The Honest Kitchen - pet food with a passion

San Diego, Calif., (August 4, 2011) – The Honest Kitchen today was named in Outside Magazine’s fourth annual “Best Places to Work” list. The Honest Kitchen ranked 37 out of 50 selected companies. The full list and related story will be published in the September issue of Outside magazine, available on newsstands August 16, 2011.

Outside’s “Best Places to Work” project celebrates the innovative companies setting a new standard for a healthy work-life balance. The list was compiled with the help of the Outdoor Industry Association and Best Companies Group. The yearlong selection process began with an outreach effort that identified a wide range of non-profit and for-profit organizations with at least 15 employees working in the United States. Participating companies were then sent confidential employee-satisfaction surveys and employer-questionnaires to collect information about benefits, compensation, policies, job satisfaction, environmental initiatives, and community outreach programs.

“I’m honored that we’ve been recognized by Outside Magazine for our unique workplace environment,” stated Lucy Postins, founder and CEO. “We embrace a holistic approach when it comes to our pet food offerings and animal health, so it’s natural that the same philosophy should apply for our team. I make a point to spend time with my children, and hike with my dogs every morning, rather than getting into the office first thing. I arrive much calmer, more focused and balanced. We really promote that each employee choose a schedule that fits their active lifestyle best.” Postins continued.

“These 50 companies are successful precisely because they support a proper work-life balance,” says Michael Roberts, Executive Editor of Outside. “Happy workers that feel part of an active community are guaranteed to be more engaged and productive. And the companies on our list are offering amazing benefits: organic cafeterias, on-site fitness classes, reimbursements for gym memberships and ski passes, opportunities for on-the-clock community service, and much more.”

The Honest Kitchen has been committed to creating a balanced work-life environment since it was founded in 2002. All employees in the company’s corporate office in San Diego have access to group yoga, pilates and cardio classes at a neighboring fitness center, East Village Body Shop, and the office is equipped with a shower and communal kitchen facilities in the company’s renovated loft office in a historic San Diego building.

The Honest Kitchen’s San Diego office is dog-friendly and pet-perks include: compensation for annual pet checkups, an allowance of free pet food, as well as free treats for in-office pets and encouragement to take daily group walking breaks around downtown San Diego.

The Honest Kitchen is an approved member of Green America (formerly Co-op America) and is one of only three pet food companies who received the ‘four-leaf’ rating from Greenopia. They are committed to minimizing their environmental pawprint, and running a company based on passion and principles through ingredient selection, packaging materials, supporting local resellers rather than big-box chains and refusing to allow their products to be sold in ‘puppy-mill’ stores. The company also donates to a variety of local charities through its Pawlanthropy program, and employees frequently hand-select the charities to be supported.

The company offers flexible working schedules for all employees, to enable them to fulfill family, pet and other personal commitments, and has also been known to close the office early and make company-wide trips with their eight office dogs to local pet-friendly beaches like Fiesta Island and OB Dog Beach.

Image Gallery: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150741867205437.718745.92788370436

CONTACTS:
The Honest Kitchen: Carmen Velasquez / Carmen@thehonestkitchen.com / 619.544.0018 x 314

Outside Magazine: Jada Williams/ Jada@giantnoise.com / 646.649.4933

Producer of dehydrated whole foods for pets unveils two new tea formulations for urinary tract health, and combating anxiety in dogs and cats.

San Diego, Calif. (June 23, 2011) The Honest Kitchen today announced the launch two new herbal teas for pets to complement its existing Lithe Tea™, and expand the company’s supplement offerings – Easy Peesy Tea™, for urinary tract health, and Quiet Tea™, to promote calmness.

Easy Peesy Tea™ contains human-grade Horsetail, Cleavers, Couch grass, Nettle and Marshmallow root. It’s intended to help support normal healthy functioning of the urinary tract, including bladder control and the alleviation of urinary irritation. It’s suitable for both dogs and cats.

