Our Story
It started with one rescue dog
and a professional chef who
wanted to help him.
Smokey, Don’s rescue pit bull, suffered from terrible belly rashes caused by food allergies. Don spent years developing functional, clean-label foods for people, so he made Smokey something simpler: a limited-ingredient bone broth made with real, single-source protein—grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, or duck—fortified with collagen peptides and turmeric. Smokey loved it. And the whole family could see his improvement.
That broth became Primalvore.
Meet the Formulator
Building Functional Food at Scale
Before Primalvore, Don Hensley spent his career developing products people buy for their health. He developed the very first bone broth for Kettle & Fire and went on to formulate roughly 30 broths and soups for the brand. Before that, as Sales and Culinary Director at New Horizon Cuisine, he built clean-label products for General Mills and Trader Joe’s.
Where It Started
Don trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent years running kitchens before moving into food science, working with functional meat and vegetable extracts alongside one of New Zealand’s top food scientists. That’s where he learned to turn a recipe into a repeatable, measurable formula.
Meet Smokey
When Life Got Personal
In 2015, Chef Don and his family adopted a 90-pound black pit bull named Smokey.
Smokey was a playful and curious black pit bull who suffered serious abuse at a young age. A neighbor recorded his owner kicking, punching, and even body-slamming him into the ground for nearly ten minutes. The abuser was later returned to jail for a parole violation, and Smokey was placed with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Smokey spent two weeks in the Animal Rescue League of Iowa's infirmary recovering from his injuries. Even after everything he had been through, he remained sweet, gentle, and well-adjusted. The shelter team said Smokey didn't have "a mean bone in his body." They saw a loving dog who was ready to leave the past behind and find the forever home he deserved.
Smokey Finds His Family
Chef Don adopted Smokey and welcomed him into a caring home shared with four children and two young grandchildren. None of them knew it yet, but that moment would become the heart of Primalvore's story.
Care Became a Mission
Once Smokey settled into his new home, he showed nothing but love and gentleness. He was protective, patient, and the sweetest dog you'd ever meet. But before long, Chef Don noticed something wasn't right.
Smokey suffered from terrible belly rashes due to food allergies. As a dad who'd spent years making healthy food, Don couldn't just sit back. Drawing on everything he'd learned, he was determined to find a solution and help his buddy.
The First Recipe
Chef Don created a simple, limited-ingredient bone broth with grass-fed beef, collagen peptides, and turmeric. Smokey loved it, and the whole family could actually see his skin and mobility improve.
From Smokey's Bowl to
Something Bigger
What began as a recipe for one beloved dog soon grew into something more. In 2017, Don joined a few close friends and launched Primalvore Natural Pet Foods — the first pet bone broth on the market.
The formula he created for Smokey became the standard for every carton: slow-simmered bone broth from grass-fed beef or free-range chicken, filtered water, collagen peptides, and turmeric. No room for unnecessary fillers or additives.
