PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 15
PLANT PROFILE
Evanger's products, including its
hand-packed and single-ingredient
varieties, redefine minimally
processed canned pet food.
By Jennifer Semple | jsemple@sosland.com
If farm-to-table applied to pet food, it would describe Evanger's
Dog and Cat Food Company Inc.'s manufacturing process
where daily deliveries of locally-sourced ingredients dictate the
production schedule. Located 30 minutes south of downtown
Chicago in Markham, Illinois, the company's refrigerated trucks
pick up fresh ingredients daily within a 50-mile radius of its
production facility and those ingredients are typically processed
that day or the next morning, according to Co-Owner Joel Sher.
Joel and his wife, Holly Sher, purchased Evanger's in 2002. At
that time, the company was primarily a co-manufacturer and the
Evanger's brand represented less than 5% of the company's business. Today, company-owned brands, including Evanger's, represent 80% of production. The manufacturing arm behind the production facility is operated by Joel, his son Brett Sher and daughter
Callie Sher. The Evanger's brand is owned and operated by Holly
with help from her daughter Chelsea, and another brand, Against
the Grain, is owned solely by the second generation - twins Brett
and Chelsea, who recently brought on their younger sister, Callie.
Starting with just 10 employees in 2002, the Shers' not-so-small,
family-owned business now employs about 100.
Cut out the ingredient middleman
Evanger's has been family owned for all of its 84 years, however
not by the same family. The company's pet food history dates
back to 1935 when Fred Evanger, an immigrant from Norway
who raised championship Great Danes, started making pet food
on his dairy farm in Wheeling, Illinois. He sold the company in
1959 to two families who sourced fresh ingredients through local distributors. Then, in 2002, when the Sher's took over, they
started sourcing ingredients directly from local suppliers by
cutting out the middleman, who at the time was Joel.
For more than 10 years before purchasing the company, Joel
supplied Evanger's with locally sourced fresh beef and poultry
through his family's business. "In the 70's, my father was in the
meat business and he got my grandfather involved in providOwners Holly and Joel Sher have five children - two sets of twins - and
currently have three of the five helping them run the business. (From left:
Joel, Holly, Callie, Chelsea and Brett Sher)
Photography by Gabmaster Photography
www.petfoodprocessing.net | March 2019 | PET FOOD PROCESSING
15
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PET Food Processing - March 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PET Food Processing - March 2019
PET Food Processing - March 2019
CONTENTS
OFF THE LEASH - MY FAVORITE STORY
TRENDS - SOURCING RESPONSIBLY
PLANT PROFILE - A BRAND FOR THE GENERATIONS
FOOD SAFETY - RISKY BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS - ALWAYS IN SEASON
REGULATORY - AUTHORITY OVERVIEW
INGREDIENTS - HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
EVENT SPOTLIGHT - COLLECTIVE EFFORT
EQUIPMENT - UNIFORM EXPERIENCE
BUSINESS STRATEGY - DREAM TEAM
EQUIPMENT - BETTER BATCHES
OPERATIONS - WAR ON TASTE
PACKAGING - SMALLER PAWPRINT
BEST IN SHOW
PATENTS TO PONDER
EVENTS
SIT, STAY, READ
AD INDEX
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - PET Food Processing - March 2019
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - PET Food Processing - March 2019
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 2
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 3
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 4
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - CONTENTS
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - OFF THE LEASH - MY FAVORITE STORY
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 7
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - TRENDS - SOURCING RESPONSIBLY
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 9
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 10
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 11
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 12
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 13
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - PLANT PROFILE - A BRAND FOR THE GENERATIONS
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 15
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 16
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 17
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 18
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 19
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 20
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 21
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 22
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 23
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 24
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - FOOD SAFETY - RISKY BUSINESS
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 26
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 27
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 28
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 29
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 30
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS - ALWAYS IN SEASON
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 32
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 33
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 34
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - REGULATORY - AUTHORITY OVERVIEW
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 36
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 37
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 38
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - INGREDIENTS - HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 40
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 41
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 42
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 43
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 44
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - EVENT SPOTLIGHT - COLLECTIVE EFFORT
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 46
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - EQUIPMENT - UNIFORM EXPERIENCE
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 48
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 49
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 50
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 51
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 52
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - BUSINESS STRATEGY - DREAM TEAM
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 54
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 55
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 56
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - EQUIPMENT - BETTER BATCHES
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 58
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 59
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 60
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 61
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 62
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - OPERATIONS - WAR ON TASTE
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 64
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 65
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 66
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 67
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 68
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 69
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 70
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - PACKAGING - SMALLER PAWPRINT
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 72
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 73
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - BEST IN SHOW
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 75
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 76
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - PATENTS TO PONDER
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 78
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 79
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - EVENTS
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - SIT, STAY, READ
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - AD INDEX
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 83
PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 84
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/pfp/pet-food-processing-november-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/pfp/pet-food-processing-september-2024
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