Mud Bay - Maple Valley

Business Description

Mud Bay carries over 450 unique formulas of healthy, natural foods for dogs and cats. We also offer free information on dog and cat nutrition, as well as a wide variety of toys, gifts, treats, and supplements.

Sustainability at Mud Bay

You may know that Mud Bay prioritizes sustainability when choosing new private label products. However, we’re also working towards a greener Mud Bay with all of our decisions.

Here are some examples of the ways in which Mud Bay is working toward maximizing sustainability:

• Mud Bay Brands prioritizes local manufacturers whenever possible, as well as the environmental impact of our products.
• “Treat of the Week” program transitioned from plastic to paper envelopes.
• Mud Bay bags transitioned from plastic to paper.
• New handouts offer alternative digital versions on our website.
• We donate products that are returned by customers to animal welfare shelters (provided the item is in good condition and there aren’t any safety or contamination concerns).
• Mud Bay Brands is shifting away from plastic packaging to sustainable packaging whenever possible.
• Local delivery uses paper bags instead of plastic or cardboard boxes to package delivered items.
• Our Animal welfare program utilizes digital access for most shelters.
• Low-flow faucets: We install low-flow faucets that meet code requirements.
• All new stores have daylight harvesting sensors for light fixtures near windows. When it’s sunny out, the lights dim to save energy. When it’s cloudy or dark the lights use the captured energy to get brighter.
• We monitor temperature in our stores using thermostats set between 68 and 72 degrees all year long. During unoccupied hours (nighttime), we go to a range of 63-77 degrees so we use less energy to cool or heat the space, but don’t let it go so far out of the target range that it takes significant energy to return to 68-72 during business hours. Our research indicates this is the best way to efficiently heat/cool the store.
• Distribution Center: Our warehouse temperature is monitored for certain benchmarks (i.e. to keep from freezing during extremely cold evenings), so we don’t waste energy over-heating the entire space.
• Home Office: All lights and many outlets are on occupancy sensors so the lights and outlets shut off when nobody is in the area to save power. We also installed blinds to reduce thermal gain from sun, which will keep the space cooler in the summer.
• All store/home office/distribution center appliances (kitchen refrigerator, store floor freezers, etc.) are Energy Star certified.
• Bottle-filling fountains: Most stores, our Distribution Center and Home Office, we have either a bottle-filling fountain or a sink-mounted fountain that filters water from the cold water line at the breakroom sink.
• Since 2019, we’ve retrofitted all old stores to LED lighting.
• We design and build all new stores with 100% LED lighting.
• Our Kirkland, WA store is in a high-rise building that has a LEED rating, and Mud Bay met all of the requirements as part of our build.

Mud Bay Certified Pet Foods

Why Does Mud Bay Wait to Stock Foods?

While many companies will stock new foods immediately, Mud Bay takes a different approach. We spend time meeting with the founders of our brands, visiting where foods are made and having conversations with every manufacturing partner to make sure our standards are met. Sometimes our approach means it takes one or more years between the time we start researching a brand and when you see that new food on our shelves. And there are many foods that we decline to carry after we find out they don’t meet our standards.

Mud Bay Certified is our new program that allows customers to learn more about the foods we stock and how we choose those foods. By explaining our process to you, we hope you’ll understand what makes a great food according to our on-staff veterinarian, dedicated Muddies and over 30 years of reading and following the latest scientific research.

Information on Our In-Store Food Signs

Each Mud Bay Certified sign includes essential information about that food that might make it a good choice for your pet. Often the information on the sign explains how this food meets the guidelines set by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). For example, we often include information about formulator’s education, as well as the ingredients, so you can better understand the food you’re buying. You’ll also see information about what we think makes a food unique, whether it’s the high percentage of meat-based protein, bioavailability of minerals or the exceptional sourcing.

Made with Mud Bady

Items made with Mud Bay offer unique products and exceptional value to our customers under the Mud Bay name. Every product is made by a trusted partner that we invite to work with us. Together, we develop products to meet needs that Mud Bay can’t fulfill by buying directly from a manufacturer.

Many of these products are of higher quality and value than anything we could stock from another manufacturer. Other items prioritize innovation, sustainability or material sourcing to create a unique product with the Mud Bay name.

Mud Bay is transparent about our partnerships. We prioritize partnering with small or local businesses that can benefit from this relationship and work with several minority-owned businesses under our label.

Mud Bay meets with each company regularly throughout the development process. We ensure every product fits our solutions-based philosophy and knowledge of pet nutrition and health. It may take a year or more to develop our products because Mud Bay won’t approve an item that doesn’t exceed our standards for quality, knowledge, and value.

Meet Our Made With Mud Bay Partners