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“ We are currently experimenting with a new freeze-dried product concept that combines freeze dried protein with fresh fruits and vegetables, tapping into the‘ humanization’ trend in pet food. The challenge is technical,” Jay discloses.“ We’ re working on embedding the fruits and vegetable within the protein so they stay integrated. If the inclusions fall out and end up at the bottom of the bag, pets won’ t eat them. Getting that right is key to delivering a high-value premium product.”
For the first 15 years, products were only available through independent pet retail stores. However, between 2014 and 2016, Stella & Chewy’ s expanded into e-commerce via Amazon and Chewy. com.“ In 2023, we entered Petco, and in 2025 we made the strategic decision to expand retail distribution beyond the pet specialty channel,” Jay elaborates.“ Consumer behavior is shifting- people no longer shop exclusively at pet specialty stores. Premium pet products are now sold in larger grocery stores and in the mass channel. Our goal is to make our superior nutrition products available wherever pet parents shop for their pet’ s food. We’ ve recently expanded pet store distribution to include PetSmart, entered the grocery channel, partnered with Target in the mass channel and we continue to grow rapidly online. Of course, we still value and support our neighborhood pet store roots, but serving the pet and pet parent comes first, which means being omnichannel.”
Love at first bite
As it stays true to its heritage and culture, the business remains committed to food and employee safety while finding smarter ways to run operations and reinvest in growth.“ We’ re continuously looking for ways to improve
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