Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm focusing on food, beverage and related industries, has invested in Carnivore Meat Company, a premium freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food manufacturer.

Carnivore was founded in 2012 and provides unique freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food, snacks and treats. The firm’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and proprietary freeze-drying process position themselves to meet growing demand for nutritious and healthy pet food products. Carnivore offers a portfolio of brands including Vital Essentials, Vital Cat, VE RAW BAR and the recently launched Nature’s Advantage line.

“The Carnivore team have developed distinctive products with a fanatical customer base,” stated Arbor partner Chris Tuffin. “The freeze-dry sector is seeing meteoric growth as pet parents learn about the unrivaled benefits of a raw diet.”

“Carnivore has been blessed with incredible growth and we see acceleration at an even faster rate in the future,” said Carnivore founder and CEO, Lanny Viegut. “When we saw this opportunity to partner with a team who completely match us in culture, values and beliefs…and who share the same commitment to manufacturing premium quality food products, we just had to say, “YES”!”

Winston & Strawn LLP served as Arbor’s legal counsel in connection with the transaction. Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor and Godfrey & Kahn served as legal counsel to Carnivore.