Long live life. Lifelong animal lovers, Rob and Geraldine Brouwer, o­fficially launched their raw pet food company, Big Country Raw, in 2012 (it’s been unoffi­cial since 2008). The goal of Big Country Raw was to bring healthy raw food to Canadian pet families. What started as solely a food business, quickly expanded to include branded goat milk, eggs, bones and Thrive supplements. 

Although bringing the best raw food to Canadians has always been an important focus, over the years Big Country Raw branched out and partnered with other like-minded pet products. 2023 saw the launch of a new brand, Caravan Pet which currently includes a line-up of gently cooked recipes. Always trying to elevate categories through proprietary or partner brands, we knew it was time to expand beyond the potential perception that we only offered raw food. 

Wanting to honour the legacy of the name, Big Country, we have made the decision to rename our company Big Country Pet Company to better reflect our offerings that extend beyond raw pet food. Big Country Raw remains our flagship brand, but our new name is more representative of the breadth of our brand line-up. 

In December 2024, bigcountrypetcompany.ca launched as the new and improved site exclusively for our retail partners. We will continue to manufacture and distribute the highest quality, best value food for Canadian pet parents, while partnering with other quality like-minded brands whose ultimate goal is to enhance the bond between pet and pet parent.

As we continue to expand segments outside of the raw category, the updated name is a great reminder that we have other offerings that cover many other different segments in pet. This change is not consumer facing – we have continued to market each of our brands direct to pet parents and our partner brands will continue to do the same as well. 

We are still very much a family owned and operated company. Despite occasional industry rumours that Big Country Raw is being funded by Private Equity, or purchased by Private Equity, the Brouwers remain sole owners. We are very grateful for your support of Big Country Raw and our other brands as this has allowed us to continue to reinvest in our business – our processes, our people and our product – continually ensuring that safety of pets and people is our top priority. 

In April 2005, an additional 30,000 square foot cold storage building will be completed on our property allowing us to be much more effi­cient with our inventory – ensuring we are in-stock with our customers’ favourite products!