Tell us about your production challenge

Let's make dry pet food

Find innovative production technology for making dry pet food and connect directly with world-leading specialists.

Making.com - Dry pet food

Around 1860, American businessman James Spratt made dog biscuits by mixing vegetables, flour, beetroot, and meat. His novel idea came after he noticed dogs eating leftover biscuits from ships in England. Following the commercial success in Britain, he started production in America, and it didn’t take long before others developed their own baked pet food formulas. But the need for more palatability led to experiments beyond the oven. In 1956, extruded dry pet food production made its splash on the market.

Stories about Dry pet food

Too much choice? Don't worry, we got you!

Connect directly with world leading technology suppliers.

We will connect you directly with a technology specialist that has experience with your process.

Contact us

Dry pet food production is not all about extrusion


About 95% of dry pet food production uses the extrusion technique. Pet food manufacturers choose this process not only for its convenience and low cost but also for its flexibility and efficiency.


The extrusion method gives you better control of processing parameters such as pasteurization and density. At the same time, however, the high temperature and pressure used in extrusion reduce the overall nutrient content. Consequently, this pet food type requires further coating with oil, vitamins, and other additives.


Baking retains higher nutritional values of ingredients

The versatility of extrusion allows you to make a range of pet foods, including kibbles, treats, snacks, and semi-moist foods. But you can use alternative methods such as baking, air-drying, freeze-drying, cold pressing, and cold extrusion. However, most of these methods are expensive compared with extrusion and are rarely applied. But baking is trying to find its way into the market.

Baking involves a milder process for nutrients, similar to baking human food. The lower temperatures and longer residence time help preserve tastes and nutritional values better than extrusion. However, the process takes about 10 times longer, making it a more expensive production option.

Alternative protein in dry pet food production


Producers and customers are increasingly turning to sustainable products, and the pet food sector is no stranger to this change. Manufacturers are adapting their methods to align with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).


One method of achieving SDGs is replacing fishmeal and soybean meal protein with black soldier fly protein. Insects have always been part of the animal food chain. Insect proteins present an alternative to integrating dry pet food production into the circular economy.


Processing steps involved in dry-pet-food making

Which dry pet food technology do you need?

Continuous freeze dryer

Vacuum belt dryer for instant drink powders

Extracting the essential acids and compounds from fruits and plants is a comple…

Continuous belt dryer for industrial production

Continuous belt dryer for industrial production

When industrial processes require large volumes of uniformly dried products…

Modular big bag unloading station for various materials

Modular big bag unloading station for various materials

When handling large volumes of powdered or granular materials, it'…

Large-scale industrial freeze dryer

Large-scale industrial freeze dryer

In large-scale commercial freeze drying, managing significant moisture content and large…

High speed carton closing machine

High speed carton closing machine

Choosing a carton closing machine becomes a significant consideration when the closing of …

Automatic palletizer machine for bags and boxes

Automatic palletizer machine for bags and boxes

The effective placement and positioning of bags and boxes can be a challeng…

Robot palletizing system

Robot palletizing system

If you are a relatively large-scale producer, packing and transporting large quantities of products i…

Vertical form fill seal machine

Vertical form fill seal machine

There is an increasing demand for a range of different package sizes of the same product. If …

Form fill seal bagging machine

Form fill seal bagging machine

If you are in industries such as petrochemicals, fertilizers, animal feed, food, etc, you must…

Open mouth bag filling machine for powders

Open mouth bag filling machine for powders

The packaging of powdery products such as flour can be challenging as it is cruc…

Open mouth bagging machine

Open mouth bagging machine

If you are a manufacturer of fertilizers, bulk chemicals, sugar, seeds, or any grains it is likely…

Continuous pellet cooler

Continuous pellet cooler

Cooling is a very important and critical process for feed hygiene and pellet durability index. Pellet…

Gravity feed cooler

Gravity feed cooler

The food and feed industry has high food safety requirements making frequent cleaning and inspection neces…

Industrial heat pump dryer

Industrial heat pump dryer

The drying of extruded products is highly energy-demanding in traditional belt dryers that use gas…

Industrial drying cabinet

Industrial drying cabinet

The production of high-quality biltong and similar dried meat products can pose problems with maint…

High speed stretch wrapping machine

High speed stretch wrapping machine

Where high speed wrapping, without toppling, is required in tightly securing palletised …

Semi-automatic stretch wrapping machine

Semi-automatic stretch wrapping machine

At lower speeds, some level of automation is required to provide a cost-effective me…

Palletizing robot arm

Palletizing robot arm

For high speed palletizing, palletizing high payloads, or just where greater flexibility is required, in…

Vertical form, fill and seal machine for bags from 5 to 50 kg

Vertical form, fill and seal machine for bags from 5 to 50 kg

To securely create, dose and pack larger quantities of mate…

Automatic bagging machine for open mouth bags

Automatic bagging machine for open mouth bags

Open mouth bags allow for a variety of different products to be packaged, wit…

bagger for open mouth bags

Bagger for open mouth bags

Where a stand-alone bagger is required for filling large, open mouth bags, a delivery method is ne…

Pelleting press for feed and petfood

Pelleting press for feed and petfood

The production of agricultural feed and pet food products requires machines and plants …

Compact palletizer

Compact palletizer

Choosing an accurate palletizer can be quite an advantageous move. This one is designed for euro, industria…

High-level layer palletizer

High-level layer palletizer

A palletizer that meets the middle and high-level needs of modern bagging lines. Quite suitable f…

High-capacity bulk weighers

High-capacity bulk weighers

A checking weigher recognized for receiving and shipping bulk materials, typically in mills and w…

High sensitivity X-ray inspection system

High sensitivity X-ray inspection system

This is the X-ray inspection system you need for detecting contaminants that are di…

Air dehumidifier for bulk products

Air dehumidifier for bulk products

When your product or process is sensitive to humidity, using an air dehumidifier may resu…

Continuous vertical bagger

Continuous vertical bagger

Want a machine to pack unique bag styles such as quad-seal and Doy-pack bags at incredible speeds;…

Let's talk about your project!

Tell us about your production challenge and connect directly with leading manufacturers worldwide
All your data is kept confidential