TORONTO — Kabo, a fresh, direct-to-consumer dog food business in Canada, announced the launch of its latest product, Monch Bars, on May 4. Monch Bars offer an all-natural protein snack for on-the-go energy.

Monch Bars are individually wrapped and formulated with locally sourced, allergy-friendly proteins such as salmon, duck and lamb. The dog snacks feature only natural ingredients, including oatmeal and turmeric to reduce inflammation and support digestion.

Andrea Geiger, canine nutrition scientist, played a key role in selecting ingredients and formulating the product. All three formulas include shredded coconut, hemp hearts, pumpkin, flax seed, coconut oil and turmeric.

The Salmon and Oatmeal Monch Bar formula includes salmon meal, oatmeal and apple, and offers at least 26% protein per bar. The Duck and Sweet Potato Monch Bar features sweet potato, duck protein, blueberries and oat flour, and at least 14% protein per bar. The Lamb and Peas Monch Bar formula includes pea flour, lamb meal and carrot, and offers at least 27% protein per bar.

Kabo cited the growing pet population, premiumization in the pet food and treat space, and pet owners’ increasing desires to travel with their canine companions as key reasons for launching Monch Bars.

"The demand of domestic travel continues to surge and Monch Bars make it that much easier to travel with your dog," said Vino Jeyapalan, chief executive officer and co-founder of Kabo. "I kept wondering why I could pick up an RXBar or Clif Bar for a healthy snack on-the-go, but nothing quite like that for my dog."

Kabo released a study in September 2020 pointing to increasing e-commerce purchases of pet food in Canada. The company reported 55% of dog-owning Baby Boomers are choosing e-commerce or direct-to-consumer options for their pet food purchases, as well as 88% of Millennial dog owners.

Monch Bars will be available on Indiegogo and monchbar.com starting May 2, priced at $2 per bar.

On-the-go pet supplements have emerged as a new trend in the market over the last couple of years. Bond Pet Foods, Inc. launched a meat-free protein treat bar for dogs as its first-ever product in May 2020. Brutus Bone Broth also launched a travel-sized, human-grade, powdered bone broth supplement — Brutus on the Go — for dogs in June 2020.

Aside from its new Monch Bars, Kabo offers four formulas of fresh dog food and one kibble option: Savoury Beef Recipe, Luscious Lamb, Tender Chicken Recipe, Hearty Turkey Recipe, and Irresistible Chicken Kibble. Each formula features an animal protein as the first ingredient, followed by whole food fruits and vegetables, such as sweet potato, carrots, kelp, pumpkin, ginger and cranberries, fortified with a nutrient mix.

The company has delivered more than 500,000 premium fresh meals for dogs since it was founded in 2019.

Read more about new pet food and treat products.