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— Carnivore Meat Company®, a leading manufacturer of premium-quality, raw frozen and freeze-dried pet food and treats, announces the appointment of Ashley Li as Vice President of Brand Marketing for Vital Essentials®, the Company’s flagship brand. 

The Vital Essentials® brand has been a pioneer in the raw freeze-dried and frozen pet food category since 2009. Its vast variety of Butcher Cut Protein dog and cat food, toppers, snacks and treats are purely raw ensuring that pets are provided the highest quality whole animal protein available. The Vital Essentials® brand is distributed to over 7,200 independent retailers in the U.S. and Canada, online via Chewy and Amazon, and in 14 international markets.

Li brings over a decade of brand management experience having honed her skills leading and growing consumer brands at Kraft Foods Group and The Kraft Heinz Company across various roles in the US, the UK, and globally before her most recent role as Head of Brand Marketing, Strategy & Innovation at Pet Honesty.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have Ashley join our team,” commented Carnivore CEO Heather Govea.  “Her training as a classical brand manager combined with her latest experience leading marketing and innovation in the pet supplement category made her the perfect fit for Vital Essentials®. This brand has strong momentum coming off its recent re-launch and I’m confident Ashley is the right leader to continue accelerating our growth.”

“As a pet parent and health-conscious consumer, I’ve always been intrigued by the unrivaled benefits of feeding a raw diet,” stated Li. “Vital Essentials® has a fanatical consumer following for its premium, unmatched quality products. I look forward to helping more pet parents and retailers learn why Vital Essentials® is one of the fastest growing pet food brands in the United States.”

For more information about Vital Essentials®, please visit 

Carnivore Meat Company is an award-winning manufacturer of premium raw frozen and freeze-dried pet food and treats. Long considered a raw pet food pioneer, the company's freeze-dried products division supplies private label, co-packing and ingredients to customers globally. The company's rapidly growing brands in Green Bay, Wisconsin, include 

 distributed to more than 7,000 retailers nationwide, in 14 international markets and online. Carnivore Meat Company has been recognized for its growth accomplishments and manufacturing excellence with several awards in recent years, including the Greater Green Bay Chamber Growth Award, Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award, Governor's Export Achievement Award, Greater Green Bay Chamber Manufacturing Award of Distinction and Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies. Visit the Carnivore Meat Company website at carnivoremeat.com.

Li brings over a decade of brand management experience having honed her skills leading and growing consumer brands at Kraft Foods Group and The Kraft Heinz Company

Carnivore Meat Company®, a leading manufacturer of premium-quality, raw frozen and freeze-dried pet food and treats, announces the appointment of Ashley Li as Vice President of Brand Marketing for Vital Essentials®, the Company’s flagship brand.    The Vital Essentials® brand has been a pioneer in the raw freeze-dried and frozen pet food category since 2009. Its vast variety of Butcher Cut Protein dog and cat food, toppers, snacks and treats are purely raw ensuring that pets are provided the highest quality whole animal protein available. The Vital Essentials® brand is distributed to over 7,200 independent retailers in the U.S. and Canada, online via Chewy and Amazon, and in 14 international markets.   Li brings over a decade of brand management experience having honed her skills leading and growing consumer brands at Kraft Foods Group and The Kraft Heinz Company across various roles in the US, the UK, and globally before her most recent role as Head of Brand Marketing, Strategy & Innovation at Pet Honesty.  “I couldn’t be more excited to have Ashley join our team,” commented Carnivore CEO Heather Govea.  “Her training as a classical brand manager combined with her latest experience leading marketing and innovation in the pet supplement category made her the perfect fit for Vital Essentials®. This brand has strong momentum coming off its recent re-launch and I’m confident Ashley is the right leader to continue accelerating our growth.”  “As a pet parent and health-conscious consumer, I’ve always been intrigued by the unrivaled benefits of feeding a raw diet,” stated Li. “Vital Essentials® has a fanatical consumer following for its premium, unmatched quality products. I look forward to helping more pet parents and retailers learn why Vital Essentials® is one of the fastest growing pet food brands in the United States.”  For more information about Vital Essentials®, please visit www.vitalessentials.com.

