SECAUCUS, NJ — During an investor presentation Feb. 25, Freshpet, Inc. revealed its five-year growth plan: to increase household penetration from 3 million US households to 8 million by the end of 2025. In turn, this increased penetration is expected to drive the company’s sales past $1 billion in annual revenue.

The endeavor will necessitate product innovations, increased production capacity, continued ad spending and a bolstered retail and distribution presence, all of which Freshpet has included as key drivers to “Feed the Growth by 2025.”  

As part of this strategy, Freshpet recently announced plans for its third and largest manufacturing facility in Ennis, Texas, which will span 600,000 square feet following two phases of construction. Phase one, or the first 400,000 square feet, should be completed in 2022, the company said.

Construction is still underway on the company’s Kitchens 2.0 in Bethlehem, PA, which is expected to begin running in the third quarter of this year.

Additionally, the company outlined product innovations, including diets for dogs with sensitive skin and digestibility issues, toy and small dog products and an expansion of its Homestyle Creations line.

As the company ramps up its operational capacity, expands its product portfolio and drives brand awareness through increase advertising campaigns, it will also continue to transform its distribution throughout the US with bigger, better and more branded fridges at each retail location.

Freshpet also released its fourth quarter and full-year earnings for 2019 on Feb. 25. In the fourth quarter, the company’s net sales totaled $65.8 million, representing a 27.3% increase compared to year-ago revenue.

In 2019, net sales totaled $245.9 million, up 27.2% from 2018 full-year sales. Freshpet said it fully expects to exceed $310 million in net sales by the end of 2020, as well as exceed $48 million in adjusted EBITDA.

“Our final 2019 results demonstrate that our ‘Feed the Growth’ strategy is working – delivering strong, sustainable and predictable growth that we can convert to meaningful adjusted EBITDA growth,” said Billy Cyr, chief executive officer of Freshpet. “We believe our growth journey has just begun with the conversion of only about 3 million dog-owning households to Freshpet out of the 63 million total household opportunity.”

In the fourth quarter of Freshpet’s fiscal 2019, the company brought in $65.8 million in net sales, a 27% increase from its fourth-quarter 2018 sales. According to the company, it has achieved at least 25% sales growth from quarter to quarter over seven of the last eight consecutive quarters.

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