FARGO, N.D., Aug. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anchor Ingredients Co., LLC (“Anchor”), a leading supplier of premium ingredients for the food and pet food industries, and Barrett Petfood Innovations (“BPI”), a rapidly expanding co-manufacturer of premium pet foods, broke ground on their new state-of-the-art freeze-drying manufacturing facility on July 20, 2021. The new business unit, branded North Freeze Dry, will be based in Little Falls, MN adjacent to BPI’s new co-manufacturing extrusion facility.
North Freeze Dry will soon become one of the industry’s premier freeze-drying co-manufacturing facilities in the nation. The facility has been designed to double its initial capacity thus providing significant runway for its customers to expand in the rapidly growing freeze-dried pet food category. “We are building something special with North Freeze Dry and are so excited to bring together the sourcing and raw material supply chain expertise of Anchor with the manufacturing expertise of BPI. The two companies are combining efforts to bring a differentiated level of support and services to some of today’s leading brands,” said Al Yablonski, CEO & Co-Founder of Anchor.
Construction is underway and the facility is scheduled to open in the first half of 2022. Due to North Freeze Dry’s proximity to BPI’s existing extrusion facility, the city of Little Falls, MN will soon become the industry’s go-to location for premium pet food brands. “The community in and around Little Falls is amazing and the team we have assembled is world-class,” said Sarah Barrett, Co-Managing Director of BPI.
Barrett will manage the onsite operations and business development of North Freeze Dry, while Anchor will manage sourcing, back-office administration and collaborate on sales. “It’s a true partnership and something that we envision will be the framework for one of the most successful freeze-drying manufacturing companies in the nation,” said Tom Barrett, Co-Managing Director of BPI.
For more information, please visit www.anchoringredients.com and www.barrettpetfoodinnovations.com.
ABOUT NORTH FREEZE DRY:
North Freeze Dry, LLC combines Anchor Ingredients’ processing and origination expertise, with Barrett Petfood Innovations’ manufacturing expertise to create one of the industry’s largest and most fully integrated freeze-drying co-manufacturing facilities. The new facility is currently under construction in Little Falls, MN and scheduled to open in the first half of 2022.
ABOUT ANCHOR INGREDIENTS CO.:
Anchor Ingredients Co., Inc. was founded in 2015 as a premium ingredient company supplying the food and pet food markets domestically and abroad. The company is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota with six value-add processing plants across the Upper Midwest, and sales offices in California and Minnesota.
ABOUT BARRETT PETFOOD INNOVATIONS:
Family-owned Barrett Petfood Innovations (“BPI”) is a US-based co-manufacturer that ships globally and sources locally. The company produces a wide range of formulas for dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, fish, livestock and zoo animals. In the dog and cat food category, BPI mainly produces super-premium extruded products, such as those with high fresh meat inclusions, as well as premium treats.
Contact:
Georgina Orn
Georgina.Orn@flint-group.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6bc70f87-d9d2-40c4-8b6a-1dea33bc0d53
![](https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/MDY1OTI4ZTQtODM3Ny00YWIwLTg0ZjgtYjFkOWI1NmI4YzM2LTEwOTY3NTY=/tiny/Anchor-Ingredients-Co-.png)