About Us
It all started with a rescue named Marty.
Our Story
In 1996 I went into a coffee shop
in the San Francisco Bay Area and I came
out with Marty.
He was there for a doggy adoption day with a woman who rescued animals scheduled to be euthanized. Marty was 6 months old and couldn’t walk more than a few blocks without having to rest. He was very adorable, and very sick, but eventually he started to come around.
Then, when he was about four years old, I learned he had degenerative joint disease. Neither the medications nor the best diet I knew at the time stopped his pain. But just like Marty had shown up the moment I needed him, so did the solution. It was in the form of Zarna Carter, an animal nutrition expert, who taught me how to make recipes with fresh food based on the pioneering work of veterinary nutrition experts, homeopathists, and herbalists like Juliette de Bairacli Levy. Research out of Belgium showed that dogs fed fresh, homemade meals live nearly three years longer than those given canned industrial food. Once I tried Marty on a fresh food recipe, he had a new bounce in his walk and a lustrous shine to his coat. Soon my friends noticed and asked me to make food for their dogs. That was the beginning. Together, Marty and I started this company out of my kitchen in 2010. He was the inspiration for Marty’s Meals.
I’m not very good at compromising, and from day one, I vowed that our food would be like no other. It would be for both dogs and cats and made only from the most nutritious, certified organic, non-GMO ingredients, free of toxins, drugs, and additives, all sourced from animals that are raised humanely or wild-caught. Equally important, we would make sure that from farm to bowl, this food would take the lightest possible toll on the environment. It would be a brand you could truly trust.
Marty lived to the amazing age of 16. And the company thrived too. In 2020, after a decade in business with locations in Santa Fe and Boulder, we decided to rebrand as we made our food available nationwide. Our new name is Shine Pet Food. Juli and I chose it for the way our dog and cat customers come alive and glow with health; for the human community that’s grown around us; and to shine a light on the need for transparency in the pet food industry.
By supporting our little company, you are lighting a path to a better world.
Pets, Planet, People
Why is our food different? Meet the ranchers and farmers who provide our ingredients. Learn what they’re doing to regenerate the Earth and how their meat and produce is more nutritious for your pet.
Environmental Packaging
We’re always looking for new ways to package more environmentally—it’s an ongoing challenge—right down to the labels. Our shipping boxes are entirely recyclable with compostable lining (add a little water and it disintegrates). The packaging for the food is mostly recyclable (“mostly” because with our fresh diet we’ve got to use plastic sometimes, but we have cut it to the barest minimum). And the labels? Instead of the standard paper ones that contain the plastic derivative BOPP, ours are made from a material called BioStone, which is actually stone—so no trees or water are used.
What's In the Name
Many have asked why we changed our name. Here’s the truth.
After ten years as Marty’s Meals, we discovered our trademark had not been applied for properly. After many long conversations with lawyers, consultants, and each other, we decided this was the perfect time to strengthen our brand and move forward on a national level. Our new name, Shine Pet Food, reflects both the exceptional quality of our food and the larger mission of the company.
“Shine” is a dog’s glistening coat, a cat’s healthy glow. It’s the way the sun touches the Earth with radiance and life-giving energy. It’s the way a jeweler polishes a rock into a precious gem. It’s the love we feel when we take a shine to someone.
The name is also about our advocacy in shining a light on the pet food business. They say “sunlight is the best disinfectant,” and we strongly believe that, starting with our own commitment to transparency. This is an industry that has a significant impact on climate change, and because of that, shifting its practices can be a powerful force toward healing the planet and every living creature on it. That is an ambitious goal, but one we believe we can reach incrementally by illuminating the facts.
We chose Shine Pet Food for the positive energy
we can all focus on ensuring a brighter future.
Our Team
Who’s Behind SHINE Pet Food?
A community that goes far beyond our kitchen. We are ranchers and farmers, veterinarians and animal nutritionists, clients and environmentalists—and a growing family of dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, and the occasional horse.
Founder Sandy Bosben with Juli Somers and the rest of the crew.
