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Kreatures Of Habit Podcast
Amy Zalneraitis on We Feed Raw: Why a Raw Food Diet is Best for Pet’s Health & Nutrition
01:00:30
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- [00:00]
Amy Zalnoradis
Kibble is ultra, ultra, ultra processed. Like it is cooked and extruded at extreme high temperatures, like 350 degrees, four times over. And so we know what's happening. What happens when you high heat process ingredients like this is that it creates these carcinogenic compounds. Have you heard of age? Stands for advanced glycation end products. There's a lot of studying on it. Now for what's happening with people food. The ultra processed people food.
- [00:28]
Michael Chernow
I'm Michael Chernow and this is the Creatures of Habit podcast. Our habits will make us or break us. It's just that simple. I've lived on both sides of the tracks and have learned that the decisions we make on a consistent basis truly define who we are as human beings. On this show, I will be interviewing some of the most inspiring, motivating and high performing humans I've encountered to share their daily habits, routines and rituals that help them stay on top of their game and ultimately happy. So sit back, relax, and pay attention because what you hear over the next 30 to 45 minutes could potentially change your life. Let's go. What up, everybody? We're gonna talk today about dog food, if you can believe that. We're gonna talk about dog food. And here's the deal. I am a wellness junkie. As you all know. I am very, very focused on what I put into my body, what my family eats, how we move, the things that we do that ultimately make us who we are right now. I've been a dog dad for the last thing. I got my first dog in 2001. The last 24 years, my dogs are my third and fourth sons. Bowie and Murphy are like, I am madly in love with those animals. And every dog that I've had has always truly just become an extension of me. Like they. I am just passionate about animals and the connection that human beings are able to build and cultivate with with dogs specifically. I know horses are also, like, very connected, but I really do think that the relationship that human beings are able to develop with dogs is unlike anything else. And so, I mean, I'm now really grateful that I'm feeding my dog food, that I've always wanted to go raw with the dogs. And living in New York City, it's not easy when you have big dogs specifically because you need freezer space. And, you know, I did think that it was going to be a pain in the butt with thawing and everything. And the truth of the matter is, is that I now feed my dogs raw food from a company called We Feed Raw and It was the best decision I've ever made. Like, it's only been about two months and I can see drastic changes in the animals. It makes me feel good when I give these dogs this food. Like, they are obviously stoked and fired up that they're getting this like insanely delicious human grade dog food that's made in a USDA facility. But it makes me feel good that I'm giving them the absolute best food that they can get. So I'm sitting here with the co founder and chief brand officer, Amy Zalnoradis, and her story is really interesting of how We Feed Raw kind of came to be. We're going to get into that. But I'm really excited to introduce her because, you know, I feel like I've. I've really leveled up. I feel like I've really leveled up with, with We Feed Raw. And it also happens to be one of the fastest growing, or potentially, I think it actually is the fastest growing D2C raw dog food companies on the market today. So, Amy, welcome.
- [04:01]
Amy Zalnoradis
Thank you. So happy to be here.
- [04:03]
Michael Chernow
I'm so happy you're here.
- [04:04]
Amy Zalnoradis
I'm so happy. It's been like two months since you started feeding them too, because you've really started to see the benefits. You know, it's always good to talk to someone after they've seen the light.
- [04:13]
Michael Chernow
Well, you know, I think like the most, obviously for me, it was. There was like a. It was like a 10 day transition. Right. And we didn't see much of an issue. Right. Like, I felt like you had asked me, hey, do your dogs, are they picky about what they eat? And I was like, absolutely not. These dogs will eat anything, including goose poop. A lot of it. But the transition was pretty smooth. And I think Murphy had like, you know, loose stool one or two days, but other than that, very smooth.
- [04:44]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [04:44]
Michael Chernow
The way they like how excited they are to eat now is like, it's just different.
- [04:50]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [04:50]
Michael Chernow
And then what I really started to notice, like within the first three, four weeks was really how shiny their coats got.
- [04:57]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. That's like the first benefit that. Well, that and the smaller.
- [05:01]
Michael Chernow
Yeah.
- [05:02]
Amy Zalnoradis
Or like those are the first two that people see.
- [05:04]
Michael Chernow
So why don't you just give us a quick sort of background on you. I know that you have a background in marketing and your sister founded We Feed Raw and unfortunately passed away in 2014. And you sort of took that as an opportunity to fulfill her dream and continue building this brand that she was so passionate about.
- [05:28]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. So, yeah, I never applied for this job. Or really set out to have this job. But, you know, as my sister started this company, she was a dog lover, huge dog lover. We grew up with parents that were always rescuing animals, so we really learned to be that way. And she had a bunch of rescues and just, you know, started making raw meals herself and really kind of just like grew the business from there. But when she passed away, my family and I, despite being completely devastated, stepped in to keep her vision alive. And, you know, not just to keep her vision alive, but really I wanted to make it as big and as meaningful and as impactful as it could possibly be. So that's still what I'm doing today. Although I will say that it's grown into something a bit more too. Like, I'm truly passionate about this. I believe in this mission so much, and it's so gratifying to be able to help so many dogs and their humans live better lives together. Um, so I really look at it, at it as a gift that my sister left me, like a job that I love doing and want to. You know, I'm excited to wake up to every. So, yeah, that's really kind of like how it all kind of came to be. But it's. It's changed a lot over the years. Since my sister started it, it was like very small and named something different. Wasn't really a brand. It was more just like a supplier of raw. So I came in with like this marketing background, and that was one of the first things I did, is like, make this a brand. You know, hired an agency, we worked together. It was like an eight month process to really turn this into we feed raw, and I think after our product, it's still like one of our best assets. You know, without brand, you don't really have much. Right. Like, you can have an amazing product, but without a good brand, nobody remembers that product. Nobody returns to that product. So that's really kind of been my focus.
- [07:21]
Michael Chernow
You know, I think it's. It's like the thought just came to mind for me because you said, you know, without brand, community, I think is so important in business, right? And I think a lot of people overlook that, that idea. Oh, community. Like, I come from restaurants, right? And without community, restaurants die, right? Like, you need people to be excited to come and then when they get there, have a great time and want to come back, right? Like, that is community, right? Like, people come together in a place and they look forward to it and they tell everybody about it. And I don't think that there's any better Way to get like, the relationship that people have with their dogs is like the worst day, hands down. And I believe this to my core. My father, I lost my father in 2001. I lost Duke in 2000. My first dog in 2000. For when I lost Duke, it was the worst day of my life. And people say, oh, it was like worse than your. And I was like, yes. Because the relationship that I had with this animal was just. It was, you know, like you. I can't describe it. I can't describe it.
