We have spent some time getting to know Jena and Emery, the owners of Nature’s Select Kansas City, ever since they created Kibble 4 A Cause, a fundraising effort through their Nature’s Select pet food business. Their idea was to use Nature’s Select pet food to not just help pet owners feed their pets food that was good for them, but also to do something that would support PRCKC’s mission to end pet homelessness.
We posed the following questions to Emery to help everyone get to know him better, learn more about pet food in general, and understand how he and Jena want want to make a difference in the community by supporting the efforts of groups like Pet Resource Center of Kansas City.
Tell us a bit about you, your family and your past life. And why you’re in the pet food business now.
I have been married to the love of my life for 12 wonderful years. We have four kiddos keeping us on our toes at all times! (Two boys and two girls from ages 1 to 7) We had two awesome dogs, Charlie and Bear. We recently lost our big dog, Bear, and although life isn’t the same without him we look forward to the day when we are ready to add another pup to our family.
Our family loves to spend time playing outside, watching and playing baseball, snuggling on the couch for Friday Movie Night and spending time with friends.
My wife, Jena, and I have a passion for health and nutrition not only for ourselves and our kids, but for our pets as well. We’ve seen firsthand the turn around our health can take when we give our body what it needs to thrive. We’ve seen that to be just as true with our pets. Before owning Nature’s Select Pet Food we fed whatever food we found to be the “best deal.” It wasn’t until we saw one of our pets tragically suffering without a known cause that we investigated what was in his pet food bowl. What we found out shocked us. We’ll touch more on that soon.
We firmly believe that it is a shame what many pet food companies are dumping into their products in order to keep costs low and increase their bottom line. The public has become much more aware of what a key component a healthy diet is to their own wellbeing and it’s time the same truth was made clear for our pets.
That’s why we do what we do. We put pets before profits. We promise to never skimp on the quality of our ingredients or cut corners in any way. At Nature’s Select we make an amazing food full of healthy ingredients that your pets will thrive on and we do it at an affordable price because all pets should have access to food that’s good for them.
What pets do you have, what made you become a pet person, and any anecdotes about a pet that either changed your life or made you become committed to the pet way of life.
As I mentioned above we recently lost our big dog, Bear. He was one of the best dogs I have ever owned. Charlie, our little guy, is such a sweet dog. Somehow God gave dogs the ability to sense what we feel. I’ve noticed some dogs are more “in tune” with this than others, but Charlie has got to be at the top of the list. When any of our family is sad or sick he will not leave their side and is ready to give a lick and a snuggle at any given opportunity.
My wife and I tease each other that we are a risky couple to put together because neither of us can say no to adding a new animal to our family. At one point we had 6 chickens (who followed us around our yard like dogs and played with our kids), two dogs, two cats and six bunnies. We were those “weird” people in the neighborhood.
What do you think is awesome about the human/animal bond?
My story about Charlie above speaks to this point too. Pets are a gift from God to show us His unconditional love, give us companionship and stretch us as people. They bring us so much joy! And our job is to give them shelter, food, water, protection (from all the bad stuff that’s out there including what’s in their food) and love. We got the better end of this deal by far!
Talk a bit about Nature’s Select and why it’s different.
Most products go through the same process of getting to market…manufacturing plant – to – distributor – to – retailer – to – you the consumer.
Nature’s Select is different. Maintaining an affordable cost is important to us. What good would it do to make super healthy food that only the ultra rich could afford? How would that solve the problem? All dogs need healthy food to thrive, so we have the food manufactured for us, we are the distributors and we sell directly to you the consumer. This means you get an awesome food at an awesome price.
The other way Nature’s Select helps to make your money stretch farther is our food will last you longer than the vast majority of foods on the market now. Our food is nutrient dense which means it is filled with real wholesome foods not cereal fillers so your pets will eat less, your bag will last longer and you will save money. It’s the same concept of when you eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast in the morning versus a veggie and meat filled omelet. You get hungry in no time at all after you eat the cereal because it filled you up quick but doesn’t keep you satisfied.
Our passion is educating the public that our pets, who depend on us to provide them with what’s best for them, deserve better than what our main stream competitors have given them. We have a product that your pets will thrive on and our heart is to make sure everyone can afford it. We put pets before profits!
What are some key points you think people should know about pet food and their pets’ needs.
Not all pet food is created equal. Here’s what’s out there:
- Corn, wheat, soy, and by-products are commonly found in many pet foods and they have been shown to cause a ton of health issues in dogs and cats
- Chemical preservatives, dyes and additives are commonly found lower cost pet foods and they have been shown to cause tumors and cancer as well as disrupt many organ systems in your pets body
- The meats used in many pet foods are the leftover waste from meat processing plants, euthanized animals or roadkill. These diseased and poisoned meats are then made into the pet food the stores are filled with.
At Nature’s Select we have handpicked the ingredients that go into our pet food to ensure a healthy and proper diet for our pets and yours. Here’s what we have:
- High quality meats sourced from trusted vendors in the United States and New Zealand
- An appropriate amount and source of carbohydrate for the energy and fiber requirements of your pet to be met
- Plenty of veggies and low glycemic fruit to provide the vitamins, minerals and fiber for your pet’s body to run well
- A vitamin and mineral supplement to enhance the absorption and ensure your pet has all the building blocks it needs to thrive
- Probiotics to promote a healthy gastro-intestinal system and immune system
- Prebiotics which are needed to feed and maintain the probiotics
What led you to PRCKC?
One of our goals at Nature’s Select is to give back to the local pet community in Kansas City. We heard about the heart and passion behind PRCKC and after meeting with Michelle we knew this was an organization we wanted to find a way to help.
What is it about our mission that inspires you?
We love that you are reaching the population through education, kindness and generosity to effectively become a solution in our city.
Can you talk about this program? What’s it called and how does it work?
Yes, the program is called Kibble 4 A Cause and this is how it works:
Anyone who wants to be a pet hero can make a BIG difference in our community by simply doing something they already do everyday…feed their pets.
When you sign up for the Kibble 4 A Cause program you are partnering with Nature’s Select Pet Food to donate funds PRCKC. With every bag of food you buy $3 goes back to PRCKC. You get an amazing food at an amazing price, and you get to be hero without even breaking a sweat!
To learn more, visit https://www.kibble4acause.com/
What do you hope to accomplish with this program?
So $3 might not seem like it will make a big difference, but let us explain how this can add up. If everyone of PRCKC’s Facebook followers signed up to be a hero you would get $102,000 with each family just buying one bag of food. As each family continues to purchase food that’s another $3 per bag. On average most families order just over 8 bags per year. So if all of the PRCKC fb followers unite under Kibble 4 A Cause this program could generate over $800,000 in only 1 year’s time. That’s Huge! If we all pitch in to do our part, it’s possible! And the best part is all you have to do is feed your pets. Easy right?
Did we mention that Nature’s Select will deliver the food to your door for free!
We love PRCKC! Help us make a huge difference for them so they can make a huge impact in our community. Pet Heroes of Kansas City UNITE
