We are Riverwood
Johnson Petfoods is the name of the company behind Riverwood. The company was founded in 2010 by John Sars, an animal lover through and through.
Before John started his own company, he worked for many years as an international sales manager in the pet industry. Although this job gave him a large international network, he kept dreaming of his own company through which he could import the best foods he encountered along the way to the Netherlands.
By the way; the name Johnson stands for John and Son, and now Jeroen (John’s son) is also a co-owner of the company.
The beginning
In 2009, John decided to take the step into entrepreneurship, and on December 31 of that year, the company was officially founded.
From a bedroom converted into an office, the adventure began with the import of the first brand of dog food. Although he didn’t have a single customer yet, he bought his first truckload of dog kibble (and that’s quite a lot) and got to work. John visited pet stores all over the Netherlands and steadily built a nationwide dealer network. After the first hundred stores became customers, Gerty was hired as the first sales representative.
Grow, grow and grow some more
The company grew, and the network of sales points expanded. More representatives, an internal sales department, and a marketing department were added, and we moved to a spacious office building at Saffierborch in Rosmalen. Two more pet food brands were added so that even more dogs and cats could benefit from healthy nutrition. But despite all the great products, stores (and owners) kept asking for even better recipes and even better food for their dogs and cats.
At international trade fairs, our team visited all the booths selling pet food, but we couldn’t find the quality our customers were asking for. Under the motto: "then we’ll just develop it ourselves," the idea for our own brand Riverwood was born on Sunday, June 1, 2014 (the last day of the InterZoo trade fair) on the terrace of Hotel Schindlerhof in Nuremberg, Germany.
The development of Riverwood
The development of Riverwood involved a comprehensive process. "We carefully examined products already on the market to see what we could possibly do better or differently. We also listened closely to the needs and interests of consumers and nutrition experts," says John. "We weighed, tested, and discussed all the top ingredients from quality dog and cat foods."
In the end, we only incorporated the very best of nature into Riverwood. The result? High meat percentages, no grains or gluten, but fresh vegetables and fruit along with a rich blend of powerful herbs. With these recipes, we can bring dogs and cats as close to nature as possible, with healthy and above all tasty food.
Bricks & Clicks
When Riverwood was introduced in September 2016, the products were exclusively available at the better pet specialty stores. This was a deliberate choice, as these stores offer broader service and expert advice. After rapid (and significant) growth, an online brand store became inevitable to meet the increasing (international) demand for our products.
Our retail partners and distributors are supplied from our own warehouse in Hedel, where trucks are constantly coming and going. The video next to this gives a nice impression of our warehouse.
FD Gazelle Award (11x)
The FD Gazelle Award is a prestigious prize from Het Financieele Dagblad for fast-growing companies. In 2024, we were honored to receive this wonderful award for the tenth time, and we are very proud of that. But we are even prouder of our amazing team, because without them, we would not have been able to achieve these awards.
International expansion
The fact that our vision and approach work is evident from the fact that Riverwood is now internationally known. “Our products are now also available in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland, something we are very proud of. However, we are far from fully grown and hope to make more and more pets and their owners happy worldwide!”
You can find us at all major international trade fairs, sometimes as visitors, but often as exhibitors. To the right, you can see a photo of our first stand at Interzoo in Nuremberg, Germany (2018 edition).
Donations to charities
Johnson Petfoods cares deeply about animal welfare. That’s why we regularly donate food (such as products with transport damage) to charitable causes. Think of pet food banks, shelters, and animal rescues. This way, we waste nothing and help owners (and animals) who, for whatever reason, are temporarily struggling.