Today we’d like to introduce you to Wilma Pretorius.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I founded Cranimals in 2008. It’s the retail division of a company I founded in 2006 that manufactures organic extracts, from superfood berries like cranberry, red raspberry and blueberries. These are actually exported and used by many companies in their own formulas for functional foods or supplements. Two of my own dogs died of cancer before, a light bulb went off for me that as with humans, the diet and foods we feed our dogs have a profound impact on their health and longevity. I decided after the passing of my two spaniels to use our own cutting-edge ingredients in pet supplement formulas and never again feed any of my pets processed commercial pet foods. The rest is as they say, history. Today, Cranimals Original is the only clinically tested and proven organic pet supplement for pets to prevent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) from the most common bacteria, as well as prevent struvite crystals and stones. Both these issues are very common in both cats and dogs and having a way to eliminate the use of antibiotics and cutting down on veterinary care costs (surgeries for bladder stone removal, repeat antibiotic treatments, treatments for managing drug side effects) using simple organic formulas (like Cranimals), is really where pet parents should invest their time and money. And now pet parents can buy these types of products, off the shelf without a prescription. Combine that with the crisis, recently highlighted by the World Health Organization, that antibiotic resistance is increasing at an alarming rate in both human and animal medicine – then it’s even more crucial for the mainstream use of our products, to help preserve the effectiveness of, for example, antibiotics when treating things like life threatening infections.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like all brands, there are always issues that arise, either when product formulas don’t make it to the store shelf, or when raw material shortages surface. The key is to always adapt fast enough so that the brand continues to perform as a consistent, quality product and is perceived and experienced that way by pet parents. They put a lot of trust in our brand and we do our utmost to always meet or exceed their expectations. Due to our quality control and in house manufacturing we have never been in a recall situation so it has actually been relatively smooth sailing compared to some other companies in the pet industry.
Please tell us about Cranimals.
We manufacture a variety of organic pet supplements from berry superfoods and algae such as spirulina. These products are very simple but powerful formulas, harnessing nutrient synergy (i.e. combining specific nutrients together to amplify nutritional benefits). They address some of the most common health issues suffered by modern pets such as UTIs, struvites stones, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, tear stains, skin and coat issues, kidney problem and allergies.
We are proud of being a company engaged in organic manufacture and that we have direct relationships with our organic farmers that grow the berries used in our products, for us. As well, our products are vegan and we always strive to consider our whole supply chain and all our manufacturing partners in bringing products to a store shelf, including sustainability, carbon footprint, fair trade and of course no use of animal products. Lastly, we work very hard to address the major pain points that our customers experience and take a lot of time to answer their individual needs and help them find healthier ways to feed and nurture their pets. We are proud that we are advocates in the industry for using nutrition as a medicine, and go to great lengths to educate pet parents about the benefits (both cost wise and health wise) of doing that.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Based on my personal experiences as a pet owner, starting 25 years ago, I would urge new and existing pet parents to fully educate themselves about how best to feed their furry family members as healthy a diet using whole foods and supplements, as possible.
I am convinced the use of commercial kibble based and prescription diets result in a poor quality of life and health outcome for pets. I saw that with my own two dogs before I had a wakeup call all those decades ago. But I still feel bad for not doing better for them. It’s my hope that a pet parent reading this might be inspired to look into the food and supplements they are feeding their pet more closely, to ensure it truly is healthy. The blog section of our website has lots of resources for pet parents as well, as well as PDF health Guide downloads.
Pricing:
- It costs only 61 cents a day to our supplements to your dog or cats food and cat save you thousands in vet bills. $74 for 1 lb jars.
- Our diagnostic UTI and diabetes test kits can likewise save hundreds on vet bills (Range from $29.95-$49.95 for 2x at home tests).
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cranimals.com
- Phone: 1- 800-914-2510
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram:instagram.com/cranimalspetsupplements
- Facebook: facebook.com/cranimals
- Twitter: twitter.com/cranimals
Image Credit:
Cranimals
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