Cat Food
FirstMate Chicken Meal with Blueberries Formula Review
Single named chicken protein, zero recalls in over 30 years, though palatability runs mixed for some cats.
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FirstMate was never supposed to be a pet food company. In the late 1980s, Michael Florian was working in aquaculture along British Columbia's coastline, producing high-protein fish feed for salmon farms. He noticed something unexpected: the guard dogs at the fish farms kept stealing the fish feed — and their coats were spectacular. Lustrous fur, high energy, excellent health. The fishery owners asked Florian if he could just make a dog food from the same ingredients so their dogs would stop eating the expensive feed. That request became FirstMate Pet Foods in 1989, launched from Chilliwack, BC, with a single product: a Pacific ocean fish formula for dogs. It was one of the first commercially available pet foods to use fish as the primary protein source — years before fish-based diets became mainstream. For over three decades, FirstMate remained family-owned and operated under Florian's direct management. Then in February 2026, French pet food group Nasta Pet Food acquired the company, pledging full continuity of FirstMate's management team, manufacturing facilities, and product lines.
What sets FirstMate apart from most mid-premium brands is manufacturing control. The company owns and operates two production facilities in British Columbia — a dry kibble plant and a separate cannery that holds human-grade certification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the USDA, and the European Union. That triple certification on the cannery means FirstMate's wet food is produced under the same hygiene and safety standards as food intended for human consumption — a claim that very few pet food brands can truthfully make. The dry facility follows Good Manufacturing Practices and HACCP food safety protocols. Both plants are staffed by FirstMate employees, not contract workers. This matters because it means every bag and every can is produced under direct company oversight, with no co-manufacturing partners, no outsourced production runs, and no shared facilities. The result is a recall record of zero — FirstMate has never had a single product recalled in over 35 years of operation.
FirstMate operates two distinct brands from the same facilities:
FirstMate does not have a celebrity founder, a dramatic origin story involving a sick pet, or a multi-billion-dollar corporate parent pushing it into every retail chain. It is a quietly excellent brand that has earned its reputation through consistency rather than marketing. Zero recalls in 35+ years. In-house manufacturing with no co-packers. Human-grade certified canning. Regional ingredient sourcing from BC farms and fisheries. Limited ingredient formulas that are genuinely limited — not just marketed as such. The trade-offs are availability and awareness. FirstMate is well distributed in Canada and growing in the US through pet specialty stores and online retailers like Chewy, but it lacks the retail footprint of a Mars or Nestlé brand. Pricing sits in the mid-to-upper premium range — more expensive than Taste of the Wild or Canidae, roughly comparable to Acana. The Nasta Pet Food acquisition in early 2026 could accelerate North American expansion, though it remains to be seen whether new ownership will preserve the manufacturing independence that makes FirstMate special. For now, it remains one of the best-kept secrets in premium pet food — a brand that lets its ingredients and safety record speak louder than its marketing budget.
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Single named chicken protein, zero recalls in over 30 years, though palatability runs mixed for some cats.
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