- [08:29]
Amy Zalnoradis
It's pure love with.
- [08:29]
Michael Chernow
Pure love.
- [08:30]
Amy Zalnoradis
Pure love.
- [08:31]
Michael Chernow
And the dog saw me through everything. I mean, I was. I went through a really transitional period with that animal. Like, he saw me in the dark days and was there for me the whole time, even though I was not the greatest dog dad. And then when I came out of that, like, loved me as much, you know, and being able to provide something that could potentially like keep your dog healthy. Like, how do you not build? Like that is in my opinion. And I mean, I don't mean just keep your dog healthy. Like keep your dog healthy. Healthier for longer periods of time.
- [09:01]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. Like their, their health span is better and their lifespan is better, but like their quality of life. Yeah, I mean, I totally agree. I think like the product is doing that. But I think our brand really, I mean, people connect to our brand because it's authentic, you know, it's bold. We're a challenger brand. You know, we're going up against the pet food industrial comp. It's a lot of education that's required. There's a lot of kind of ruffling feathers and we're out there doing that. I mean, we still, we're not starting fights, but we're definitely standing up for what we believe is right.
- [09:38]
Michael Chernow
And pointing out what's wrong.
- [09:39]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, pointing out what's wrong and saying, like, I think people want to be part of a movement like that too. Like we make them feel like they're part of a movement that's actually an exciting movement that's changing dogs lives and their humans lives for the better. And it's questioning the status quo. It's challenging the status quo. And I think that there's something really exciting about that that is integral to our brand for sure.
- [10:06]
Michael Chernow
I think the. There's no surprise that the dog food industry is a big one, right? It's a big one.
- [10:15]
Amy Zalnoradis
It's a massive $5 billion.
- [10:18]
Michael Chernow
Yeah. I mean, that's serious. And I think only in maybe like the last 10 years or so, you've started to see people creating in that space in a really kind of modern, cool way. Right. It's been dinosaur age for a really long time.
- [10:37]
Amy Zalnoradis
And.
- [10:37]
Michael Chernow
And really, I think, you know, we were talking before we started shooting. You said, you know, people. When kibble came out, people were still feeding their dogs scraps. So these guys and gals had to come to market and say, hey, like, you've been feeding your dog food leftovers. Now we want you to pay for it. And now we're gonna tell you that the scraps that you've been feeding your dogs is killing them.
- [11:04]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. It's dangerous. Like, don't. Don't feed them anything real. It has to come from this scientifically formulated bag that is. It's the only safe and complete and balanced thing that you should be feeding them. And people. It was genius. People bought into it, and still to this day buy into it. I mean, it's interesting if you look at the history of what dogs have eaten. Like, 30,000 years ago, dogs evolved from wolves in the wild. They were eating prey, model raw diet. They were hunting prey animals eating them. So muscle meat, organ meat, bones, whatever. Maybe vegetation happened to be in the prey animal stomach. 16,000 years ago, humans domesticated them for, you know, herding, protection, companionship. And they. They ate what the humans are eating still. Meat, organ bones, maybe some plant matter. And they lived alongside us and kind of ate what the leftovers of what we were eating still scavenged. You know, they weren't like, living in houses this whole time. They were still out there, like, eating what they could find, too. And it wasn't until 1860 that the first dry dog food biscuit was invented by this businessman named James Spratt, who was in England, and he saw sailors throwing hardtack on the docks. Like, hardtack is this processed food that sailors used to eat. And the stray dogs were gobbling it up. So he had a light bulb moment and invented Spratt's Dog Cakes. And it was kind of like this huge hit. And then in 1920.
- [12:31]
Michael Chernow
So it was that guy only for, like, those 60 years.
- [12:34]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yes. Like, that's like, when that was the. Yeah. Marks the introduction of commercial pet food. James Spratt guy killed it. Yeah. Six years.
- [12:42]
Michael Chernow
Cornered the market.
- [12:42]
Amy Zalnoradis
And, like, not, you know, any sort of animal, just a businessman. And then in the 1920s, they started canning horse meat and selling that as dog food. And that went on for a while still. People were feeding, you know, other things. Right. They were still feeding leftovers. And then in, like, the mid World War II, there was a metal shortage because it was all, all the metal was going to the war effort. So they had to stop the canning and think about what could go well in bags. And what goes well in bags?
- [13:11]
Michael Chernow
Processed food.
- [13:12]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, Like Kibble, dry kibble. So in 1956, Purina introduced like the extrusion technology was invented and Purina introduced the first Purina dog chow. And it has dominated the market ever since. Like, dominated. So that really is what most dogs are still eating today.
- [13:32]
Michael Chernow
So like, if you had to break down the difference between what a kibble does and what raw food does, like how would you tell somebody that doesn't know anything?
- [13:41]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh yeah, I love talking about this. Although my team's always like, okay, like it's like no fear mongering. But I do think like, we really don't want to shame people for feeding kibble because it is a very cost effective and convenient option. Okay. That I will give it. And sometimes people can't afford to feed 100% raw because you have like multiple big dogs in the home. So you know, doing partial raw feeding with kibble is totally something we support. But I think it's important that we educate people on what kibble actually is so that they can make better choices. Right. Because if you don't know, you don't know.
- [14:14]
Michael Chernow
I want to know like the nitty gritty.
- [14:16]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. Okay, so.
- [14:17]
Michael Chernow
Because I've heard some funky stuff.
- [14:19]
Amy Zalnoradis
My three big issues with Kibble are one, that it is absolutely packed with highly refined carbohydrates. Okay. Dogs have no need for carbohydrates. That doesn't mean they can't digest them, but they just have no requirement for them. But then you have kibble companies that are putting anywhere from 40 to 70% cheap, highly refined carbohydrates food, corn, grains, like all just all of this stuff that it's not even like. I'm not talking about low glycemic carbohydrates, like you know, healthy fruits and veggies. These are like the lowest level. And then they're highly processed and then these are spiking dogs blood sugar causing inflammation. You know, we know that 59% of dogs in the US are obese or overweight. The second thing is that the quality of the ingredients is really low. So you have, you know, these cheap, highly refined grains, you have plant derived proteins and then you have these rendered animal proteins. Animal proteins that are coming from a rendering and they're all feed grade ingredients. So meaning they haven't. They've been deemed unsafe to enter the human food supply, so, you know, just not fit for human consumption. So there's a lot of things that can happen in that, you know, when you have them, something in that category. And then third, so like there's like.
- [15:32]
Michael Chernow
No kind of regulations.
