Head Honcho of Freeze Dried New Stuff. Well, that isn’t exactly the title, but Luis Lopez is in charge of Product Development, specifically to get new goodies made in those giant machines we have in a special building down the road that magically makes meat into shelf-stable yummy food and treats for our dogs.
Luis comes from Florida, and then landed in Kansas, obtaining his BA degree in Animal Science & Industry with a minor in Pet Food Science from Kansas State. When finishing up his degree, Luis’ mentor advised him to pay attention to Muenster Milling, as the company was doing new things and expanding. Coincidentally, Chad Felderhoff (one of the owners) was coming to campus to lecture the students on freeze-dried, and Luis got to meet him. They stayed in touch, and later, when Muenster was in need of someone with passion and new ideas to help with developing awesome freeze dried products, Chad offered Luis a job! Luis moved to Texas, where he started off strong developing products with the freeze dryer.
Luis develops ideas into products, which is quite a process. Ideas come from all over, from customer requests, from Mitch & Chad (owners), from marketplace research, and more. After figuring out if an idea has merit, Luis sources quality ingredients, develops recipes, and runs test batches to ensure proper quality from a visual, smell and taste perspective. Test batches are ran through quality control tests, and also production tests to ensure that the maximum amount of coating and texture is achieved. We also make sure that the product will hold up to packing and shipping to get to the customer in great shape.
When asked what is his favorite part of the day, Luis says he enjoys figuring out how to make something work and creating products that the dogs really like!
Luis’ Family & Dog’s Favorite Recipe
Luis lives in Gainesville, TX with his girlfriend of 5 years, Nina, who is going to school to be a dental hygienist. They have two dachshunds, Bella, a 5 year old long hair mini brindle, and Teddy, a 7 month old long hair cream mini. They love the Ancient Grains Ocean Fish, and also partake of the Dr Verwers Calming Functional Topper. This little family likes to explore Texas, take the dogs to parks to train, workout and watch movies! If you have an idea for a product, maybe Luis will take it to the testing center. Send ideas to the My Custom Dog Food FB Group!
