CEO Update - 2022 Year in Review

My First Year In the Role

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as the CEO of Animal Care.  I continue to be proud of, and inspired by our wonderful team, doing incredible things for our pets to support all pet parents across New Zealand and Australia.

As an industry leading supplier of premium pet food, treats, pet specialty and animal health products, our Masterpet team is always investigating new ways to help our pets live happier and healthier lives. We were excited to bring a range of new products to the market to extend our animal care offer to the community.  One exciting initiative to hit the shelves in 2022 was the relaunch of our Black Hawk Original Puppy range. 

Our Black Hawk Original Puppy recipes are specifically formulated by breed size to meet the nutritional needs of growing puppies, nurturing their body and brain for optimal growth, development, and providing them with the best start in life. You can visit our Black Hawk website for a comprehensive dive into all things puppy!

View the Black Hawk Puppy Food Range

Launch of Nothin' to Hide in Australia

We were also delighted to launch a new product into the speciality channel called Nothin’ to Hide, a chew for dogs made of an alternative to rawhide – these treats offer a highly digestible and safe option compared to traditional rawhide.  Our cat lovers were also at top of mind with the launch of our new Trouble & Trix Cherry Blossom scented cat litter which has been a major hit with cat parents. This litter is environmentally sustainable and biodegradable while combining superior, long-lasting odour control.

More Information

Pet Care Kitchen

In October 2022 we celebrated the official opening of our Pet Care Kitchen state of the art manufacturing facility, located in Parkes, NSW.  I was very pleased to officially open Pet Care Kitchen with the NSW Deputy Premier The Hon. Paul Toole, EBOS Group Chair Elizabeth Coutts, and EBOS Group Chief Executive Officer John Cullity.  We now manufacture all our high-quality Black Hawk dog and cat dry food at Pet Care Kitchen where more than 45% of the ingredients are sourced within 200km of the facility. This not only ensures local quality ingredients but also reduces transport miles.

I am very proud that we are planning a big step forward in our sustainability strategy, with the scoping of an 18.8Mega Watt solar array, to be located at Pet Care Kitchen. The solar array is forecast to meet all of the EBOS Group’s Australian electricity requirements by FY27 and is an important development under our journey towards greater corporate social responsibility. 

Our event calendar was full of highlights, and we were pleased to be at the forefront of industry leading events such as the VitaPet Arena at the Dog Lovers Show and, our sponsorship of the Melbourne Cat Lovers show. The Dog Lovers Show saw almost 32,000 pet parents visit across the 3 days and our team was able to provide education and knowledge about our products to help improve their dogs’ lives at home.

Our Black Hawk brand received fantastic recognition when for the second year in a row, Black Hawk took home Canstar Blue’s ‘Most Satisfied Customers Award for Dog Food’, scoring 5 stars for overall satisfaction 2021-2022, Canstar Blue ratings are given by consumers, meaning that Black Hawk is making a real difference where it matters most - both for pet parents and for their best friends too. Congratulations to the BlackHawk team!