- [15:33]
Amy Zalnoradis
I mean it's hard to. There's so much like, yes, there is regulation. But what happens is like these rendering plants are collecting animal sources from all different places. So that can be expired grocery store meat, that can be, you know, animals that died other than by slaughter. You know, there's been reports that, you know, sometimes this can even be euthanized animals that end up in there and they grind it all together, you know, it's boiled in this big vat. They skim the fat off and then they, they dry the rest of it into a protein powder that then is sold to these pet food manufacturers. So the pet food manufacturers might not even know everything that's in that rendered product. You know what I mean?
- [16:11]
Michael Chernow
Doesn't sound like anybody really does.
- [16:13]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, and it sounds like it's pretty loose. Like, I mean there's reports that, you know, they're not taking the plastic off of the expired grocery store, they're not taking like the tags off the animals, they're just all getting thrown in there into this like big vat. It's pretty nasty.
- [16:28]
Michael Chernow
Wow.
- [16:28]
Amy Zalnoradis
There's some documentaries, one of them is called Pet Fooled that I would recommend watching because it really is an eye opening look into this stuff. But the third one, and might even be the most important is that kibble is ultra, ultra, ultra processed. Like it is cooked and extruded at extreme high temperatures, like 350 degrees four times over. And so we know what's happened. What happens when you high heat process ingredients like this is that it creates these carcinogenic compounds. Have you heard of AGEs? Stands for Advanced glycation end products. There's a lot of studying on it now for what's happening with people food. The ultra processed people food and AGES cause all sorts of chronic diseases. Cancer, metabolic disease, neurologic dysfunction. There's a study actually out of the Medical University of South Carolina, where scientists looked at the different levels of AGES and various pet foods. And obviously kibble and canned were the highest and the minimally processed ones, like raw, were the lowest. But what was so scary about it is that they found that the levels of ages and processed dog food were 100 times higher than those found in processed people food. And so like, you know, these dogs, they're not getting a Break from it. They're eating kibble meal after meal, day after day. There's like, that's the only thing they eat. So, like, I think, what's the statistic? About, like, 63% of the calories consumed by people in the US come from ultra processed food. And that's scary, but, like, it's carrier for the dogs. But 100%, like, 100, most dogs, 100% of their calories are coming from ultra processed food. So those are my three big issues with extruded dry food. Canned food, too, is ultra processed. So I think it's about getting people to see what's actually happening, what this food is actually made of, and then making better choices. Like, we really try not to be extremists about it. Like, it's not all raw or nothing. We're not the pet food police, you know, but when you know better, you do better. And you'll, you know, we have people that feed 50% cable, 50% raw. And you will see, like, you can make a meaningful difference in your dog's health by just adding some raw to your dog's bowls.
- [18:39]
Michael Chernow
So, like, what if. Okay, so, I mean, yeah, I know you have a company here. So, like, I mean, but what if someone is a hunter.
- [18:47]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [18:47]
Michael Chernow
And just has like a ton of venison in his freezer? Like, can that. Can that person just come out? Like, start adding that?
- [18:58]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna, like, I think, as personally, I would say, yes, that's totally fine. And like, your dog's getting real food and they can, you know, digest. They're literally equipped to digest and process raw meat. What we do, though, is make sure that your dog is getting everything they need in the correct proportions and ratios. So, like, it's roughly 80% muscle meat, roughly 10% organ meat, all of which is secreting organ. And then we have the bone in there too. And then we do add some essential vitamins and minerals just to ensure full and proper nutrition. I think sometimes we get careful about. There's a lot of DIY raw feeders and more power to you if you do that. But it's hard to do it right all the time by yourself. It's a lot of work. And I think there's a lot of pushback from the vet community in general on raw feeding for a lot of reasons. But, you know, I will say that if they're seeing, you know, some of these dogs come in that are on poorly made, homemade raw diets, it gives raw a bad name, you know, so, like, of course it's fine to give your dog some venison that you've. But like, I think you just want to be careful that you're, you're giving your dog complete balance. Yeah.
- [20:08]
Michael Chernow
What I told, I told our vet that we were feeding.
- [20:13]
Amy Zalnoradis
How'd that go?
- [20:13]
Michael Chernow
We feed raw and he was fired up for us.
- [20:16]
Amy Zalnoradis
Really? That's amazing. I'm hearing so much more of this lately. Like, even in the last five years, it has started to change and it's so exciting. But I mean, there's still, we still have people that get so excited to feed our food and then they go to the vet, they're like, oh no, you can't feed raw. It's going to make your dog sick or you sick. And I think that what's happened, like, there's plenty of raw companies like us in the US that are providing a safe way to feed raw and a complete and balanced way to feed raw. But I don't know if the vets just don't learn about that in vet school.
- [20:45]
Michael Chernow
So when you say a safe way, what do you mean?
- [20:47]
Amy Zalnoradis
First of all, sourcing. Like, sourcing is. We have very high quality sourcing. We produce in a USDA certified facility and then we use a cold pressurization process, which is an all natural process that uses pure cold water at extreme pressure to inactivate any potentially harmful pathogens that might be in the meat. So E. Coli, salmonella, listeria. We do this because we believe it's the right thing to do. Because it, you know, listen, dogs can handle raw meat without this. Most healthy dogs. But the dogs in the US not, not all of them are healthy. Right. It depends on the state of their gut microbiome that when they come to us, if they've been eating a highly processed diet for most of their lives, they might not handle that so well. And then we're also, it's the f. The FDA has a law too, that you can have zero pathogens and pet food. Zero. Like there's a zero tolerance policy. So if you're a raw pet food and you're not using some sort of kill step like hpp, then you're just asking for recalls. And also it's not, it's not safe for the people feeding it in the home. If you have young children, if you have immunocompromised people in the home, if you have elderly people. So it really allows us to provide a safe product that hasn't, like, we're still not heating it, we haven't added any chemicals to it. It's a natural process. Cold pressurization is used ubiquitously throughout people food. So baby food, you know, juices, coffees, other meats, seafood. It's really we've probably both of us have eaten HP food this week.
- [22:12]
Michael Chernow
Oh yeah. I know all about it so.
- [22:13]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh you do?
- [22:14]
Michael Chernow
Okay.
- [22:14]
Amy Zalnoradis
I mean so it's the purist will sometimes have issues with it, but the juice community. Yeah, the juice community. But I mean we honestly there's nothing if you don't I really safety was something I made a priority from the beginning and if you want to scale a raw company in the US you better be making sure that you are doing something like so it's I love it as a solution and we've talked to a lot of the PhDs that work at Hyperbaric, which is the the global leader in HPP equipment and looked at all the studies like it doesn't change the nutritional value. It doesn't it even like there's some studies showing it even increases the digestibility. So it's a great option and I love that we're using it.
