Cold chain becomes a competitive lever for fresh pet food

Pet food sales in the US have grown only modestly in recent years, but fresh and frozen diets added more than 1 percentage point to the overall sales momentum in dog food. Against that backdrop, temperature-controlled logistics is starting to function as a strategic enabler for brands and retailers looking to scale, according to Cascadia Capital’s Pet Industry Overview: Winter 2025/2026.

Unlike shelf-stable dry kibble, fresh and frozen products require uninterrupted temperature control from production through purchase and then into at-home storage. That translates into spending on refrigerated production areas, cold storage warehouses, specialized temperature-controlled transportation, and freezer capacity on the retail floor. Analysts note that a decade ago it was difficult to persuade retailers to allocate freezer space to pet food; today, freezer infrastructure and a reliable cold chain are becoming a basic requirement for participating in the fresh segment.

A weak link anywhere in the chain increases spoilage risk and can trigger costly recalls as well as reputational damage for both brands and sellers. As a result, the ability to build and consistently maintain a cold chain may become the key constraint for fresh pet food as it moves from regional distribution to national scale.

The report highlights the role of e-commerce and large market players in accelerating investment in cold-chain capabilities. Chewy expanded its capacity to process chilled and frozen orders across its network and, in September 2025, launched its Get Real fresh dog food line. Amazon has strengthened temperature-controlled logistics through Amazon Fresh and the Whole Foods Market network to scale sales of temperature-sensitive products, including pet food.

Cascadia Capital also points to distributors as an important driver of category growth. In October 2025, Pet Food Experts announced a partnership with Freshpet to distribute refrigerated products across all regions where the distributor operates. In brick-and-mortar retail, expanding freezer space is increasingly treated as a priority: specialty chains Hollywood Feed and Mud Bay continue adding freezer capacity in stores to support new fresh and frozen brands. PetSmart expanded its partnership with JustFoodForDogs to more than 900 stores in April 2025, while Petco partnered with Uber Eats to speed up delivery of fresh and frozen pet food.

Analysts note that these investments inevitably raise costs and energy use: refrigerated storage, temperature-controlled transport, and additional labor increase operating expenses and the category’s carbon footprint. At the same time, Cascadia Capital estimates that retailers and distributors without robust cold-chain capabilities risk losing relevance as fresh pet food shifts from a niche to a mainstream segment. As the analysts emphasize, cold-chain investment is not only about compliance and reducing spoilage risk, but also about brand reputation and customer trust as shoppers become more demanding about product quality.

Source: petfoodindustry.com