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On man's best friend's menu Mud Bay pet chain finds success in healthy fare

Rolf Boone | The oLYMPIAN • Published December 27, 2006

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OLYMPIA - A typical meal for man's best friend has come a long way since serving Fido a nondescript can of dog food.

Instead, dogs are chowing down on frozen meatballs made from chicken, turkey, duck, carrots, zucchini and squash, according to one product offered by Mud Bay, an Olympia-based business that operates a chain of healthy pet food stores.

Launched by the Wulff family in 1988, Mud Bay was built on the idea that as humans gradually became more concerned about their health, providing a healthier meal for the family cat or dog would soon follow.

"Being healthy trickled down to pets," said CEO Lars Wulff, who oversees the operation of Mud Bay stores throughout Western Washington, including the company's 14th store, which opened in Seattle this month.

Wulff's mother, Elsa, started the business as a general store, but gradually it narrowed down its product offerings to healthy pet food.

For one thing, there was little competition in the market at that time, Lars Wulff said.

"Before, pet food makers made more stuff on the low end of the spectrum," he said.

Translation: Dog and cat food that was made from the by-products of meat products, which can be high in bone meal or fat, resulting in some common pet health problems.

These include itchy skin and allergies, and bowel, weight and joint problems, Wulff said.

"More meat is better for cats and dogs, and the less processed it is, the better it's going to be," he said.

For the first 10 years, the business operated one store in South Sound and then took over a chain of eight defunct pet stores in Seattle in 2000.

Today, Mud Bay has more than 100 employees and did $14 million in gross sales this year, Wulff said.

The business does not operate alone in the healthy pet food market, however, and has competitors such as Crown Hill Pet Supply in Ballard.

Eddie Miller, who manages the Ballard store, said Mud Bay offers a wide selection of healthy pet food products. It also has better pet food than a typical grocery store would carry, he said.

"They definitely have their place in the market," Miller said.

Mud Bay has developed some loyal customers, such as Lissa Harn of Olympia, who shops at the company's Lacey store for her yellow Labrador, Henry.

"He (Henry) is our child, and this is where we spend our time," said Harn, who buys dog salami and meatballs for Henry.

Mary Wiatrack of Lacey likes Mud Bay because Molly, her 11-year-old mix bearded collie, has become a finicky eater.

"I spend a little more, but it's worth it," Wiatrack said.

On the menu for Molly is a baconlike product known as Happy Hips and lamb fillets, she said.

"She (Molly) loves them," Wiatrack said about the lamb fillets. "She stares me down if I don't have them."

Up next for Mud Bay is to combine its headquarters and distribution center at Tumwater's Mottman Industrial Park next year, Wulff said.

The company's headquarters occupies space in downtown Olympia's old Carnegie Library building, and its distribution center is near the airport, he said.

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympia.com. Mud Bay

Business: Healthy pet food retailer for dogs and cats

Stores: 14

2006 gross sales: $14 million

CEO: Lars Wulff

Products: 450 different food items

Local stores: 2410 Harrison Ave. N.W., Olympia; 8909 Martin Way E., Lacey