The Launch
Citizens Pet, the Fresno, California-based producer behind Plato and Furry Republic, is entering the premium air-dried pet food segment with a new brand, Unconditional, set to reach PetSmart, Petco, Pet Supplies Plus and independent pet retailers nationwide beginning September 2026. The brand made its trade debut at SUPERZOO 2026 and is positioned as a lower-cost alternative to existing air-dried labels — priced roughly 40% below comparable brands, according to the company.
The Numbers
The pricing differential is made possible by Citizens Pet's vertically integrated model: every SKU is manufactured in-house at the company's Fresno factory, which has operated for more than 25 years. Owning the production process — from ingredient sourcing and air-drying through packaging and quality assurance — allows the company to bypass co-manufacturing margins. The full Unconditional portfolio spans 100% air-dried complete diets, grain-free kibble blends with air-dried inclusions, and functional meal toppers. Shelf life runs 18 to 24 months, removing the cold-chain logistics that have historically constrained freeze-dried and raw formats.
The launch targets one of pet food's fastest-expanding format categories. Air-dried and freeze-dried dog food have grown sharply as consumers shift away from conventional extruded kibble toward minimally processed alternatives — a trend that broadly mirrors the clean-label movement reshaping packaged food and beverage aisles. All Unconditional recipes lead with real meat as the first ingredient and carry no artificial preservatives, fillers, byproducts or rendered meals.
What's Next
"By owning our manufacturing process from start to finish, we're able to deliver premium quality nutrition at a more accessible price, making it easier for families to feed their dogs the way they deserve," said Avrum Elmakis, owner and chief executive of Citizens Pet and founder of Unconditional. Elmakis launched one of the first online dog treat retailers in 2007 and has spent two decades in the pet industry.
The simultaneous brick-and-mortar and direct-to-consumer rollout — available at retail and at unconditionalpetfood.com from September — reflects a distribution strategy common among challenger brands in the premium pet food and specialty food sectors, where shelf placement at the major pet specialty chains provides scale while the owned e-commerce channel supports margin and data capture. Citizens Pet's existing relationships with PetSmart and Petco, built through its Plato and Furry Republic brands, likely accelerated Unconditional's retail access. The company did not disclose revenue targets or initial SKU counts for the launch.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
