Manufacturer record

ZIWI Limited

Parent: FountainVest Partners · 3 plants

Credibility scored on the 20-point WSAVA tier, High confidence. An unverified field scores at half credit, never zero. How this feeds the grade →

Brands they own

ZIWI Peak · ZIWI Peak Provenance · ZIWI Peak treats

Recall history

No recalls on record in the sourced history.

Recall events in the last 10 years weigh most; older events decay. Repeat events in the 10-year window: 0.

The detail

COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN (US scope caveat): ZIWI is a New Zealand IMPORT, NOT under US plant jurisdiction. All products are manufactured in New Zealand under Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) oversight via an MPI-approved Risk Management Programme (RMP) built on a HACCP plan; exports to the US are verified by NZ authorities (export health certificate) and subject to US FDA import oversight, but there is NO FDA-inspected US manufacturing facility. Substantiation is FORMULATION-ONLY: US product pages carry the AAFCO 'formulated to meet' statement (e.g. 'ZIWI Peak Beef Recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages except for growth of large size dogs (70 lbs. or more as an adult)'), NOT an AAFCO animal-feeding-test statement. ZIWI states it runs 'feeding and palatability trials' in collaboration with Massey University (NZ), but these are palatability/acceptance trials, are not AAFCO feeding-trial substantiation, and no peer-reviewed research was found, so publishes_research is marked 'no'. qualified_nutritionist and who_formulates are 'unknown': ZIWI does not name a board-certified veterinary nutritionist (DACVN/ECVCN) or a PhD animal nutritionist anywhere public, and an independent review confirmed none is listed; the Massey University tie is for trials, not a disclosed staff/consultant formulator. qc marked 'documented' (not merely claimed): MPI-approved HACCP RMP with MPI oversight of results, plus lab testing on all production products to EU-compliance and in-house limits, and a clean recall record; this is a third-party (MPI) audited export facility. transparency marked 'partial': ZIWI publicly and in detail answers manufacturing, testing/QC, sourcing, safety and AAFCO questions (dedicated public FAQ/testing pages), but does NOT disclose formulation credentials or a named nutritionist, a core WSAVA question. Company/founder context (non-US, informational): founded in Mount Maunganui by free-range deer farmer Peter Mitchell (~2002-2004; sources differ on year).

Sources

• https://www.just-food.com/news/nz-pet-food-company-ziwi-acquired-by-hong-kong-pe-firm-fountainvest/
• https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15468238/chinese-private-equity-buys-ziwipeak-air-dried-pet-food
• https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/fountainvest-partners-to-buy-new-zealands-ziwi-pets
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-20/fountainvest-agrees-to-buy-new-zealand-pet-food-firm-ziwi
• https://sunlive.co.nz/news/247018-ziwi-to-shift-production-from-tauranga-to-napier.html
• https://www.waterfordpress.co.nz/ziwi-remains-top-manufacturer-exporter-with-new-facilities-and-innovations/
• https://www.petfoodnz.co.nz/ziwi-pets
• https://us.ziwipets.com/products/air-dried-beef-dog-food
• https://us.ziwipets.com/blogs/faq/what-testing-does-ziwi-peak-go-through
• https://us.ziwipets.com/blogs/news/what-testing-does-ziwi%C2%AE-do
• https://mpi.govt.nz/animals/pet-food-animal-feed-nutritional-supplements/manufacturing-pet-food-animal-feeds-supplements
• https://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/registers-lists/risk-management-programmes/
• https://thebkpets.substack.com/p/the-unsponsored-ziwi-peak-dog-food
• https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recalling_firm:%22ziwi%22&limit=50
• https://www.pawdiet.com/pet-food-recall/ziwi-peak-recall-history/
• https://petrecalls.com/brands/ziwi-recall/
• https://www.dogster.com/dog-nutrition/ziwi-peak-dog-food-review
• https://us.ziwipets.com/pages/faq

AI-assisted research, pending human review · 2026-07-05