Redbarn founders, Jeff Baikie and Howard Bloxam, met on a hockey rink in Canada when they were just kids. They became fast friends and while they went in different directions at times, they remained close. Both Jeff and Howie have always been entrepreneurs and had both been involved in several different business ventures so in the early nineties, when they started talking about building a company together it was an easy decision. They both recognized the need for a healthy, wholesome dog food that was developed, produced and sold with integrity, honesty and only top quality ingredients.
Redbarn's First Success
Together, with similar values in life and business, they developed their first product: Redbarn Premium Rolled Food. The success of the food quickly prompted many requests for matching quality treats. Thus, the Redbarn Bully Stick was introduced. After a couple of years of working from their respective garages in the US and Canada, they realized that not only had they outgrown their small makeshift facility, it was not efficient to ship product from Canada to the US. They decided that they would move their operations to California, where most of their customers were located.
In 1998, they moved to a production facility in Long Beach. The demand for the Redbarn Food quickly outgrew their limited manufacturing capabilities, so they expanded to an adjacent building and then another and then, yet another. They operated between nine buildings for several years as the product line and demand for the food and treats continued to grow.
Year after year, Redbarn Bully sticks grew in popularity until they were our best-selling product. Wanting to ensure that we produced the best quality product in a safe environment, Jeff and Howard purchased a bully stick manufacturing plant in Paraguay in 2004. Owning the plant in Paraguay meant that Redbarn could not only produce more bully sticks at an affordable price, but more importantly, implement the same quality assurance protocols that we have in our plant in Great Bend, KS ensuring we are delivering safe and reliable product.
We Grow in Leaps and Bounds
Recognizing that they had outgrown their current facilities, they went on a search for a centrally located factory that could handle the current demands and future growth of producing their ever-increasing line of pet foods and treats.
In 2010, after many months of searching, they found a factory in Great Bend, Kansas that was a perfect fit. It was a former FDA certified human grade bacon and ham plant that included a state of the art water treatment system that ensured only clean water returned to the earth. Today, Redbarn's portfolio of over 200 products includes our rolled foods, canned foods, bully sticks, filled bones, bones, tendons, hooves, sweet potato treats and many more.
The Year of the Cat and Beyond
In response to the overwhelming number of requests from our customers, in 2014, we added a line of Redbarn Grain Free Cat Foods and Treats. This put us in a whole new category. We developed our cat products with the same unwavering commitment to quality that requires only top quality ingredients and stringent QA standards. Our Quality Assurance department now consists of 12 people who ensure we are manufacturing the safest and healthiest products available in the USA.
Our Mission
Our company's goal has always been and continues to be—to produce healthy, wholesome and innovative pet foods and treats that we can be proud to call our own. Learn more about Redbarn's mission to produce natural and delicious pet treats and chewshere. Stay tuned for what's coming next (you're going to love it)!
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