Dane Creek Capital Corp. Announces the Acquisition of Growlies Pet Foods Inc.

Under the terms of the acquisition, United Raw will also enter into lease agreements with N.J. Cropper Holdings Ltd., a company owned by the Croppers, for ongoing use of not only the Growlies retail location but also, a warehouse/freezer located approximately two kilometers from the store. No other terms were disclosed.

Growlies is one of the largest pet specialty retailers in British Columbia focusing on the sale of frozen raw pet food and is widely regarded as one of the top retailers of raw pet food in Canada. Growlies’ mission is to make raw, high-quality pet food as accessible as possible to pet owners in the community it serves. Growlies also offers customers a limited selection of dehydrated and canned food as well as a range of premium supplements and treats. Sales of raw pet food made up over 80% of Growlies’ 2020 revenue.

This transaction represents the first acquisition of a pet specialty retailer by United Raw. To date, United Raw has acquired five Canadian manufacturers of frozen raw pet food including Naturawls Pet Products, Spring Meadows Natural Pet Food, Mountain Dog Enterprises Inc., Pets4Life, and Tollden Farms Inc., which, in aggregate, produce ten brands of frozen raw pet food. United Raw also maintains a minority interest in Pet Plate, a US-based company offering lightly cooked pet food, and its majority-owner, Dane Creek also owns several pet supplements and pet treat manufacturers in Canada.

While Growlies offers dog and cat owners nearly 25 different brands of frozen raw pet food to choose from, United Raw’s Naturawls is the fastest-growing brand within Growlies’ top seven best-selling raw foods and is sold alongside four other United Raw brands. Outside the United Raw family, Growlies’ selection of frozen raw pet foods includes brands such as Buddies, Mega Dog, Pets Go Raw, and Red Dog Blue Kat.

‘We are delighted to announce this acquisition,’ said Mark Warren, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO of Dane Creek. ‘Growlies is a unique opportunity for us to pair a leading, if not the leading, raw food retail operation in the country with the additional infrastructure needed to better serve all of our retail customers on Vancouver Island. We expect to derive significant benefits via the vertical integration of these components into our existing business,’ added Mr. Warren.

Growlies mantra of ‘No kibble, no wheat, no corn and no soy’ is one which is now being embraced more and more among pet specialty retailers across Canada. It is estimated that freezer space in pet retail locations grew by more than 25% in 2020 and is set to expand by a further 25% again in 2021.

‘Jo-Anne and I felt that at this stage in the growth of Growlies, it made sense for us to align ourselves with Dane Creek given its focus on the pet industry in Canada and the raw food segment in particular,’ said Mr. Cropper. ‘We were pleased with the resources Dane Creek was able to allocate to ensure that the sale was completed in a timely and efficient manner’.

‘The United Raw team, which includes personnel on Vancouver Island, looks forward to working with Neal, Jo-Anne and the highly trained advisors and associates at Growlies who are steadfastly dedicated to improving the health and welfare of dogs and cats in Victoria and its surrounding communities,’ added Mr. Warren.

Source: Cision