Carnivore Meat Company, a producer of freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food products, has appointed Heather Govea as its new chief executive officer. She brings decades of pet food industry experience to the job, having held previous leadership roles at Natural Balance, Del Monte/Big Heart Pet Brands, Nulo and having most recently served as chief strategy officer at Alphia, Inc.
Founded in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Carnivore is among the largest freeze-dried raw pet food producers in North America. A pioneer in the raw pet food sector, highly differentiated products are marketed under the Vital Essentials brand and distributed to over 7,200 retailers in the USA and Canada, online via Chewy and Amazon, and in 14 international markets. It is also a partner to several co-manufacturing and private label customers.
Since December of 2021 Carnivore Meat Company has been owned by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm focused exclusively on acquiring companies in food, beverage and related industries.
“Joining Carnivore as CEO in this stage of the company’s trajectory is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Govea (pictured above). “I’m eager to continue accelerating growth with this team and leverage the strong momentum behind Vital Essentials following the recent brand re-launch.
And with Arbor’s investment and expertise, the company is significantly expanding its capacity with the move into a new, state-of-the-art 235,000 square foot manufacturing facility and headquarters later this year.”
Govea, who holds a degree in Animal Science from California State Polytechnic University will join the Carnivore team at the upcoming Global Pet Expo trade show later this week, before officially assuming the role of chief executive officer on May 1.
