Your Questions, Answered

  • Alpine Export manufactures premium air-dried pet nutrition for cats and dogs, including complete diets, complementary products, toppers and treats, developed to private label partner specifications.

  • Yes. We manufacture air-dried products for both dog and cat applications across defined commercial programmes.

  • Yes. Our facility supports oven-based small batch production with 1 metric tonne minimum per SKU. This structure enables scalable launch volumes while maintaining consistency and export readiness.

  • We support varied slicing sizes, texture formats and rope extrusion options to align with different category and positioning requirements.

  • Yes. Sample requests can be accommodated as part of the commercial onboarding process. Sample availability, timing and associated costs are discussed during initial consultation. We recommend sampling ahead of formulation finalisation to confirm palatability, texture and format alignment with your market requirements.

Formulation & Nutrition

  • Yes. We work alongside qualified nutritionists to develop balanced formulations aligned with AAFCO guidelines and designed for specific protein, functional ingredient or positioning goals.

  • Yes. We can formulate to meet AAFCO nutritional profiles for:

    • Growth

    • Reproduction

    • Adult Maintenance

    • All Life Stages (excluding large breed puppies)

    We can also formulate to meet FEDIAF nutritional guidelines, depending on your target market requirements.

    Nutritional positioning is confirmed during the formulation and regulatory review process.

  • Yes. We can formulate air-dried diets with fresh meat inclusion levels of up to 96%, depending on your product brief and nutritional targets.

    Formulations are developed within regulatory parameters and aligned to agreed commercial requirements.

  • Yes. Our formulations can incorporate palatability enhancers and a range of New Zealand-sourced functional ingredients such as green-lipped mussel, mānuka honey, abalone, kiwifruit and more, depending on the programme.

  • No. Air-dried processing gently removes moisture while preserving ingredient structure and protein integrity, resulting in shelf-stable product without the frozen logistics associated with raw formats. Freeze-dried is a separate process not offered by Alpine Export at this stage.

Quality, Compliance & Export

  • Quality control is embedded at batch level. We maintain documented traceability from source to dispatch, controlled processing systems and export documentation management.

  • Yes. Alpine Export maintains MPI Risk Management Programme registration, Secure Exports Scheme partnership and FDA facility registration. With established export listings for China, the European Union, Great Britain and Japan, our products move through customs faster and with fewer delays than non-listed manufacturers, a practical advantage for partners entering or scaling in these markets.

  • We currently export products into the United States, Canada, The UK, The EU, Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai and China.

  • We provide export documentation support from the New Zealand end, including certificates of origin, health certificates and registration documentation for approved markets. Label compliance for destination markets is the responsibility of the import partner, as requirements vary by country and distributor. We can advise on known requirements for our approved markets and recommend partners engage a local regulatory specialist for market-specific label sign-off.

  • Yes. We manage the process from formulation and production through to export documentation and international shipping.

    As the manufacturer, we take ownership of the shipping process, providing a fully integrated, end-to-end service into your nominated market.

Manufacturing & Production

Ingredients & Provenance

  • We source proteins and key ingredients within New Zealand’s regulated agricultural system. New Zealand’s strict biosecurity and traceability systems support reliable supply of pasture-raised proteins and uniquely expressed ingredients.

  • New Zealand’s geographic isolation, biosecurity controls and pasture-based agriculture provide producers with ingredients that support premium positioning and provenance-led differentiation in global markets.

Commercial Terms

  • Yes, we offer:

    Private Label / OEM
    Custom formulations developed to your brand brief, ingredient profile and nutritional positioning.

    White Label
    An existing formulation supplied under your brand with customised packaging and labelling.

    Minimum order quantities and lead times vary depending on the selected pathway.

  • Lead times vary based on formulation finalisation, packaging arrival and export scheduling. Typical export production lead times are approximately 10–12 weeks from purchase order entry.

  • Packaging is supplied by the customer. Packaging must meet Alpine Export’s quality standards and regulatory requirements for export.

  • Yes. Alpine Export provides required export documentation support to assist with import permit applications in partner markets. Import permits are submitted by the partner in their destination market.

  • Formulations developed exclusively for a partner programme are treated as confidential to that partner. Ownership and usage rights are defined in the commercial agreement prior to production commencing. We recommend discussing IP terms during the initial consultation stage.

  • Exclusivity arrangements can be discussed on a case by case basis and are subject to commercial terms. Where exclusivity is agreed, this is documented in the supply agreement. We encourage partners to raise exclusivity requirements early in the process so they can be factored into programme planning.

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