- [22:57]
C
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- [24:22]
Michael Chernow
Back to the pod. So in regards to like, and obviously I know there's no, you know, you guys aren't making any claims about this does that but what can someone see or what have you guys seen along the journey in terms of just overall health span?
- [24:39]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. I mean we get so many stories. It's crazy. The other day we just got something from a woman whose Pomeranian had been suffering from seizures once a week. Seizures. The vets couldn't help her. She was at a loss. She didn't know what to do. This was going on for so long. She just decided one day to throw out all the food, throw out all the junky treats. She started our food and the dog has not had a seizure in six months. Like it's amazing. Just like amazing stuff.
- [25:06]
Michael Chernow
And do you think that that's like the sugar was, was creating?
- [25:10]
Amy Zalnoradis
I mean there could be so many things. I mean the dog, like there's so many things. I don't know exactly what she was even feeding. I know it was some sort of ultra processed food, but there's so many species inappropriate ingredients in there. And also just like junky fillers that could have been having an allergic react. I mean there's just so many things. And this isn't to say I'm always careful to be like raw. Feeding isn't a cure all, it's not a panacea. It doesn't mean like it's going to necessarily cure your dog of everything, but it does give your dog the best chance at a happy, healthy life. It really so like, oh my gosh, we see so many. We have another dog recently, like a pit mix who was young and he was covered in hives, hair falling out, patchy everywhere. The owner was taking him to the vet once a month for these very expensive steroid shots. Nothing was working. She switched to our food about a month and a half later. Almost completely cured. Like no more shots. The fur was growing back, the hives were gone. Just, I mean food can be.
- [26:11]
Michael Chernow
I've known about that when Duke was around because he had, that was, that was his story. He died young. For a pit bull. He died at nine. Typically pit bulls, you get a good like 13, 14 years and all of a sudden like, you know, and I feel so passionate about this topic because of how much I love dogs.
- [26:33]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [26:34]
Michael Chernow
And I know if I love dogs so much, pretty much every single dog owner feels the same way. And if you can, like, I mean it's always awesome sitting across From a great entrepreneur.
- [26:46]
Amy Zalnoradis
Right.
- [26:46]
Michael Chernow
For me. But a great entrepreneur that's making. That has a business in a world that I'm like, so, like, I would love my dogs to live forever.
- [26:56]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, I know.
- [26:56]
Michael Chernow
You know, all my dogs are tattooed on my body.
- [27:00]
Amy Zalnoradis
They are.
- [27:01]
Michael Chernow
And so, like, I just feel like understanding how much of an impact going from kibble or going from kibble to Raw, or at least introducing some Raw to the kibble.
- [27:14]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, totally. I mean, we say we're not anti kibble, we're just anti only kibble for an entire lifetime. We always believe that more Raw is better, but we really have to be able to meet people where they are and we don't want to be exclusionary. We used to be a lot more. My sister founded this company. It was founded on like the fanatics, right? Like, these are the people that were. It's hard customers to have. Like, how did the animal die exactly? Did you kill it with your own bow and arrow? You know, it's like this very extreme and I'm so grateful for those people because they.
- [27:43]
Michael Chernow
Did you kill it with your own bone arrow?
- [27:45]
Amy Zalnoradis
I mean, like, I'm exaggerating, but it was, you know, they have to know everything. And it was very. It was hard. It was just not scalable with that level. And also at the time, you know, back in 2014, this was even a lot more fringe. Like, it's still sort of fringe. It's the fastest growing segment of the pet food market. But people are very. We're very intense about it. And I think now we're just a lot less. We've softened our approach. It's like, however you want to feed Raw, we want to be a resource for you and we want to support you. And it's really kind of. I think it's resonated with our audience. It's hard not to make people feel like you're shaming them when you're like.
- [28:20]
Michael Chernow
You know, right when the mass is doing something bad.
- [28:23]
Amy Zalnoradis
And they're like, but I thought. And my vet is telling me this and it's like, you know, it can feel when you're challenging the mainstream, it can feel like fear mongering, but, like, it's just uncovering the truth and like, you know, putting it out there. So we really have to be toe that line of not making people feel bad about what they're doing. It's funny because whenever I, you know, get on calls with people or meeting a new partner or something and I ask what they're feeding, they're like, don't hate me, but I'm like, no, I'm not gonna judge you, I promise. Like, it's okay.
- [28:54]
Michael Chernow
You know, I want to add, I want to get into the business a little bit.
- [28:57]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [28:58]
Michael Chernow
What? So this is a question that I like to ask and I think that the fact that you said it's the fastest growing segment in pet food and pet food is a very big segment. Right. And now, I mean, I know a buddy of mine who is the founder of Freshly, Mikey, we strap. He moved on from Freshly and he opened up a veterinary business. Like a way more sort of modern, sort of easy to walk into, bit more technical, like veterinary experience. There's a lot of sort of energy in this pet space now. Competition. So you said that it's the fastest growing segment in the pet food space.
- [29:42]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [29:42]
Michael Chernow
And I know how I feel about competition in my business. How do you view competition?
- [29:49]
Amy Zalnoradis
So I think fresh and raw, sort of in the same little category together. So the fresh ones, like the gently cooked brands out there are, I would say, probably a little bit bigger. But I don't, honestly, it's not like the raw market is saturated. Like, it would actually help to have, we have very, we call it very friendly competition. Like we all sort of support each other because we're all educating. Like, it's a lot of education. We have to take a very education driven approach to this and it's not something you can just like throw money at. Like, you have to be very thoughtful. I think, like, we prioritize platforms that allow for deeper discussions like this because we have to be able to educate people. There's a lot of, I mean, I call it brainwashing, but like, people don't understand that dogs weren't always eating kibble or that there's another option or that, you know, people will often say to us, oh, well, I'm feeding like a really high quality kibble. I'm like, I don't really know if there's such a thing. You know, I mean, there's obviously some kibble companies that might have a little bit better sourcing, but at the end.
- [30:52]
Michael Chernow
Of the day it's ultra process.
- [30:54]
Amy Zalnoradis
That's the thing. So.
- [30:55]
Michael Chernow
And then you just break down that ultra process thing though. So for people that, that are listening, that don't really understand what that means, they, I, I think when people think ultra processed, they immediately think of Cheetos and like, but like, what is it?
