From field to bowl

JR Farm, the German pet food manufacturer, started out with 40 dairy cows and 50 hectares of arable land in Pessenburgheim in Bavaria. Since then, much has changed for the producer of premium treats and complete foods for small animals, cage birds, dogs, horses and reptiles. The agricultural business with a workforce of 200 people has now become a recognised German company that has gained a respectable reputation in the sector worldwide. The company is run now as then by Jakob and Hertha Ruisinger. After completing a degree in business administration, their son Stefan has also become involved in the management of the family business. At JR Farm, the emphasis is on quality as much as on family. "Our aim with all products is to use high-quality, natural raw ingredients where possible in production and to work without artificial colourings and preservatives," explains marketing director Stefan Ruisinger. To check the quality of their raw ingredients, the employees of JR Farm need only look out of the window in most cases. Even now the company cultivates many herbs such as stinging nettles, peppermint and balm in its own fields. According to JR Farm, this helps primarily to produce food that is of high quality yet reasonably priced, which can be packed freshly harvested and without long transport routes.Tradition and innovationInnovation is a factor that is just as important for the German company as tradition. "Since we cultivate a large proportion of the raw materials ourselves in our fields, we naturally also aim to conduct ongoing trials of new plants, which we can then use in products later. In general, however, we always focus on offering natural food sources such as animals would find in the wild in our products," says Stefan Ruisinger. JR Farm's work on innovation has resulted among other things in the first entirely grain-free complete food for dwarf rabbits and guinea pigs in 2007, according to the company. These products are now also available for degus and chinchillas. In 2012, the company launched its first treats baked in-house for dogs and horses onto the market. The company's bakery now also produces many biscuit products for small animals and birds as well as baked treat sticks.Exporting to the worldWord has now got around about the care that the company takes in manufacturing its products. JR Farm exports to the whole of Europe as well as Scandinavia, Russia and Asia. "As in the last few years, we are recording steady growth both at home and…