Quiet Tea™ is made from human-grade Oatstraw, Chamomile, Passionflower, Skullcap and Valerian root. It’s designed to help promote calmness and alleviate anxiety, tension and excitability during stressful or over-stimulating situations for both dogs and cats. It’s particularly suited to combat separation anxiety, and anxiousness when traveling or during thunderstorms.

The new teas join Lithe Tea™, the country’s first ever herbal tea for pets, which is intended to support joint health and mobility in dogs.

“Our herbal teas can be prepared similarly to loose-leaf tea. Pet owners measure the recommended quantity of herbs, steep in hot water for five to ten minutes and strain if desired. The tea can be served alone, added to our dehydrated whole foods, or mixed with Ice Pups™ liquid treat, twice daily,” stated Laurette Lamontagne, the company’s Director of Operations and resident herbalist. “Steeping these herbs in hot water really helps to release the medicinal properties,” she continued.

In addition, the company is re-launching its popular line of three existing nutritional herbal supplements in brand new, beautifully designed packaging. The eco-friendly, recyclable steel canisters feature a custom, hand-drawn botanical illustration which showcases the herbs and whole foods used in the supplement.

The teas and supplements will be available for purchase through The Honest Kitchen’s online store July 7, 2011, and in more than two thousand pet specialty stores nationwide, as well as in some holistic vet offices, and select Whole Foods stores in late July.

Images

Teas Group Shot
Supplement Group Shot
Quiet Tea
Easy Peesy Tea

Lithe Tea


About The Honest Kitchen

The Honest Kitchen produces a line of dehydrated human-grade whole foods for dogs and cats, which are made with love in a human food facility (not in a pet food plant) for the highest possible quality standards. Dehydration is a gentle technique that removes only the moisture and retains most natural nutrients found in raw, whole foods.  The private, family-owned company is based in San Diego CA. The Honest Kitchen’s products are developed with uncompromising attention to detail, by a company of pet lovers with a passion for food.

For more information, please visit www.TheHonestKitchen.com.

San Diego, Calif. (June  16, 2011) The Honest Kitchen, makers of all-natural, dehydrated whole foods for dogs and cats, shared customer feedback from their 2011 annual survey today. The survey was distributed through the company’s monthly newsletter and on their facebook page, and was completed by more than 2500 customers.

Of the applicable customers polled, pet owners noted improvement in the following areas after they began feeding The Honest Kitchen’s dehydrated whole foods:

77.6% noted that The Honest Kitchen helped their pet’s digestion
75.1% said their pet’s wellbeing/energy levels increased
70.6% saw improvement in their pet’s skin and coat
68.7% noticed a reduction in their pet’s symptoms
59% saw improvement in pet’s weight
49.7% of pets’ itchiness improved
37.1% of pet’s ear infections improved
35.5% were able to reduce their pet’s medication

This survey was distributed, recorded and analyzed by The Honest Kitchen. Customers used The Honest Kitchen as their pet’s sole diet, or as a component of a varietal approach to feeding. Over 50% of the respondents had used The Honest Kitchen for more than one year.

“There is a strong, direct correlation between the foods pets eat, and how healthy they are,” said Lucy Postins, founder and CEO, “Many pet owners notice that their pet’s health improves on a fresh, minimally processed diet, and these statistics from our most recent survey are really representative of the feedback we’ve been receiving from our loyal and happy customers, and their vets, since our company was founded almost nine years ago.”

The Honest Kitchen dehydrates the raw ingredients in their pet food. Dehydration is a gentle technique that preserves the enzymes and antioxidants in whole foods –aroma, flavor and even color (phytonutrients) are retained through the minimal process. When produce is cooked under extreme heat and pressure, as with canning and extrusion, the natural, colorful pigments are destroyed and the end product turns brown, devoid of many of the nutrients it started with.

The Honest Kitchen’s recipes are 100% human-grade–meaning they only use fit-for-human-consumption whole foods, and their pet food recipes are produced in an FDA inspected human food facility. The Honest Kitchen’s foods contain no genetically modi­fied ingredients, common fillers and by-products (corn, wheat, soy, rice, beat pulp or meat meals), and are free of added sugar, salt, chemical/artificial preservatives and artificial flavors.