- [31:07]
Amy Zalnoradis
So it's just the process of like how the food is made and you're changing like the molecular structure to such a way like this is what's happening with people food that our bodies and dogs bodies don't know what to do with it. Right. And then again, going back to the ages, which is like one of the biggest problems with ultra processed food for people and for pets is like the level of age is so much higher. These carcinogenic compounds. And they know that these carcinogenic. It's not like we don't know what these carcinogenic compounds do. We know that they cause these chronic diseases and that the levels are just so much higher from the processing in ultra processed foods than like a whole food or a minimally processed food, for example. So that's really what the. What the danger is with the processing.
- [31:52]
Michael Chernow
The company was founded. Your sister started sort of noodling around in 2009.
- [31:57]
Amy Zalnoradis
Right.
- [31:58]
Michael Chernow
And the company was actually founded really sort of launched in 2000.
- [32:01]
Amy Zalnoradis
And well, she. So let's see. She. My. It's kind of an interesting story because in 2007 my sister. The seed was planted because there was a big recall in pet food. I don't know if you remember this, but it was some wheat gluten that had been contaminated. A Chinese manufacturer had used melamine, which is an industrial chemical to boost the protein levels. And the wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is sold to pet food manufacturers as a protein source. The manufacturer sold it to all of these pet food companies. It ended up in the food and it was killed and made sick thousands of cats and dogs. So it was like big news. It made headlines. So I think it was really like marks a huge shift because you can actually see when raw started to become bigger than too. It was like people were starting to think more critically about like what am I actually putting in my dog's bowl and like where is this coming from? And like I haven't asked any questions. So my.
- [32:51]
Michael Chernow
Nobody knows.
- [32:52]
Amy Zalnoradis
Nobody knows.
- [32:53]
Michael Chernow
Nobody knows.
- [32:53]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. So I think then though it really started to be something that people thought about more critically. And my sister was one of those people. So that's when how she sort of got into raw feeding. So yeah, she just started making the meals herself, became an expert at it. And then friends meals and then friends of friends. It was really just like that type of founder story, organic growth. And they lived in Austin, Texas and she and her fiance at the time, he was a sushi chef. So he would like make the food. They delivered it door to door just in Austin and surrounding it. Sushi shop. Yeah, I know.
- [33:24]
Michael Chernow
Is he still a sushi chef?
- [33:25]
Amy Zalnoradis
No, no, He. He actually continued to work in the business. He no longer does, but yeah, he was. You know, the business really continued to grow. My sister, you know, she and Rich, her fiance, worked on this for a few years in Austin. And when she got sick, you know, it felt like out of the blue. I mean, she was young, healthy. Like, it just felt like just this shock. She moved the. She moved to a Shopify site because she wanted to be moving them to Maine to be closer to us. And that just sort of grew the company exponentially because suddenly we were shipping nationwide. So before she was just Austin, she moved to this like, you know, Shopify site for a very sad reason, but it grew the company a lot. And then she. She worked on this business until the last week of her life. Like she was still working on this, the last week of her life. So her passion for this and her dedication to this really has driven me forward too. You know, I. I mean, she had so much conviction about this. It's not. She never had a question like, absolutely knew this was the best way for dogs to eat. You know, there was never any questioning. So. Yeah, so that's kind of was the trajectory. And then after she died, I stepped in. My dad came out of RET to sort of run the operations and business side. Rich, her fiance went. We had like a facility in Maine. We had workers showing up.
- [34:43]
Michael Chernow
We looked at the family business.
- [34:44]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, it was. My poor dad was like retired, but we're like, no dad, you gotta go back. I know it was tough and I think we were all just in so much grief too at the time. And there was. It was hard because of that. But also there was like, it was cathartic too because, you know, we were. Felt like we were keeping her, keeping.
- [35:01]
Michael Chernow
Something in her name.
- [35:02]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [35:02]
Michael Chernow
I assume that you guys were growing steadily year over year. Was there a moment where you were like, wait a second, this thing is. There's a real opportunity to make this the fastest growing direct to consumer raw food company in the game.
- [35:18]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, I mean, we definitely have seen significant penetration and I think probably in 2021 we got a much bigger investment that sort of solidified the company. And. And since then we have just been growing. We've been in a high growth phase since then. And I think it's also, you know, the product is amazing. People are more open to the product. Just the idea of raw feeding the brand is great. And I think that, you know, it just, it continues, it will continue to grow. People, people are ready for something. They're thinking about it. For themselves. You know, it's like, I think people. It makes intuitive sense. You know, people like to have that light bulb moment when you, like, explain to them, like, guess what? Kibble came around in 1956. Like, this is actually the original dog diet. We always say it's so funny that this is called radical because we're like, this, this isn't Kibble's. The trend, like, this has been around forever, you know, like, this is, you know, what dogs are designed to eat. It is like what they've been thriving on from a life.
- [36:21]
Michael Chernow
It's so interesting when you think about it, right? Like, I was talking to my kids about this the other day. Animals specific, certain animals were designed to eat certain things, right? And we were talking about dinosaurs. And you look at a brontosaurus, right, the huge massive dinosaur. And that animal only eat. Only ate leaves from trees. That's all it ate. Yeah, Elephants.
- [36:43]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [36:44]
Michael Chernow
Just.
- [36:44]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [36:45]
Michael Chernow
Leaves, you know. But then you look at. And the big difference is the. Their teeth, right? Like, that's when you can see the difference.
- [36:53]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. I mean, it's so interesting. I was talking about this with someone else recently, but like, you know, any nutritionist or animal, you know, specialist will tell you that all you have to do is look at an animal's biological makeup and it reveals to you what they should be eating. So, like with dogs, sharp, pointy teeth, short, fast digestive tracts, you know, they are if everything about them, like, no amylase in their saliva, no sideways movement of the jaw. Like their jaws open and snap shut, you know, for ripping and tearing meat, no big flat molars at all for grinding out plant matter. Herbivore, like a horse, you know, big flat teeth, long digestive tract. They're supposed to eat a lot of fiber. I mean, really, it's not that that's. And people are like, there's no science behind it. There's no science. And it's like. But there is really. That's the science that starts there. It really starts there. Like, nature has been telling us all along that this is. Is the optimal diet for canines. There is some great, I will say, the University of Helsinki, there's a vet and a PhD named Dr. Anna Bjorkman. And she, along with some other independent researchers are looking at the benefits of raw. And they've already discovered. Not surprising to, I guess, the people that know it, but it's great to have this research that dogs fed raw are metabolically healthier than dogs on a kibble diet. Dogs fed raw have lower disease and inflammatory markers than those fed kibble diets. They also looked at puppies, and they discovered that puppies fed raw have a reduced likelihood of allergies or IBD as adults and have stronger immune system. So there is also real science coming out, which is exciting because it's helping. I think it helps. It's hard to just use the nature argument all the time. It helps to have.
