For those of you who don’t know the story behind Big Country Raw, it is something that employees of BCR are proud to share with anyone who wants to know more about raw feeding.
Looking at where Big Country Raw is today, it is easy to assume that the company was built on industry experience and investors, however, the history is much humbler and more inspirational than that.
Behind the success of every company is an idea or product that fills a customer desire or need – in this case, it was born from a desire to give our four-legged friends the best and healthiest life – starting with what they eat. For many, however, the logistics and time behind creating a raw balanced diet is just not sustainable to do it yourself.
In 2008, Rob and Geraldine Brouwer ran Big Country Kennels and bred German Shorthaired Pointers and Bernese Mountain Dogs. Like so many, they too fed kibble to their dogs and never really questioned the ingredients or nutritional value. This was the case until they added a dog named Bijou to their breeding program. Bijou came from a well-respected Bernese breeder in Quebec who insisted that the Brouwers feed her raw. After bringing her home and trying the kibble route with her (unsuccessfully) – they finally gave in, and they visited their local butcher and followed the recipes that were provided to them. Not only did Bijou seem relieved that she was back on her raw diet, but the other dogs in the kennel soon saw the benefit the same diet could provide. Their dogs had more energy, shinier coats, pooped much less and they didn’t have that traditional “dog” smell anymore. It didn’t take any further convincing for the Brouwers to start to recommend a raw diet to all new puppy owners.
It really is history from that point on. Pre-made raw from Big Country became a hit and word spread.
In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we sat down with Rob and Geraldine to ask them the burning questions that we had!
1) When You Were Growing Up, What Did You Want to be?
G – Oh, wow, well…I don’t actually recall thinking about a particular career choice as a kid. In high school however, I was really interested in anything business related. Anything numbers or math wasn’t my thing, but courses about entrepreneurship were very interesting to me. I decided to attend Niagara College after high school and took a 3 year diploma in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources.
R – As a kid I dreamed of being a vet. Maybe it was the James Herriot books that we had in our house and always having pets of some sort. I had a love for wildlife and was always outside. In my senior year of high school, I had a growing interest in technology and robotics and that lead to pursuing a post secondary degree in electronics engineering.
2) What Do You Think is the Secret to the Success of Big Country Raw?
G – Well, I think there isn’t just one particular thing that helped us achieve success. We entered the market at a very good time. There have always been people that have chosen not to follow the trend and fed a raw diet. However, when we started feeding raw, the idea was fading from a “fad or trend” and becoming a legitimate way to feed your pet. There was a lot of activity on social media and books from the pioneers of raw feeding like Dr. Ian Billinghurst which I read as well. Then Dr. Karen Becker started blogging and taking speaking engagements and Netflix had a documentary called Pet Fooled. The entire market was interested and engaged, and we had a new product offering when there wasn’t a lot of other options on the market.
R – What made us different was that we went direct to the consumer to start – so we didn’t start with a distributor. That really helped keep our costs low and made it significantly easier for people to afford raw. At the time when we started there were only brands from the US in pet specialty stores. When we got an inquiry about bringing our brand to a pet store, that wasn’t something we had considered before. We had a great opportunity with Back to the Bone in Burlington – this was our first retail location. Daniel and Donna opened a store that exclusively offered raw food diets and we saw a lot of growth with them for sure.
G – Perhaps the final reason is that we were really focused on customer satisfaction. We worked really hard to listen to our customers, respond to emails and answer phone calls day or night, and we just worked really, really hard. And we had a lot of family and some great friends that had as much passion as we did to see this change the market and that helped a ton too!
3) Where Did the Name Big Country Come From?
G – There were a few things that happened. First – we got our German Shorthair Pointer from a breeder (Legacy K Kennels). We named him and his registered name was Legacy K’s Big Country. Then, when we started our kennel a year or two later, we just took that name Big Country and named our kennel Big Country Kennels. We started making raw in 2010 and needed a name for our “brand” and Big Country Raw seemed like a good fit.
4) What are the Biggest Changes You’ve Seen in the Pet Food Industry Over the Past 10 Years?
G – For sure the adoption of raw pet food! I know we are hyper focused on that, but when we started there were virtually no stores selling raw and the few that were had just 1 or 2 small freezers. Many just had freezers in the back and it was by request only. Now, every pet specialty retailer has a freezer and usually 2 to 4 doors at a minimum. Ren’s Pets Depot started installing walk in freezers in their stores in 2019 and that was another huge milestone.
Perhaps the focus on healthier food and treat choices for our pets in general. Even the difference in the effort that pet owners now take to prepare meals for their pets. The focus on health and diet has been significant.
5) Was There Any Turning Point in the Business?
R – I would say putting plans to build the new Smithville location. I think when our business operated from our home property, we still felt like a small family-run business. But putting up the building in Smithville and then seeing the tremendous growth we’ve experienced since that time is remarkable. I think it really helped make us feel even more proud of the brand and we have more confidence to promote it even more widely.
6) Best Piece of Advice that Someone Gave You When it Came to BCR?
R – I would have to say that a lot of different people always reminded us to invest in good people. We really try to create a good work culture at BCR, and this is constant work. Business is about relationships, continuing to build and develop them. Whether its staff, suppliers, or customers, they’re equally important.
7) How Do You Balance Work and Family Life?
G – Put your family and kids first. I would say that we have always tried to keep a good balance between work and family life. In addition to growing BCR we welcomed 3 more kids (Charlotte, Violet and Eric) in the past 10 years. It’s been a lot of work doing both and we have a lot of family support for child-care as well. I guess we’d have to ask our kids if we did a good job managing both.
R – It was definitely more challenging to juggle when we were operating out of our home, but when we moved our business to Smithville, the “work/family” divide became easier to manage. Hiring really good people allows us to step away from the business from time to time, for example to enjoy family vacations.
8) Tell Us What Each of You Bring to the Business? (Ger you say what Rob brings and Rob you say what Ger brings)
G – Rob is an integrator, and he is also super analytical. He’s a problem solver, probably why he chose engineering as a post secondary career. His dedication and planning abilities allow him to be good at leading the team to execute our vision.
R – Geraldine is a creative thinker and an influencer that helps shape the vision for the company and products. Her passion and energy are contagious and this helps to get the team engaged and working towards the same goal.
9) What Do You Think Makes Big Country Raw Different?
R – The passion behind the brand is likely our own commitment to ourselves and our customers to make incredible pet food, and bring people to the team that share the same passion. We started BCR to make it convenient and simple for families to feed raw.
10) Where Do You Think BCR will be in 10 Years?
G – It’s hard to know for sure! I suppose a big plan would be to see our brand become known internationally…perhaps just Canada and the USA. Seeing more things develop with Thrive and successfully launching our new brand of cooked frozen food as well would be really incredible too.
R – Continue to expand the Canadian market and make raw feeding more mainstream. Continue to invest in good people and new technologies, while never wavering on quality. Maybe one day enter the US market.