May 1, 2026
First Light’s NZ elk and red deer single-ingredient (heart, lung, liver) treats are freeze-dried to lock in essential vitamins and nutrients, providing a healthy, natural treat for dogs.
The North American Retail Accelerator Programme (NARA) has helped First Light Farms fast-track product development of NZ venison and elk premium dog treats for the retail market.
The measure of success are the elk and red deer single-ingredient heart, liver and lung premium dog treats, now on the shelves of West Coast supermarkets, specialist pet retailers and available online.
“We have a total of nine dog treat products across our protein range (elk, red deer and wagyu), and six of them are from deer, which is testament to the support of NARA,” First Light General Manager Matt Gibson says.
However, he’s quick to point out that for First Light, NARA is about much more than petfood success.
“We’re leveraging NARA for a wide range of retail deer products, from premium quality venison products for people to the same high-quality standard of deer-based products for their pets,” he explains.
The starting point for the dog treat range was whole animal utilisation.
“It’s a guiding First Light philosophy, using every part of the animal and letting nothing go to waste. It sits well with us and our customers because it adds up economically, environmentally and ethically.”
Developing products to incorporate the whole animal is a challenge. Participation in NARA has helped, however, giving First Light the opportunity to delve further into new retail product investigation using ‘fifth quarter’ components — the parts of the deer beyond the venison four quarters — including organs, bone and skins.
“We landed on premium dog treats as a good starting point, using red deer and NZ elk,” Gibson says.
NARA proved helpful in turning the idea into reality, allowing First Light to accelerate the product development phase, answering the unknowns of what exactly to produce, how to produce it, and how to package and present it for maximum attention in a retail space.
The outcome was cubed, raw, freeze-dried dog treats in premium, illustrated resealable pouches; understated, with a distinctly New Zealand vibe.
Beyond product development, NARA has provided the opportunity for First Light to showcase the offal-based dog treat range at trade shows. At their first outing in January, Fancy Foods West in San Diego, feedback was overwhelmingly positive and matched by orders.
A second trade show is scheduled for June in Chicago.
“It’s got to the point where we are now hustling to fill orders. It’s not due to a shortage of animals; it’s more about timing the supply of elk and red deer from our QA-certified farms to fill the orders,” Gibson says.
“It’s a good problem to have and reassuring to know there is strong demand for the pet treats we’ve developed based on the fifth quarter.”
There will be more fine-tuning along the pet-based paddock-to-retail chain, which will ultimately benefit farmers.
“What we’re doing is developing processes and systems that add value to what were low-value commodity by-products. Eventually that will result in premiums for the deer that go through our supply chains.”
The successful development and retail launch of their first deer-based pet treat range has vindicated First Light’s retail diversification and been a huge confidence booster.
“We were new to pet food when we started NARA. There were a lot of things we found out the hard way, and we quickly got good at learning what works and what doesn’t so to fine tune the range before launch," Gibson says.
With the first range of premium pet food now on retail shelves, First Light is looking ahead to the ‘next thing’—expansion of their pet food offering using other fifth-quarter components.