- [38:39]
Michael Chernow
And is it because. Is there, like, sort of, like, not a wealth of science because people just haven't done that? The clinical studies.
- [38:47]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, studies are expensive. They take a long time. I mean, but there's really not. Our nutritionists will say there's not a ton of pet food studies in general. Besides, like, you know, there's nothing proving that kibble is healthier than raw, for example. Or, you know, a lot of the studies have been kibble funded. Or maybe you, you know, feed a dog something for 28 days, and it doesn't have any health problems, and therefore it's like, okay, well, this is great for your dog.
- [39:11]
Michael Chernow
You know, I just think anybody who's really conscious and really prioritizes their health should be considering this. Right? Like, if you're. If you're a human being and you have an animal and, you know, like, look, finances are different for everyone, right? So, like, there's always that, you know, so, like, this is absolutely not for every single person on the planet, but I believe that all human beings should make their health their number one priority. And. And if you have an animal, in my opinion, it should funnel down to your animal. Right. Because of that relationship that I've talked about five times already that I'm so passionate about. For someone who's just thinking about, is there one thing that you can tell the audience that's listening that's just like, hey, this is as simple as it gets. This is why. This is something that you should consider. In my mind, and I know that this is something that I've kind of made up, but in my mind, I have big dogs, and I've always had big dogs. Like, I just want my dogs to live longer.
- [40:13]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [40:14]
Michael Chernow
You know, like, that's what I really want. And that's why I'm like, that's why, like, when I started with Refeed Raw, I was like, okay. Like, I. Obviously, no company is ever gonna tell me that the dogs are gonna live longer.
- [40:24]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah.
- [40:24]
Michael Chernow
Right. Like, you can't do that.
- [40:26]
Amy Zalnoradis
Right.
- [40:26]
Michael Chernow
But in my mind, that's what it is. In my mind, I'm like, okay, this dog, they get a lot of activity, but I Want them to feel really awesome and also live as long as possible.
- [40:37]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. You want. You want them to live better. Right. And that we can promise. We can't promise that your dog will live better when you feed them a whole foods diet that they are designed to derive their nutrients from. I mean, absolutely. That is something that we can say. Yeah. I mean, I think that it's hard because people. I think we've grossly underestimated what it costs to properly feed an animal. We've been trained to think that. It's the same with humans. Right.
- [41:06]
Michael Chernow
Same thing.
- [41:07]
Amy Zalnoradis
30% of, I think a US person's budget is healthcare and food. And it used to be 20% of that was food and 10% was healthcare. But over time, it's flipped. Right. We're just spending less on putting good stuff into our bodies and more on treating the symptoms from putting crappy stuff into our bodies. And if we're doing that to ourselves, of course our dogs are sort of getting the same thing. I think it's just a reallocation of funds. It's like putting. Investing more up front in your dog's health will save you money in the long run. But I mean, preventative health is like a hard thing for people to value. So it's like, you really. It's a lot of times people will come to us after they've already been through something. Right. And we're trying to get people before that.
- [41:55]
Michael Chernow
Yeah. I mean, I will say I had a conversation with somebody the other day and he said something that was really smart. You know, he was like, we've taken a lot of heat at creatures of habit for introducing an oatmeal product that's arguably 10 times more expensive than Quaker. Right. And they're like, okay, so you want me to pay $4.50 for your one pouch of oatmeal when I can get Quaker for 45 cents? Like, how is that. Like, how could you even think that that makes sense? You know, we've understood that those people are not necessarily our people. Right. Which is fine. Can't please everyone. But what we also. What I also have come to believe is that I've watched people get sick. I've watched my father his whole life or my whole life get sick, not take care of himself and die young. And when I think about health, I don't think about it as a cost. I think about it as an investment. It's an investment.
- [42:57]
Amy Zalnoradis
It's an investment.
- [42:58]
Michael Chernow
It's an absolute investment. And it's. It's like there's nothing more important in life than your health. Yeah, it's just not.
- [43:07]
Amy Zalnoradis
It's true. And you will save money in a lot. Like you will say, and it's not just about money. Right. But you'll have a better quality of life. You'll experience life better. Your dog will too. But you will ultimately save money. I think it's just like not getting people to, you know, because a lot of the things, even with like a raw diet or us eating healthy, like you can't always see the things that are happening, you know, but they are, it's improving your immune system. And so we just did a big survey actually with our current customers, and it was, I think 97% of them said that they believe food could be powerful medicine, more powerful than conventional medicine, which is amazing. But I was like striking because, I mean, I have very health conscious friends. I don't even think 97% of them would say that. But I mean, we're getting people that have seen the light. They, they, they understand the importance of nutrition for themselves and they're applying those same learnings to their dogs. Yeah, I mean, I think that all of this happening, I mean, we're probably very much in this world, so it's easy to think like everyone's thinking, but it's sometimes hard to get people to. I mean, we're not the, we're not the dog food company that, you know, the person who's like, it's just a dog, like, whatever. Like, it's just like that. Those people probably aren't gonna feed our food. That's okay. We don't need to, like.
- [44:18]
Michael Chernow
Right? You can't please everyone. You're not for everyone.
- [44:21]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, but if you want your dog to live better, maybe longer, it's like, you can't expecting a dog to live a healthy, happy, disease free life on only fast food. Basically, kibble is the same as expecting a person to live a happy, healthy, disease free life.
- [44:37]
Michael Chernow
I mean, I think that that's a great comparison.
- [44:38]
Amy Zalnoradis
Right?
- [44:38]
Michael Chernow
Because that's basically what it is. Like if someone just ate Burger King.
- [44:42]
Amy Zalnoradis
Or McDonald's, everyone would be like, you can't do that. But with dogs, when you say they can't eat kibble, they're like, well, why not? It's like. But it's literally kind of the same thing, you know? Yeah.
- [44:54]
Michael Chernow
This is such a fun conversation. You know, I think not enough people know much about raw food. Raw dog food. Like when you, like, you know, you had mentioned that it was super fringe when Alyssa founded it, and it's like, even fringe today, I think, when I said it. And I live in a community, you know, in upstate New York now. There's lots of hippie dippies. You know what I mean? Lots of. Lots of hippie folk. And, you know, when I said raw food, they were like, oh, we've been feeding our dogs raw forever, you know, but, you know, they're all. They. They're like. They make, you know.