Press or Media inquiries? Email us at: media@vitalessentialsraw.com

Press Room | In The News

Press Release

GREEN BAY WI (August 21, 2020) – Carnivore Meat Company, manufacturer of frozen and freeze-dried pet food brands Nature’s Advantage®, <a href="https://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/" linktype="url">Vital Essentials</a><a href="https://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/" linktype="url">®</a> 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 <a href="https://naturesadv.com/" linktype="url">Nature’s Advantage</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.carnivoremeat.com/2020/04/01/carnivore-meat-company-kicks-off-vital-relief-challenge-with-100000-donation-to-green-bay-wi-community/" linktype="url">Vital Relief Challenge</a> and the donation of the <a href="https://www.carnivoremeat.com/2020/04/08/carnivore-meat-company-answers-call-for-masks-amid-covid-19-pandemic/" linktype="url">use of UV equipment</a> 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 <a href="https://www.carnivoremeat.com/2020/08/05/carnivore-meat-company-partners-with-festival-foods-to-offer-hemp-chews-throughout-wisconsin/" linktype="url">Festival Foods</a> 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<a href="http://www.inc.com/inc5000" linktype="url"> http://www.inc.com/inc5000</a>. About Carnivore Meat Company Carnivore Meat Company is an award-winning manufacturer of premium raw frozen and freeze-dried pet food and treats.  The Green Bay, Wisconsin company’s rapidly growing brands include Nature’s Advantage®, Vital Essentials®, VE RAW BAR and Vital Cat®, which are distributed to over 6,000 retailers nationwide, in 14 international markets and online to Chewy.com, Amazon, PetFlow.com and others.  Long considered a raw pet food pioneer, the company’s freeze-dried products division supplies private label, co-packing and ingredients to customers globally.  Carnivore Meat Company is family owned and has been recognized for its growth accomplishments and manufacturing excellence with a number of awards in recent years, including Greater Green Bay Chamber Growth Award, Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award, Governor’s Export Achievement Award, Greater Green Bay Chamber Manufacturing Award of Distinction and Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies.  <a href="https://app.salesforceiq.com/r?target=5e85fc86c9e77c0075249496&t=AFwhZf37ljTvqgDOQi7Vz1Z4WQIEx-f_HFYukp9bLO92PWySt4lu3hUceH3ryejsqafFWqXjF3C_mmSnKd2TWkiVZiWPkEIXvO7svABWqpqXyt0WSC5o1FCSUOIaHWSPUsUKfZSzzAuw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.carnivoremeat.com" linktype="url">www.carnivoremeat.com</a>

Carnivore Meat Company honored among America's fastest-growing private firms. Discover their success story with Vital Essentials in the news.

Press Room l Carnivore Meat Company Named Among Fastest Growing Private Companies In America

Carnivore Meat Company Named Among Fastest Growing Private Companies In America

New branding and packaging signal premium quality to uncompromising pet owners looking for the protein pets need Green Bay, WI, June 15, 2023 – Vital Essentials, the flagship brand of Carnivore Meat Company, has unleashed a rebrand to better communicate its point of difference to uncompromising pet owners: premium quality butcher cut protein for the health benefits dogs and cats deserve. Today marks the official launch of the revitalized brand and packaging, bringing a “butcher shop” experience to pet shops across the nation.<img alt="" src="https://a-us.storyblok.com/f/1002562/2640x2000/bae4801152/ve-launches-freeze-dried-raw-pet-food-rebrand.jpg" title="" />Vital Essentials has been a pioneer in freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food since 2009 – sourcing only whole-animal, butcher cut protein that is minimally processed to preserve vital nutrients and minerals for the diet pets need to live their best lives. With an extensive range of high-quality proteins in food entrees, protein mix-in toppers, raw bar snacks, and treats, Vital Essentials ensures that every pet’s dietary needs are met.For pet owners looking for care without compromise, the rebrand makes it easy to find premium protein to support more energetic playtimes, healthier skin, shinier coats, stronger teeth, and gut health. The packaging features brown kraft paper and twine, as one finds in a local butcher shop, along with animal icon view-through windows showcasing each protein variety. The rebrand also introduces &quot;Tabby,&quot; an icon that at once symbolizes a butcher shop ticket and a cherished pet.Lanny Viegut, CEO of Carnivore Meat Company, reflected on the journey leading to the rebrand, “I’ve always believed in the importance of minimally-processed, premium protein, for the health of dogs and cats. We wanted to make it easier for uncompromising pet owners to feed their pets the protein they need and this rebrand does just that, it brings the butcher shop to the pet shop.”The brand relaunch goes beyond packaging to include a renewed focus on forging deeper relationships with Vital Essentials’ customers and consumers. “There are so many brands out there, but we believe that only Vital Essentials offers the Butcher Cut protein pets need,” said Viegut. “As we say in our offices, there are no shortcuts, only butcher cuts – and we’re committed to helping our retailer partners bring the best quality protein to their customers.”Look for Vital Essentials butcher cut protein in-store at a retailer near you and on-line at vitalessentialsraw.com, Amazon, and Chewy.<hr />About Carnivore Meat CompanyCarnivore Meat Company is an award-winning manufacturer of premium raw frozen and freeze-dried pet food and treats based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A raw pet food pioneer, the company&#39;s freeze-dried and frozen product divisions supply private label, co-packing, and ingredients to customers globally. The company&#39;s growing brands include Vital Essentials®, VE RAW BAR, and Nature’s Advantage – distributed to more than 7,000 retailers in the US, online, and in 14 international markets. Carnivore Meat Company has been recognized for its growth and manufacturing excellence with several recent awards including the Greater Green Bay Chamber Growth Award, Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award, Governor&#39;s Export Achievement Award, Greater Green Bay Chamber Manufacturing Award of Distinction and the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list. Visit the Carnivore Meat Company website at <a href="http://carnivoremeat.com" linktype="url">carnivoremeat.com</a>.###Media Contact:Reena S. GoodwinFACTEUR PR for Vital Essentials<a href="mailto:vitalessentials@facteurpr.com" linktype="url">vitalessentials@facteurpr.com</a>216-302-8485

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Carnivore Meat Company® Names Ashley Li Vice President of Brand Marketing for Vital Essentials®

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