United Premium Foods leverages Tosca's reusable pet food packaging to cut labor strain, protect product, and streamline coast-to-coast delivery.
ATLANTA, GA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / October 9, 2025 / The fresh pet food category is forecasted to grow at a 21.2% CAGR through 2029 - a jump driven by consumer demand for high-quality pet meals. This rapid growth places pressure on co-manufacturers to scale production while ensuring that highly perishable products arrive safe, fresh, and consistent.
United Premium Foods (UPF), a co-manufacturer of human-grade pet food and a manufacturer of fresh premium pet food based in New Jersey, is responding by investing in production capacity and reevaluating packaging as a crucial part of its distribution strategy.
Scaling fresh pet food isn't just about adding production lines - it's about ensuring speed and efficiency without sacrificing quality or causing unnecessary environmental harm. UPF's state-of-the-art production equipment could handle this, but the corrugated packaging in use wasn't built for modern manufacturing or aligned with its sustainability goals.
As category growth accelerated, staying ahead of demand pressures and quality expectations meant moving away from single-use corrugated toward a solution better suited to automated environments, with stronger protection against damage and ventilation that enables faster cooling.
"Every decision we make is about product quality, on-time efficiency, and sustainability," said Ken Mayer, CEO of United Premium Foods. "Reusable containers have proven durable and reliable, helping us maintain product quality during shipping. Tosca's pooling model allows us to focus on production while ensuring packaging is managed end-to-end."
With Tosca managing the entire pooling cycle - supply, retrieval, and sanitation - UPF has reduced labor demands while moving toward a more sustainable distribution model.
"At Tosca, we see packaging as an enabler of resilient supply chains," said Scott Schimming, VP of Sales, Tosca. "In fast-growing, perishable categories like fresh pet food, packaging is infrastructure. It shapes quality, efficiency, and sustainability - and our reusable model is built for that future."
About United Premium Foods
United Premium Foods (UPF) is a certified co-manufacturer specializing in human-grade and fresh pet food. Based in Woodbridge, NJ, the company operates a 110,000-square-foot facility with integrated R&D, production, packaging, and cold storage capabilities.
About Tosca
Tosca is a global leader in reusable transport packaging and pooling solutions for perishable supply chains. With a portfolio of crates, bins, and pallets, plus a full-service model for washing, and asset management, Tosca helps manufacturers and retailers reduce shrink, improve efficiency, and achieve sustainability goals.
Media Contact: Laura Hardeman, VP of Marketing | lhardeman@toscaltd.com | 404.200.1940
SOURCE: Tosca
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