- [45:32]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, they're like already. It's funny because, like, it's so funny that you say that, because in our survey that we just did, trying to understand better who our current customer is, there's definitely, like, the people that are New Yorkers reading the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, they've found raw feeding through enlightenment. But then there's another group of people, like, in even, like, Alabama or. And they're like, this is just the way that dogs eat. Like, we know that. You know, it's like they've had this sort of, you know, realization. The journey has been different. But we were talking about it at work. You know, it's sort of like Levi's or something. Like, you know, there's the guys on the farm that wear Levi's because they're really functional, and then the people in New York City that totally.
- [46:10]
Michael Chernow
So where's the company in five years?
- [46:12]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh, man. I think that we'll really want to. So right now, our current customer, the biggest cohort, 100% of that feed, 100% raw feeding. So the biggest cohort right now fully raw. Then the second biggest cohort is people who are feeding 50% raw, 50% kibble. Both very happy customers. The industry data, though, shows us that 85% of. Of consumers, pet owners, feeding. Fresh or frozen? Fresh frozen. Like gently cooked. Frozen and raw frozen are only doing it partially. So we know that to get. We have to really embrace this, like, partial raw feeding. We know to get more raw into more bowls, we're really going to have to go in that direction and still always believe that. You know, of course, the more you can do, the better. But being able to support that, I think is really going to help us broaden our audience.
- [47:11]
Michael Chernow
Is there a way to make a just awesome kibble?
- [47:20]
Amy Zalnoradis
No. Kibble's always ultra processed. But there's other. There's other shelf stable things that you can do that I can't talk about right now. But it's definitely in the works. I mean, all of that's going to inform our future pipeline. Definitely looking at more functional foods and whole foods that could Maybe be more shelf, stable, but, yeah, it's always going to be what's best for the dogs. Like, we're always thinking about what's best for the dogs, and I feel like that's what is wrong with the pet food industry is like, is anyone asking what's best for the dogs or is it just about, like, one of our favorite lines is, kibble is a convenience food, not a health food. Like, it is very convenient. It is cost effective. Those are its two benefits. But it wasn't created as a health food for dogs, you know?
- [48:00]
Michael Chernow
You know, so the creatures that have a podcast tends to really focus on meeting great, cool people and talking about the habits, rituals, and routines that keep them on top of their game and ultimately happy. And I didn't really dive into that much on this episode because I really want people to understand that this dog food thing is a real thing and our dogs could have healthy habits, too. The hard part is that it's totally up to us. Yeah, right? Like, we are in absolute control. The hardest part about being a dog owner is that you are in control of that animal's life all the way till the very end, right? And so, you know, and the hardest and the most incredible, right, like, you are in control, so you can make those habits awesome. Like, we choose, you know, in my world, you know, most people that I tend to associate with chooses better habits. And because of that, I think that, like, allowing that to flow through with everything that you love in life is awesome. Right? So I really. I kind of wanted to keep this one on the. On the dogs. Is there. Is there just for, like, the entrepreneurial people that listen? Because we get a lot of entrepreneurs that listen to podcast. Is there a lesson over the last decade that you can kind of share that you think something that was really hard for you in growing the business, like, super duper hard, that you like, that you like, maybe a phase or a season that you went through that was just like.
- [49:30]
Amy Zalnoradis
Like, gosh, it was so hard for Zoe. You know, it's like, I mean, it's not always hard. It's never not hard. Now that we have, you know, we're capitalized to scale and we have, like, a really solid team. I don't have as many sleepless nights, but, I mean, there is a period when it was like, you know, like.
- [49:50]
Michael Chernow
How close were you to being like, oh, my God, this might be it?
- [49:53]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh, lots of times. Lots of times, like, months. And my husband, actually, I dragged into this, too, for a while. He's no longer. He Was the only one in the family with an mba. And I was like, you? And he's like, no, no, not me. Like, yes, you. You're gonna help us. So we. Yeah, there was a. Because, you know, the business after my sister died, and we kind of, like, stepped in it really. Kind of. It almost was like the company grew faster than the skill set of the people involved. And not to say anything, everyone tried their best and did amazing, but there was a lot of expensive mistakes. And it was just. It's. This is a tough business. I mean, we're. This is a. You know, we're shipping raw frozen meat around the country. And we used to ship from Maine, which is like, can you imagine how hard that is to get to, like, all over the country? And now we have distribution centers all over, so we have like one to two day shipping times. It's like, It's a totally different thing.
- [50:42]
Michael Chernow
I mean, shipping frozen is hard.
- [50:44]
Amy Zalnoradis
It's very hard. And especially when you don't have enough warehouses. But now we are in great. A great place. But I guess lesson is just like, I really. I mean, there is times when I had to, like, dig deep to say, like, is this, like, is this a blessing or a curse that my sister. You know? Cause it was hard. There was lots of times when we didn't know if it was gonna make it. And I'm so glad that I. I mean, it sounds so cheesy to say, but, like, not giving up, but, like, really not giving. I don't think I'd ever not not given up in this way before in my entire life. So when you don't give up and you get over to, like, you get to the other side of what that looks like, it's pretty amazing because you're like, I never would have known all of these things if I had just given up all of those times when it would have been easier. And so I. I remember one, you know, tough time, and I'm like, I don't know. I need something. I need something to, like, somebody, like, I can't. And someone told me about the podcast, how I built this, and I just. I mean, I listened to it, like, binged it for like three weeks, and it saved my life. Like, I was like, okay, like, there are other people out there. It's like a support group, you know? Yeah.
- [51:47]
Michael Chernow
That is like, everybody. I was telling a guest earlier, there is this sort of unrealistic glamour and shine on entrepreneurship. I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't think you would either. At this point, right? Like, once you're. Once you are, it's very, very difficult to think about another way, but it is super duper hard. And I have been operating and owning businesses for. Since 2010, so I've been at it for some time for my age. And we were at an event. We don't do many events because it's very difficult to make overnight oats for thousands of people. Right.
- [52:32]
Amy Zalnoradis
This is why we don't. Do. We have frozen raw meat. I'm like, how are you gonna do an event today? Yeah.
- [52:36]
Michael Chernow
So hard. However, these last few weeks, I've committed to a few events. And so last weekend we had an event, and my team is all remote, and when it comes to making these oats, I'm the guy. And last weekend, I was given this opportunity to. We had an event on Long island, and a friend said, hey, you know, you can make it here. And I was down in this dark basement by myself.
- [53:04]
Amy Zalnoradis
Hot.
- [53:05]
Michael Chernow
Making oats for 1500 people by myself. Didn't have service down there, so no music, just alone with oats. Alone with the oats.
- [53:16]
Amy Zalnoradis
Alone with the oats. That's your next memoir.
