Just real meat and bones

 

Development

MUSH was founded in 2004 by Stig Snellman, who is part of the Snellman family, owners of the third largest slaughter-house group in Finland. During its first years, the company operated only on the domestic market with sales mainly to large-scale consumers in the sled dog community.

In 2013, they invested in a new production line for frozen meatballs, and launched their new BARF meals called Vaisto. In 2017, the company is expected to achieve a turnover of approximately €9 million.

Raw food

The Vaisto products were developed in close collaboration with dog owners, dog experts, and researchers. Every meal contains a balanced amount of raw meat, bones, organs and vegetables. All the meals include meat from three different animals, to ensure a good variety of different proteins and amino acids. MUSH has worked with Helsinki University to support research into BARF feeding and it is also co-operating with vets on the risk management of raw feeding.

Global expansion

MUSH started to operate on the international market in 2013 by launching its products in Sweden, and in 2014 the company made distributor agreements for Denmark and Norway. It also opened a warehouse in Hamburg, Germany.

However, the market entry in Europe has been tougher than expected and still more than 90% of the turnover comes from the Nordic market. The company is looking to its colleagues in the raw segment to help it grow in the European market. “We expect to see continuing growth in the whole frozen category with strong domestic brands on the large markets in Germany, France and Spain,” says CEO Magnus Pettersson. “We need this to set up a more effective frozen logistics chain for deliveries and freezer sales in pet stores. This infrastructure will help us as ours is a premium product.”

Brand ambassadors

MUSH is working with modern marketing strategies. These include various social media platforms where it is using brand ambassadors to help the company to build a brand community.