredients. As we grow and innovate, in addition to our own kitchens, we’ll work with suppliers who are experts in their field to create only the finest foods for pets.
With food safety, quality, and employee health at the core of our designs, our kitchens exceed many of the standards set in the human food industry – which explains the pride we take in them and why they are spotless and safe at all times.
Trust is hard earned and easily lost. Dedicated to earning Pet Lover trust every day so pets thrive for a lifetime, we built our DogStar Kitchen to reach beyond pet food standards or, for that matter, beyond any other pet food maker on earth.
Our foods aren’t made in an industrial park. We built our kitchen in the Kentucky countryside, far away from industrial parks and
integrated into the farmlands, where we can feel inspired.
Our kitchen isn’t the biggest. But it is the best. We assembled an international team of the best designers, engineers, and food processing experts from New Zealand, Europe,
and North America, and tasked them with a single purpose: to create DogStar, the world’s best pet food kitchen. The collaborative environment resulted in an innovative, award-winning kitchen that has received a
coveted 2016 Design-Build Institute of America Award in the Industrial, Process and/or Research Facilities category.