- [53:19]
Michael Chernow
And do I wish, like, I really wanted to make some content being like. So you think it's all fun games, right? You think it's all benzos and, you know, like, this is. It is like a real grind.
- [53:31]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh, yeah. It's grit. It's the grind. It's like the uncertainty that I think is most hard for a lot of people. Like, a lot of people don't have that. You know, you really have to be tolerant of the uncertainty. And I think the personal growth I went through in this whole experience, I'm, I think, most grateful for. I didn't know that I had some of this in me. I didn't know that I was capable of learning the things that I had to learn or, you know, tolerating. It's like a low level of pain and agony, you know, but. And. And now it's like it's a chronic pain that you're just there. It's still hard. It's always hard. But the reward now is that we have this thriving business that's helping so many dogs. Like, I am so grateful that I get to be part of something that I believe in so much. You know, I just didn't know.
- [54:23]
Michael Chernow
And again, I said it at the top of the podcast. I just didn't know how much it was gonna affect me. Going to raw food.
- [54:29]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. That's so cool.
- [54:30]
Michael Chernow
You know, like, it's like, you know, you feed a dry food and you, like, go walk over, you take a scoop, you put it in the bowl, it's done with raw food, it's like, it takes a little time. Not a lot of. But you're actually putting. Like, I'm sitting there and I've got the two bowls out, and I, you know, I add my eggs to it.
- [54:50]
Amy Zalnoradis
I know. I love your bowls. They look so great.
- [54:53]
Michael Chernow
And I like. And I really. It actually, you know, there's just something about it that, like, I really feel like I'm taking super initiative to, like, really make my dog's life better, you know, and so I just. I'm grateful that you have been. You did. I'm grateful you didn't give up. I'm grateful you didn't give up.
- [55:12]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yes. I'm grateful, too. Yeah.
- [55:15]
Michael Chernow
So where can people find. We Feed Raw. Where can they find you? Follow along your journey.
- [55:20]
Amy Zalnoradis
We Feed Raw on Instagram. You can check out our website@wefeedraw.com we are direct to consumer only. So all of our meal plans are customized for your dog. So you'll go and fill out a questionnaire about your dog, and then we put together a meal plan based on their individual needs and ship it directly to your doorstep. It's pretty easy. I mean, it's about as easy as frozen raw feeding can get. We try to make it as easy as possible. So.
- [55:43]
Michael Chernow
And one thing that I'll just mention that you might not, not, like, if this is something that you're considering, like, something that I didn't know, is that the food doesn't have to be completely thought out.
- [55:55]
Amy Zalnoradis
No.
- [55:55]
Michael Chernow
Right. It actually is. It's easier for us when it's like, halfway.
- [56:01]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah. Because you can portion it easier.
- [56:03]
Michael Chernow
Portion it easier.
- [56:03]
Amy Zalnoradis
It depends on the dogs. Like, some dogs, they don't. Especially when you're first transitioning, if they're not used to the cold temperature, you might want it to be a little closer to room temp. Sometimes we tell people, even in the beginning, if you want to gently sear it, it's okay. Like, it's totally fine. But yeah, if you can feed your dogs, like, that's the easiest because you just get the little cubes.
- [56:19]
Michael Chernow
Yeah, I used to love that.
- [56:20]
Amy Zalnoradis
Yeah, they love it. And it looks better. Doesn't look like a bowl of mush. Yeah. But, you know, people love. I don't know if you notice this with our food, but a lot of my friends that have gotten the food are like, it looks like it's straight from the butcher, like, it's red. It's like, oh, no, it looks like ground.
- [56:35]
Michael Chernow
Ground meat that you would get. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, 100% ground meat that you would get from. Yeah, the butcher.
- [56:41]
Amy Zalnoradis
So that's, like, definitely one of our, I would say, value props in a lot of ways, because a lot of the other players are it kind of looks like burnt tofu or, you know, even if you go to a retail store and get raw frozen out of the freezer, it's kind of like gray. That's freezer burn. So we cut out the middleman so we can just ship this directly from our freezers to yours so it can stay really fresh.
- [57:03]
Michael Chernow
You're the best. Thank you so much for making a great product, having a great brand behind it, and a real story to support the whole entire thing. You know, it's so nice to have a fellow entrepreneur doing great things and sharing. Sharing the story. You know, I think human beings love. Love listening to stories, and then there's always a select handful of people that good at telling them. So thanks for telling it.
- [57:26]
Amy Zalnoradis
Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me.
- [57:28]
Michael Chernow
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, people of all shapes, sizes, and genders, thank you so, so much for listening to this podcast today. I really enjoyed talking with Amy. I am fired up that. That I've got Bowie and Murphy on We Feed Raw. And like I said in the podcast, I'm really serious about the fact that I've seen a pretty significant shift in both animals and just in terms of how excited they are to eat. And also, the first sign that I saw was in their coat and how shiny their coat was. I posted about it two days ago. Literally. I put Bowie's food down. I put Murphy's food down, and the sun was coming into the mudroom where they eat. And, like, his coat was, like, shiny. I was like, whoa, this thing looks like a black panther. But, yeah, so obviously, I'm fired up about We Feed Raw. I'm fired up about giving my dogs raw food for the first time. Really wanted to do it for a long time, and now I get to sit with the founder who has built this awesome brand and awesome company. So if you love this podcast, share it with a friend or a family member, specifically dog owners. I think everybody that's a dog owner, which is a lot of people, would appreciate this and learn something. Learn something really valuable. You know, I have had unfortunate situations with sick dogs. I can't point that. I can't point their. You know, the situations that they've had directly to the food. But I would argue to say that it probably had a big. Probably had a big impact in two of my dogs that had developed some, you know, random cancers at a young age. So I just empower you all just to take a look. Just to take a look at it. And that's because I love dogs so much. Anyway, check out we feed Raw.
- [59:13]
D
And there you have it folks. I hope we delivered some valuable content for you to implement into your life on a daily basis. Please remember that our habits have the power to make us or break us. Replacing bad habits with great ones is the answer to living a life of happiness, optimism and high performance. We are capable of achieving anything. We all have what it takes to give it all we've got. Commit to one great habit each day and truly commit and watch how everything in your life starts evolving from good to great. If you enjoyed this podcast, please follow us wherever you listen to your podcast, give us a five star rating and a nice review that will help help us grow this podcast, bring on more amazing guests, and continue to deliver invaluable content on a weekly basis. Lastly, please share this podcast with any friends or family that you think might appreciate it. And always remember, want plus do equals have until the next one Fam Peace.
- [60:23]
Michael Chernow
It.