2025 Missouri Ag Hall of Fame Inductee
From humble beginnings in Meta, Mo., the family-owned Diamond Pet Food Company has risen to become the world’s fourth-largest pet food manufacturer. Founded on April 1, 1970, by brothers-in-law Gary Schell and Richard Kampeter, the company’s roots lay in “Diamond Feeds,” where livestock feed took center stage and pet food was a mere sideline. Imagine: in those early days, kibble was scooped into plain paper bags with a shovel.
But the landscape shifted dramatically. By 1980, pet food was no longer an afterthought; it was a burgeoning business. A pivotal $180,000 bank loan fueled their ambition, propelling Gary& Richard into a new era of growth. Initially, Diamond competed with commodity brands. However, by 1987, the emergence of “super-premium” brands signaled a turning point. Recognizing the opportunity, Gary and Richard strategically pivoted, targeting a higher end clientele. They elevated their recipes, incorporating superior protein sources and higher energy density formulations. Notably, this transformation was deeply rooted in their Missouri heritage, with ingredients sourced from local agribusinesses and freight handled by Missouri-based haulers. The Meta workforce carried themselves with the typical hard working, Missouri work ethic. From the very beginning, Gary and Richard treated their employees like family, with world-class healthcare benefits and profit-sharing, long before such things were commonplace.
This strategic shift to higher-value products unlocked nationwide and international markets. While their original distribution tilted toward the Farm & Fleet sector, Diamond navigated the evolving retail landscape, forging partnerships with Costco Wholesale, Tractor Supply, Petco, PetSmart, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. In recent years, the company brands of Diamond Naturals and Taste of the Wild have found a strong online presence on platforms such as Chewy and Amazon.
The steady and sometimes rapid growth necessitated significant expansion. In the summer of 1999, Diamond’s second facility launched in Lathrop, California, followed by Gaston, South Carolina, in 2002. Diamond’s second West Coast facility in Ripon, California, came online in 2012. Dumas, Arkansas, launched in 2016, and Frontenac, Kansas, in 2022.
Diamond’s latest facility, their seventh, will be operational later this year In Rushville, Indiana.
Throughout this remarkable journey, Gary and Richard remained steadfast in their family centric approach to business and their unwavering commitment to their faith in God, principles that continue to define the Diamond Pet Food Company today.