The Honest Kitchen is committed to educating pet owners on the benefits of whole foods for pets, and has copyrighted a free pet health education e-booklet, “Feed Your Way to a Healthy Pet,” which is free to download and share.

The Honest Kitchen Announces Re-Launch of its Trial Size Packaging
New mini boxes of human-grade pet food have enhanced shelf presence for stores

San Diego, Calif. (February 14th, 2011) The Honest Kitchen announced today that it has re-designed the packaging for its trial size boxes of food, to replicate the full size, eco-friendly boxes for which the company is known.

“The size and dimensions of our new trial sizes have been designed with the canned-food customer in mind,” stated Lucy Postins, the company’s founder. “We really want to help stores promote the versatility of our products and we’re expecting that many stores will situate our new trial size boxes in the canned food aisle to introduce The Honest Kitchen as a whole food alternative to canned food. The trial size boxes also work well next to freezers to complement a raw food diet.”

The company’s new trial size packaging holds 4 oz of dehydrated, whole food ingredients for pets and will hydrate to make 1lb of fresh food. The company is also anticipating that the new trial size boxes will be used as a meal-on-the-go for traveling pets, a convenient replacement for frozen raw food as well as an easy-to-serve whole food topper to conventional pet food.

The new mini boxes will be available on stores shelves in March with an MSRP of $3.50, which makes them cost effective compared with an equivalent volume of canned or frozen raw food. The trial size boxes sport roundels that say, ‘make your own wet food’ or ‘the real food alternative to canned food’ and includes a coupon for $5 off a full sized box of food from the company’s human-grade pet food line.

Travel Size Group Image

About The Honest Kitchen
The Honest Kitchen is a line of dehydrated human-grade whole foods for dogs and cats, which are made with love in a human food facility (not in a pet food plant) for the highest possible quality standards. Dehydration is a gentle technique that removes only the moisture and retains most natural nutrients found in raw, whole foods. The private, family-owned company is based in San Diego, CA. The Honest Kitchen’s products are developed with uncompromising attention to detail, by a company of pet lovers with a passion for food.

For more information, please visit www.TheHonestKitchen.com.

The Honest Kitchen releases a free educational booklet for pet guardians
Producer of dehydrated whole foods for pets sets out to educate pet guardians about the importance of good nutrition.

San Diego, Calif. (March 16, 2011) The Honest Kitchen today announced that it has release its free educational booklet “Feed your Way to a Healthy Pet” to resellers and pet guardians nationwide.

The eighteen page booklet is packed with information on pet food and nutrition, pet obesity, pet dental health, pet food allergies, and homemade pet food. It has a strong emphasis throughout, on the link between pet health and food quality, focusing on the various common health concerns that pets visit the vet about – and how they are related to diet.

“Many commercial pet foods are produced under extreme heat and pressure, contain artificial chemical preservatives and hard-to-digest by-products, which can gradually deplete an animal’s immune system over time,” stated Lucy Postins, author of “Feed your Way to a Healthy Pet”, founder and president of The Honest Kitchen, “With ailments like pet obesity and pet diabetes on the rise, our goal is to give pet owners the tools to evaluate their pets’ current diet, an understanding of the direct links between diet and health, and the confidence to add real, species-appropriate whole foods to their pets’ meals.”

The copyrighted content is being provided in volume to authorized Honest Kitchen resellers, to pass out to consumers who visit their stores, and also to utilize as a pet food training manual for employees.

An e-book version of the booklet can also be downloaded online: http://issuu.com/honestkitchen/docs/honestkitchen_pethealth_book?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed

About The Honest Kitchen
The Honest Kitchen is a company of pet lovers, with a passion for food. They produce a line of holistic dehydrated, human-grade, whole foods for pets. Founded by Lucy and Charlie Postins in 2002, The Honest Kitchen provides all-natural products that promote nutritional awareness, environmental responsibility, and a sustainable community. All of their foods are produced in a human food plant (not in a pet food factory) and their products are packaged in artistic, eco-friendly and bio-degradable boxes. For more information, please visit: www.thehonestkitchen.com/media