Accolade is a pat on the back for pet food manufacturer in Melton

The cat and dog food brand HiLife was named Top Launch for the Petcare category by The Grocer in its Top Products Survey for the year.

HiLife, which was developed by Town and Country Petfoods, is available in supermarkets, independent pet stores and online.

Tony Parkinson, managing director at HiLife, which employs 19 people and has been based in Asfordby Road for more than 30 years, said: “The petfood industry is highly competitive.

“As one of the smaller players in the market, we are incredibly proud to be recognised by The Grocer for our launch of HiLife It’s only natural.

He said: “For more than three decades, HiLife has put its passion for producing high quality and premium pet food at the heart of its business.

“As a brand we aim to bring a stream of new and unique products to market that retailers can be confident meet the rapidly changing needs of today’s customers.”

Mr Parkinson added: “This acknowledgment from The Grocer is a real pat on the back for the whole team and a fantastic way to see out an incredible year of business.”

He said that HiLife had carried out substantial research with consumer groups to understand the meaning of ‘natural’ to pet parents and used the results to identify priorities for owners and create tasty products that would also stand out on the supermarket shelf.

The HiLife It’s only natural range was selected for this top spot by The Grocer’s editorial team for being on trend and “good enough to eat”.

The publication’s Top Products Survey is produced annually and is a highly influential list for businesses supplying the grocery industry.