Gourmate's practical approach to sustainability

Progress over perfection: how Gourmate is reshaping business sustainability

Running a pet food business is never going to be impact free. It relies on animal protein, international freight and packaging designed to protect food. Laura Wilkinson doesn’t shy away from that.

“The reality is that running a pet food company comes with an environmental footprint,” she says.

What sets Christchurch-based Gourmate apart is not perfection, but a willingness to interrogate every decision – from sourcing and packaging to employment practices and governance. Since launching in 2020, Gourmate has grown into a global exporter, while deliberately framing sustainability as a process of continual improvement.

How Gourmate built a business around values

Before Gourmate, Wilkinson and her husband were looking for a pet food brand with the right stuff for their big, active Weimaraners.

“We wanted to support a business that aligned with our values around consumption and was really transparent about what was in its products and how those products were processed,” she says.

When they couldn’t find that, they started making their own freeze-dried pet treats. Green lipped mussels – known for their joint health benefits – proved the perfect ingredient.

When Wilkinson mentioned the idea to her friend Steph Mearns, Mearns immediately saw the business potential. The two spent the next year laying foundations before officially launching Gourmate Pet Treat Co. in July 2020.

Given the small matter of a Covid pandemic, it might have seemed like terrible timing.

But it proved the opposite.

With global supply chains disrupted and concerns emerging about imported pet food quality, consumers began looking closer to home. “Having a premium, truly transparent option allowed us to really take off in New Zealand.”

Six years on, Gourmate exports to Asia and the Middle East, is preparing to enter the United States, and is B Corp certified – a designation that reflects verified social and environmental performance.

Why B Corp matters for Gourmate

For Gourmate, becoming B Corp certified was about accountability.

“It’s about understanding what our impact is and how we can continue to improve that,” Wilkinson says.

That external scrutiny has shaped how the business operates day to day, but also highlighted realities.

Some elements of sustainability, like measuring CO₂ emissions, remain out of reach for now. Instead, Gourmate focuses on decisions it can control.

The approach paid off. During its most recent recertification, Gourmate lifted its B Corp score by nearly 20 points.

The question of packaging

Some sustainability lessons were learned the hard way.

“When we launched, I felt really uneasy about contributing to plastic waste,” Wilkinson says. Compostable packaging seemed like the obvious answer – and at the time, it was heavily promoted as the responsible choice.

For domestic sales, it worked. For exports, not so much.

“We sent our first export order to a humid country and all the glues dissolved. We had to do a product recall.”

Research uncovered further issues. The corn fibre material required high water inputs, drove maize production in food scarce regions, and created knock on effects for pollinators.

Gourmate made the call to switch to a highly recyclable plastic with a high polyethylene content. It wasn’t the “perfect” solution – just the lowest impact one available.

The decision is reviewed annually, alongside customer recycling guidance published on Gourmate’s website.

Sourcing that reduces waste

Ingredients are another area where sustainability and quality intersect.

Gourmate uses only human grade ingredients sourced in New Zealand, with full traceability and third party accreditation where possible. Its signature product – organic green lipped mussels from Stewart Island – reflects a wider philosophy around food waste.

“These are essentially seconds,” Wilkinson explains. “The primary market is mussels that are hand shucked and exported. If the shell cracks or the mussel comes loose, that product is separated out, and that’s what we use.”

The same thinking extends to other proteins, repurposing by products and bycatch that might otherwise be wasted.

“We’re not only focused on what’s good for pets,” Wilkinson says, “but on reducing waste within the food system.”

How small changes have had a big impact for Gourmate

Not all of Gourmate’s sustainability gains are visible on a shelf.

The company’s factory team now works longer days across fewer shifts, reducing commuting. Office supplies are scrutinised.

“Every small decision has an impact, and when those decisions accumulate, they start to snowball over time,” Wilkinson says.

Outside support has also helped. Gourmate accessed Regional Business Partner funding through ChristchurchNZ early on, bringing in an independent consultant to strengthen governance and capability.

“Now we have built in reminders each year to review decisions and ask, ‘Are these still the right choices?’”

Sustainability as an ongoing practice

What Wilkinson has learned, is that responsible business is less complex than is often thought. But it requires honesty.