Instinct | About Us

Pets can’t ask us out loud!

A dog shaking hands with pet owner

Our mission

We’re on a mission to transform the lives of pets. We believe that all pets deserve the best life possible. And if you ask us — it starts with food. Let’s satisfy our pets’ need for real food. Let’s stick with what’s natural and keep it simple. And as pure as possible. Let’s follow nature’s lead and give them more raw and stay free from filler, by-product and artificial preservatives. Let’s redefine better. And put the pure, real nutrition of raw into more bowls. Let’s do our part.

OUR BRAND PROMISE

GUIDED BY RAW NUTRITION

Food and how it’s made — less processed, real, whole — has the power to change pets’ lives. That’s why we incorporate raw into everything we do, from our 100% raw frozen and freeze-dried recipes to freeze-dried raw toppers to kibble recipes boosted with raw nutrition. Because we know that raw nutrition is unmatched.

THE HIGHEST QUALITY & SAFETY STANDARDS

Every Instinct recipe starts with the highest quality ingredients from vendors we deeply trust. Moreover, our safety procedures are the best in the industry: Instinct is SQF certified in both food safety and quality. Our raw food is cold-pressured to ensure it’s free of pathogens. This natural process uses high pressure (rather than high heat) to safely prepare raw food with more nutrients intact than cooked pet food. As a final safety step, all our food is tested by an external lab prior to leaving our facilities.

BACKED BY SCIENCE

The science of raw food has always been at our core. Our first raw recipes were developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska and PhD-level nutritionists. Today, our team of experts have over 50 years of combined experience in pet food and nutrition. We also partnered with the University of Helsinki‘s Dog Risk research program, which is studying the impact of raw pet food on dogs’ health.

LIFE-CHANGING PET BENEFITS

It’s time to reap the raw benefits. Pet parents who have switched to feeding raw have noticed positive changes in their pets’ digestion, overall energy, skin & coat health, help with food sensitivities, and increased mealtime excitement — even from the pickiest pets.

GUIDED BY RAW NUTRITION

Food and how it’s made — less processed, real, whole — has the power to change pets’ lives. That’s why we incorporate raw into everything we do, from our 100% raw frozen and freeze-dried recipes to freeze-dried raw toppers to kibble recipes boosted with raw nutrition. Because we know that raw nutrition is unmatched.

BACKED BY SCIENCE

The science of raw food has always been at our core. Our first raw recipes were developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska and PhD-level nutritionists. Today, our team of experts have over 50 years of combined experience in pet food and nutrition. We also partnered with the University of Helsinki‘s Dog Risk research program, which is studying the impact of raw pet food on dogs’ health.

THE HIGHEST QUALITY & SAFETY STANDARDS

Every Instinct recipe starts with the highest quality ingredients from vendors we deeply trust. Moreover, our safety procedures are the best in the industry: Instinct is SQF certified in both food safety and quality. Our raw food is cold-pressured to ensure it’s free of pathogens. This natural process uses high pressure (rather than high heat) to safely prepare raw food with more nutrients intact than cooked pet food. As a final safety step, all our food is tested by an external lab prior to leaving our facilities.

LIFE-CHANGING PET BENEFITS

It’s time to reap the raw benefits. Pet parents who have switched to feeding raw have noticed positive changes in their pets’ digestion, overall energy, skin & coat health, help with food sensitivities, and increased mealtime excitement — even from the pickiest pets.

OUR INSTINCT IS TO CHAMPION DIVERSITY

At Instinct, we are as passionate about our people as we are about the pets we call family. We are committed to inclusion, empowerment, and respect. We believe that just like our pets, what sets us apart unleashes our greatest strengths. We thrive on the ability to not only empower people to transform the lives of pets through raw nutrition, but also to empower each other to inspire a culture that celebrates our differences. Our unique approach to pet food is what makes us who we are as a company, and our individual identities are what makes us a successful, innovative, authentic team.

We are the one who’s making the difference together!!!

Our purpose is “Empowering People to Transform the Lives of Pets.” It’s why most Instinct employees joined the team: to work toward changing the pet food industry through raw.

Team Member Image

GORDON DUMESICH

Chief Executive Officer

Team Member Image

BOBBY HARRIS

Chief Operating Officer

Team Member Image

MANEL VALLS

Chief Strategy Officer

Team Member Image

DEBRA MCCRACKEN

Director of Human Resources

Team Member Image

JASON MEENTS

Vice President of Research & Development

Team Member Image

SCOTT MCLELLAN

Chief International Development Officer

Team Member Image

ALICE FLATH

Vice President of Sales

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JASON VON ROHR

Chief Financial Officer

A MEMBER of PET SUSTAINABILITY COALITION

In 2020, Instinct proudly became a member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) that drives positive impact for the environments and communities where we do business. PSC is helping us evaluate our company practices and accelerate progress in our supply chain, consumption & production improvements, employee wellness initiatives and better evaluation of our overall environmental & social impact.

Our Purpose

Our purpose is “Empowering People to Transform the Lives of Pets.” It’s why most Instinct employees joined the team: to work toward changing the pet food industry through raw. It’s also why we have a company purpose day out and 5300 hours of volunteer work in the local community under our belt.

Instinct team group image

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