For Pet Food & Treat Brands

Freeze-Dried Food Toppers

Meat toppers supplied as an ingredient, not as a finished snack. You set the cut, the grading and the pack — we hold the specification batch to batch, so the topper behaves the same way in your line every time.

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Ingredient, Not Snack

A topper is judged by how it runs, not how it looks on a shelf

A retail treat has one job: look good in a bag and get eaten. A topper has to survive your process — it is metered, blended, sometimes wetted, then packed inside somebody else's product. That changes what "good" means:

  • Grading matters more than appearance — a wide particle-size spread meters unevenly and settles in the bag
  • Moisture is a process variable — the pieces are hygroscopic, so exposed topper picks up water from the air and from the food it is mixed into
  • It has to disappear into the blend — visibly present is good on a pack shot, evenly distributed is what your customer experiences
  • Your label carries the claim — the ingredient declaration has to match what is actually in the bag, so composition is agreed in writing first
Freeze-drying production hall at the manufacturing partner facility
The Three Variables

Particle size, rehydration, mixing stability

Three questions come up in every topper brief, and the same three decide whether it works in your product. None of them has a catalogue answer — each depends on your line, your mix ratio and your pack.

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Particle size & grading

Whole slice, cube, dice or crumble. What matters is a narrow distribution at the cut you choose, so the topper meters consistently and does not separate in the pack.

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Rehydration

Freeze-dried meat rehydrates quickly and absorbs water from whatever it is mixed with. How fast depends on piece thickness and on the temperature of the food — which is why we test it with your usage rather than quote a number.

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Mixing stability

Two components separate when their particle size and bulk density differ. A topper that looks right in a bowl can sink to the bottom of a kibble bag after a week of transport.

Form and grading

Freeze-dried topper pieces graded side by side against a scale reference
Grading comparison. Whole, dice and crumble shot together against a scale reference — the same reference we use when agreeing your cut.
Screening and fines removal before packing
Grading and screening. Fines are removed before packing; that is what keeps a "no dust" requirement achievable.
Freeze-dried meat texture close-up showing muscle fibre
Cross-section close-up. Muscle fibre retention — the difference between meat that rehydrates and meat that turns to paste.
Specifications

Typical topper specification

Indicative ranges for the format. Your grading, composition and pack are confirmed at sampling and frozen in writing before production.

Protein sources Chicken breast · Duck · Beef · Salmon · Whitefish · Lamb · Rabbit · Quail egg yolk, and other proteins on request
Ingredients Single ingredient, or blended to your formula
Moisture content Approximately 3–6%
Protein content Typically 70–80% on a dry basis (varies by protein source)
Topper formats Whole slice · Cube · Dice · Crumbled · Powder
Grading Agreed against your sieve or screen specification; mixed grading available
Packaging Stand-up pouch · Flat pouch · Gusset bag · Tub, with or without window. Oxygen absorber and resealable zip available
Net weight options From 20 g retail packs to 5 kg bulk — fully negotiable
Shelf life 18–24 months, unopened, at ambient temperature
Storage Cool, dry, away from direct sunlight. No refrigeration required.
Target species Cats and dogs

On particle size: we do not publish a fixed mesh range, because the right cut depends on your sieve, your mix ratio and your pack — a single number would be wrong for most buyers. Tell us the screen or the target piece size you work to, and grading is agreed and recorded in the specification sheet attached to your quotation. The ranges above describe the format in general and are not a certificate of composition.

Line Compatibility

Will it run on your line?

We can only answer that with three pieces of information from you. With them, the sample we send is the sample you would run — not a best-case version of it.

01

Your cut or screen

The sieve size, screen aperture or target piece dimension your line is set up for. If you do not have one yet, send the pack format and we will propose two or three cuts to test.

02

Your mix ratio

How much topper goes into how much food, by weight. Inclusion rate drives both the visual result and the separation risk, and it is the number most often left out of a brief.

03

Your pack and process

Kibble bag, can, pouch or tub; vacuum, nitrogen-flushed or plain. Whether the topper is added dry or after the food is wetted changes what we need to test.

At sampling we run a mix test against the information above — including a settle test, so you see whether the topper stays distributed after transport rather than only on day one.

Delivery

Timeline and terms

01

Sampling

7–10 days from specification agreement, plus courier transit. Sampling policy — fee, and whether it is credited against the first order — is stated upfront in your quotation.

02

Production

25–35 days from deposit and artwork approval. Three QC checkpoints per batch, with photo updates during the run.

03

Shipping

FOB or CIF to your port. The product is ambient-stable, so sea and air freight are both viable — we will quote both.

Questions

Frequently asked

Can you supply to a specific mesh or sieve size?
Yes — but as an agreed specification rather than a catalogue number. Send the screen aperture or the piece dimension your line works to, and we will confirm at sampling what is achievable with the protein and format you chose. Powder and crumble are graded separately from whole pieces, because the same screen does not produce the same result.
Will the topper separate from the kibble in the bag?
Separation is driven by the difference in particle size and bulk density between the topper and the food it is mixed with. It cannot be predicted from a photo. We test it: the sample run includes a settle test at your inclusion rate, and if the cut separates we change the cut rather than ask you to change your process.
Is the topper a complete food or a complementary one?
It is a meat ingredient, not a complete diet. How it is declared on your label depends on the inclusion rate and on your market's rules, and that is your regulatory call — we supply the composition data you need to make it. We will not describe a topper as complete, because it is not.
Does it need refrigeration in my warehouse?
No. Unopened product is stable at ambient temperature in a cool, dry place. The practical constraint is humidity rather than temperature — the pieces are hygroscopic, so keep the packaging sealed until it goes into your process.
Can I start with a small quantity?
Yes. Toppers usually start smaller than retail SKUs because the first job is a line trial, not a shelf launch. See the Low MOQ page for how small an opening order can be and what changes as volume increases.
Also Considered

Where to go next

Finished product

Freeze-Dried Meat Treats

The same line sold as a retail snack: your brand, your pack, your shelf.

View product line →
Start small

Low MOQ programme

Run a line trial before committing to volume, with sampling in 7–10 days.

See how small an order can be →
Your own brand

Private label & ODM

Formula development and packaging under your brand, NDA-backed from the first sample.

Private label & ODM →
Request a Sample

Tell us what your line needs

We reply within 24 hours on business days — usually with MOQ, indicative pricing and what a topper trial would involve.

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We reply within 24 hours on business days.