Scan Magazine | Business Profile | Essential Foods
Left: By using low preparation temperatures and low-glycaemic ingredients, Essential Foods’ Behavioural Optimising Foods (BOF) aims to positively affect dogs’ behaviour by ensuring stable blood sugar levels. Right: The founder of Essential Foods, Christian Degner-Elsner, is passionate about making a difference in the lives of his four-legged customers as well as their wild counterparts.
Food for thought – and dogs Founded by the Danish dog and wildlife philanthropist Christian Degner-Elsner, Essential Foods is not just aiming to improve the lives of the dogs that enjoy its grainfree food, but those of wild animals too. Located in Copenhagen and exclusively producing in the UK, the company donates a large part of its surplus to animal and wildlife causes all over the world. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Essential Foods
Founded in January 2013, Essential Foods has just celebrated not only its fifth anniversary, but also the achievement of three main goals: to improve and prolong the lives of its four-legged customers, to reduce the CO2 footprint of dog food, and to help better the living conditions of animals everywhere. “When we founded Essential Foods, there was a widespread conception that only the US and Canada produced real quality dog food, so the fact that Essential Foods is today perceived as an absolute top product is something I’m very pleased about,” says Degner-Elsner. “The amount of CO2 saved by not importing dog food and ingredients from the other side of the planet is something I feel we can be proud of.” 86 | Issue 110 | March 2018
Selling food through online stores all over Europe, Essential Foods today provides a range of grain-free cat and dog foods specifically tailored to suit the needs of different ages, breeds and activity levels. Among its innovations is Behavioural Optimising Foods (BOF), a concept that, with low preparation temperatures and low-glycaemic ingredients, aims to positively affect dogs’ behaviour by ensuring a stable blood sugar level. Prepared and cooked in the United Kingdom, Essential Foods consists almost exclusively of local produce such as red fallow deer, trout from the River Avon and Gressingham Duck. On top of the dedication to reduce CO2, Essential
Foods works to improve the life of the farm animals used in the production as well as their wild relatives all over the world. Last year alone, the company donated 600,000 DKK to causes improving the lives of dogs, wild animals and the nature that is their home. “All of this is only possible because more and more people choose our dog food,” stresses Degner-Elsner. Facts about Essential Foods: The food is 100 per cent grain free and follows the BOF concept. More than 90 per cent of the ingredients are sourced locally and regionally in the United Kingdom. More than 70 per cent comes from animal sources. The rest consists of vegetables, fruit, seeds, minerals and vitamins.
Web: www.essentialfoodsgb.co.uk