15 years in hospitality. Passionate about real food, good coffee, Italian pasta, and her gin collection. Lives on the Mornington Peninsula with Matt and Nala.
Also spotted at a local mobile coffee van most mornings.
Quick view
ABOUT
Made for Nala. Made for all of them.
Nala's started because one dog deserved better food. It's grown because all dogs do. Here's the full story - where we came from, who makes it, and what we actually stand for.
WHY WE EXIST
It started with one dog.
Nala is a little hurricane of a pup - a Terrier mix with a dash of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and every bit of attitude of a Jack Russell. Smart, sassy, and full of beans.
When her human Emma started looking at what was actually in commercial dog food, she didn't like what she found. So she started making it herself. Real meat, real vegetables, homemade bone broth - the same standard she'd apply to her own food.
What started as a way to give Nala the best has grown into something much bigger. But the reason it started hasn't changed.
"Basically Nala is the reason this whole thing started and truly the heart and soul of this brand."
THE NALA'S STORY
How it all started.
After 15 years in hospitality, Emma had spent her career making food for people. When it came to Nala, she applied the same standard - real ingredients, made with care, nothing hidden.
What began in Emma's home kitchen in Carrum Downs, on the Mornington Peninsula, has grown into a proper small business - still handmade, still local, still run by real people who genuinely love what they do.
Emma still works the local mobile coffee van when she's not in the kitchen. You might recognise her. She's the one sneaking in dog pats between orders.
"What started as a way to give my own dog the best has grown into something I'm so proud to share with other dog lovers."
— Emma
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Our principles. Not a mission statement.
These aren't values we put on a wall - they're the things we actually make decisions by.
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Radical honesty
Ingredients on the front of the label, not the back. Full percentages, full sourcing, no information hidden behind tabs or fine print. What you see is genuinely what your dog gets.
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Real over scale
We could make more food faster if we used a factory. We choose not to. Every meal is still made by hand, in our kitchen, by real people who give a damn about what goes in the bowl.
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Human, always
No call centres, no chatbots, no automated ticket queues. If you reach out, a real person reads it and responds.
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Local, properly
Made in Carrum Downs, delivered across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, using locally sourced suppliers.
MEET THE TEAM
The humans (and the dog) behind it.
WHERE WE MAKE IT
Our kitchen. Carrum Downs.
Every Nala's meal is made in our home kitchen at 140 Cadles Road, Carrum Downs - on the southern edge of Melbourne, close to the Peninsula. Not a commercial facility, not a factory. A real kitchen, run by real people.
You're welcome to collect orders directly from here, 7 days a week between 8am and 6pm. Contactless pickup available.
Location
140 Cadles Road, Carrum Downs VIC 3201
Open for pickup
7 days a week, 8am - 6pm
The Nala's promise
"Real food, real people. No confusion, no contracts, no compromise."
This is the promise we make to every dog owner who orders from us. It's not a tagline - it's the standard we hold ourselves to every single time we make a meal.
Real ingredients. Real Food. No fillers. Healthy meals for happy dogs.