International

From a selection of nominees, the panel chose Kiezebrink Focus on Food as the winner for their commitment to innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility. The presentation of the 2025 Linnaeus Award was a highlight during De Ontmoeting in Ermelo, attended by over 170 guests. We are very proud of this achievement!

For the first time, we organized an open day for our sales points. They received a unique behind-the-scenes look at Kiezebrink, including a presentation on raw food and our product range. It was a great opportunity to speak with our customers in person and showcase our impressive production facility. 

We already had solar panels on two of our buildings, but now the roof of our production facility is fully equipped with panels. In total, we now have 1,016 solar panels providing green energy for our company! 

We added a new truck to our fleet. With this vehicle, we’ll continue making many deliveries to our customers. 

Due to uncertainty around the potential ban on culling day-old chicks in the Netherlands, Kiezebrink started a partnership with a Spanish hatchery to ensure continued supply for our customers. 

As a supplier of exotic animal feed, we feel a responsibility to support wildlife conservation. We became a partner of Save the Rhino, an international organization dedicated to protecting all five rhino species, which are severely threatened by poaching. 
More info: www.savetherhino.org 

With raw food production reaching 40 tons per week in 2020, the production site needed an upgrade. A major renovation of HEO31 was carried out, resulting in improved quality, hygiene and efficiency. 

Until 2019, all dry food developed by Kiezebrink was produced externally. That changed with the purchase of a mixer for producing various powdered feeds. This mixer is now used to produce several DK Zoological products. 

As the company grew, the warehouse became too small. A fourth building was added at HEO, featuring a large warehouse and a 700 m² freezer. This location also includes several offices and a new reception area for customer service. 

Since the start of raw food production, Kiezebrink has produced its own brand products, though they were still sold under the Kiezebrink name. As these products grew in quality and range, it was time for a dedicated brand for the raw food market, complete with its own website: KB RAW. 
More info: www.kbraw.eu 

Due to growing demand for rodents, a new facility was opened in 2014 at HEO. At this location, rats and mice are sorted by size and packaged in various formats. In 2019, this department was further expanded with a sorting machine that accurately sorts rodents by weight, making the process more efficient. 

To provide consumers with the right attention and service, the webshop Animal Food Express was launched in 2014. In addition to Kiezebrink’s range, the webshop offers many other raw food brands. Orders are delivered frozen to customers’ homes—a valued service by a growing number of customers. 
More info: www.animalfoodexpress.nl 

In 2012, Kiezebrink developed its first dry food, marking the start of the DK Zoological brand. By collaborating with veterinarians and zoos, Kiezebrink’s nutritionists can develop high-quality products based on animals’ natural diets. DK Zoological has since grown into a brand with a wide range of specialized zoo nutrition. 

Kiezebrink also made strides in the rodent market. To better serve the consumer market, the brand ‘Blijkie’ was launched. With attractive packaging of rodents in boxes, this brand quickly became popular in pet stores. 

In 2009, the brand Alaska Natural Petfood was developed in collaboration with Peys Doggyfood. This premium brand stands out for its high-quality products for dogs and cats. 

Around this time, Kiezebrink received increasing requests from customers for meat, bones, or organ meat. This sparked the idea to start producing frozen raw food for dogs and cats. Over the years, Kiezebrink has become a leading producer of both branded and private label raw food.

Day-old chicks and rodents were already widely sold to zoos. With the hiring of Michiel Derks as a nutritionist in 2007, the product range was expanded further, and Kiezebrink grew into a leading European supplier of exotic animal nutrition. 

The avian flu outbreak in 2003 and the 8-month transport ban on poultry posed a major threat to Kiezebrink’s survival, as male chicks were our specialty. Fortunately, we were able to continue operations afterwards, but the need to spread risk became clear. This led Kiezebrink to start trading rodents. 

In 2000, Hanno acquired the British company DA Poultry Products, marking the start of Kiezebrink UK (KUK). In addition to producing local day-old chicks for the UK market, KUK became a wholesaler of the products offered by Kiezebrink Netherlands. As of 2015, KUK is led by Alasdair Gordon. With Alasdair on board, KUK has further developed into a leading supplier of exotic animal feed and frozen products for dogs and cats in the UK. 
More info: www.kiezebrink.co.uk 

Due to rapid growth, the company needed more space for packaging and freezing the male chicks. In 1997, this was realized with the construction of our first facility at the industrial area in Putten. A blast freezer was installed in this building, ideal for quickly freezing the day-old chicks to preserve quality. 

The name Kiezebrink has been known for generations in the poultry industry. The company Kiezebrink was founded in 1990 following a career move by Hanno Kiezebrink. After 10 years of chick sexing, it was time for a new step, and he began packaging and trading male chicks for use as animal feed. The high demand for frozen day-old chicks from zoos and exotic animal keepers made the start of the company a success.