New Zealand Drives Global Pet Addiction

Media Release            25 February 2014

New Zealand Drives Global Pet Addiction

Imagine a Singaporean company making premium pet food from possums in the Bay of Plenty and exporting successfully for eight years. That’s what Jerel Kwek of Addiction Foods has accomplished, along with a vision to improve pet nutrition globally.

While cats and dogs around the world have fallen for Addiction, it’s only now with a recent plant upgrade in Te Puke that Kwek can make his natural NZ pet food available in the NZ market.

Addiction use a selection of premium proteins and game meats, including New Zealand possum to produce a range of dry and raw dehydrated natural foods designed to prevent allergies and promote long-term health in cats and dogs. 

At a time when many businesses are closing down their New Zealand factories and moving manufacturing offshore, Addiction Foods CEO, Jerel Kwek, is excited to be ramping up his business following a multi-million dollar upgrade of the NZ factory.

“We increased our capacity by over 30 times with our factory upgrade and are now New Zealand’s largest dry pet food plant,” says Kwek. “With such strict regulations over manufacturing and a clean environment, New Zealand is the best place in the world to produce healthy, high quality pet food. We’re thrilled to increase our production here in New Zealand.

“Currently the majority of dry pet food is imported from overseas and we’ve identified a big gap in the market for good quality New Zealand made dry pet food both here and internationally.”

Addiction Foods was co-founded in 2002 by Kwek to offer a range of pet foods free from by-products, fillers and preservatives to help the thousands of cats and dogs suffering from skin and gastro-intestinal conditions caused by allergies to artificial preservatives and additives in their food.

“Addiction uses a holistic and hypoallergenic pet food formula that is completely free from harmful fillers, additives and preservatives and only containing premium meat, fresh vegetables and vitamins to ensure owners are giving their pets a nutritionally balanced meal,” says Kwek.

One of the main ingredients used in Addiction products is possum meat, which is currently harvested through a conservation-based programmed supported by the New Zealand government. The programme is helping to conserve New Zealand plant and animal life by significantly reducing numbers of this agricultural pest.

“Possum meat contains higher levels of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids than other red meats and these fatty acids are essential to pet health,” says Kwek. “We’re pleased to work harmoniously with the government to help reduce the numbers of possum in New Zealand. All possums are sourced from tuberculosis free areas and go through rigorous post mortem testing to ensure the meat used in our products is tuberculosis and pesticide free.”

Kwek has appointed a NZ distributor to offer the Addiction range to Kiwi pet owners. Auckland based Ultrapet is now selling Addiction via pet stores, online and direct. For more information and stockists, visit www.ultrapetfood.co.nz.

Jerel_Kwek_Bio.pdf

Addiction_Foods_Company_Profile.pdf

ENDS

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