Wellness

From Sailor Biscuits to a Natural Pet Food Empire

Wellness has one of the longest lineages in American pet food, even if most owners do not know it. The story begins in 1873 at A. Hubbard & Son, a bakery in the fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that produced hardtack biscuits for sailors. Legend has it that a local sailor tossed one to his dog, the dog loved it, and the Hubbard family saw an opportunity. By 1926, the Old Mother Hubbard dog treat brand was officially born. Decades later, Jim Scott Sr. — an animal nutrition professional — purchased the company and transformed it into a serious pet food operation. His son, Jim Scott Jr., took things further by launching the Wellness brand in 1997, creating one of the first premium natural pet food lines in the US. Scott Jr. sold the company to Berwind Corporation in 2008, which merged it with Eagle Pack to form WellPet LLC. In 2020, private equity firm Clearlake Capital acquired WellPet and rebranded the entire operation as Wellness Pet Company in 2022. Jim Scott Jr. did not retire — he went on to co-found RAWZ, a competing natural brand, with his wife and son in 2015.

The "5 Signs of Wellbeing" Philosophy

Wellness organises its entire nutritional approach around what it calls the "5 Signs of Wellbeing" — shiny coat, healthy digestion, consistent energy, strong immunity, and clean teeth. Every formula across the brand's portfolio is designed to visibly deliver on at least several of these markers. In practice, this means recipes built on named animal proteins as the first ingredient, supplemented with whole fruits, vegetables, probiotics, and omega fatty acids, with no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives. Wellness also commits to no meat by-products, corn, wheat, or soy in its core lines — a standard that puts it firmly above mass-market brands. Dry food is manufactured at Wellness's own facility in Mishawaka, Indiana, which holds a AA grade from the British Retail Consortium — one of the highest food safety certifications available. Freeze-dried and raw products come from the company's Farm Fresh Kitchen plant in South St. Paul, Minnesota, and WHIMZEES dental chews are produced at a company-owned facility in Veendam, the Netherlands.

A Massive Portfolio — Navigating the Sub-Brands

Wellness is not one product line — it is a family of six distinct brands under one roof, and understanding the differences matters. The flagship Wellness Complete Health line offers grain-inclusive and grain-free kibble and wet food for dogs and cats at every life stage, with a focus on balanced everyday nutrition. Wellness CORE is the higher-protein, more premium tier — originally launched in 2007 as a grain-free, meat-dense alternative, it has since expanded to include wholesome-grain options and the RawRev line, which mixes kibble with freeze-dried raw pieces. For pets with food sensitivities, Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet strips recipes down to a single protein source and minimal carbohydrates. Beyond food, Old Mother Hubbard provides oven-baked natural dog treats, WHIMZEES offers vegetable-based dental chews that are vegetarian and made with just six primary ingredients, and Sojos delivers freeze-dried raw meals and toppers that rehydrate with warm water. It is a sprawling catalogue, but the quality standard is consistent across all six brands.

Where Wellness Stands — and Where It Falls Short

Wellness occupies a sweet spot in the premium natural category: higher quality than grocery-store brands, more affordable than ultra-premium fresh or raw competitors like The Farmer's Dog or Stella & Chewy's, and with enough variety to cover nearly any dietary need. The brand has a loyal following among pet owners who want clean ingredient lists without paying boutique prices, and veterinary nutritionists generally view Wellness favourably — particularly the Complete Health and CORE lines, which undergo AAFCO feeding trials rather than just meeting nutrient profiles on paper. The downsides are worth noting. Wellness has had several recalls over the years, including a 2012 incident involving elevated moisture levels in canned food and a 2017 recall of specific lots due to potentially elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormones. The brand also relies on co-manufacturing partners for some wet food production, which means not every can comes from a Wellness-owned plant — a transparency gap that bothers some buyers. Finally, the sheer size of the portfolio can be overwhelming: with six sub-brands and hundreds of SKUs, choosing the right formula requires research. For pet owners willing to put in that effort, Wellness rewards them with some of the most consistently well-formulated natural pet food on the market.