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Our history

Our tradition since 1765: a love of healthy food
and expertise in the production of pet food since 1965

The roots of the Bavarian family-owned company Interquell go back to 1765. Back in the 18th century it all began with a flour mill on the Singold in Wehringen. Then, in the 1950s, a groundbreaking innovation: with the help of a new type of technology and suitable machines, cereal flakes could be produced, which, together with dried meat, resulted in the first complete dry food for dogs. Our recipes, ingredients and additives have been refined over the years based on the latest scientific findings.
But that is not all: the coveted Happy Dog products have made their way from Wehringen out into the wide world. Happy Dog is now in demand by dog owners, not only in Germany, but also in Europe, most of Eastern Europe and in individual countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Of course, we continue to produce our dry food in our traditional family business in Wehringen, Bavaria.

Our milestones

1765 - The "old mill"
With the purchase of the old mill in Wehringen, the Müller family laid the historical foundation stone for the Interquell company today. At that time, Nikolaus Müller started operating his flour mill on the Singold.
hd getreidemuehle 1765 1960
1951 - Potato flakes
Edmund Müller produced the first potato flakes. Due to their easy digestibility and good shelf-life, they offered a significant improvement for farmers in pig feeding.
hd kartoffelflocken 1951
1965 - First dog food
First dog food production started with ‘Müller's dog food’. This consisted of flakes and wet food.
hd meullers tiernahrung 1965
1970 - Happy Dog
Edmund Müller developed one of the first easily digestible complete food for dogs, consisting of dried meat, maize flakes and vegetables. Müller's dog food brand became Happy Dog.
hd erstes hundefutter 1970
1973 - Export
Happy Dog exported abroad for the first time: to Austria and Denmark.
hd export oesterreich daenemark 1973
1975 - Croquettes for the first time
The first extruder for the production of dog and cat food in croquette form started up and complemented the previous production of food flakes.
hd erster extruder 1975
1987 - Georg Müller
Georg Müller (Dipl. oec.) joined the family business in its 7th generation. After the death of the company founder in 1988, he took over the business.
hd eintritt herr mueller 1987
1992 - First complete feed croquette
With Happy Dog NaturCroq, Interquell launched the first complete food for dogs in croquette form onto the market.
hd naturcroq 1992
2000 - Premium market
Happy Dog entered the super premium segment for dog food with Supreme Salmon and Rabbit. The first ‘sensitive’ varieties were Ireland, Toscana and New Zealand.
hd supreme 2000
2001 - Happy Cat
Interquell developed dry food for cats for the first time: Happy Cat was born.
hc happy cat wird eingefuehrt 2002
2004-2006 - Expansion of operations
A new office building, two more extruder lines and a silo tower were built. This created a production capacity of 200 tonnes per day.
hd betriebsvergrosserung 2004 2006
2009 - Innovation
Happy Dog Supreme Africa is the first dog food in the world to contain ostrich as a protein source. For every pack sold since then 2% of the purchase price is donated to SOS Children’s Villages in Africa. To date, a total of 1.8 million euros!
hd innovation africa strauss 2009
2015 - Trade favourite
Happy Dog became the leading specialist retail brand in Germany in the dry dog food sector.
hd fachhandel 2015
2018 - 8th generation
Annika and Andreas Müller join the family business in its 8th generation
hd 8te generation mueller 2018
2018 - 100% climate-neutral
Goood is Interquell's first premium dog food that is completely climate-neutral - from the field to the bowl.
2019 - Export extension
This popular premium pet food is now shipped to 75 countries and is available on 4 continents.
hd export 2019
2019 - Award
Happy Cat Junior was named 2019 Product of the Year by FutterTester.de.
hc produkt des jahres 2019_aio22
2020 - Capacity expansion
With the commissioning of an additional extruder, fresh raw materials can now also be processed. Production capacity increases to 320 tonnes of pet food per day.
hd linie 5 2020
2020 - Product of the year
No less than three products received the award for 2020 Product of the Year from FutterTester.de:
Happy Cat Bio in the category Wet Cat Food
Happy Dog Soft Snack for Dog Snacks and
Goood Freilandlamm for dry dog food
hd produkt des jahres 2020_22 08
2021 - Product relaunch
Happy Cat products now have improved recipes and have been given a new look.
hc neues happy cat 2022_en_aio22
2021 – Seal of Quality
Our new vegetarian variety Sensible India excelled in the food test, being awarded 9.3 out of 10 stars.
hd futtertest india 2021
2021 – Products of the Year
The best food from all tests in 2021 and crowned as the Product of the Year 2021 by Futtertester.de: Happy Cat Culinary in the dry cat food category Happy Dog fit & vital Medium Adult in the dry dog food category
hd produkt des jahres 2021_22 08_aio22
2022 - Best Rated Pet Food
Independent testers rate 41 dry food brands: 1st place for Happy Cat
hc best rated brand 2022
2022 - Product of the year
The newly launched Happy Cat Culinary Crunchy Snacks are awarded Product of the Year 2022 by FutterTester
hc magazin futtertest_crunchy snack_pdj_1zu1
2023 - Mini-Relaunch
All products for small dog breeds have a new look and are now even tastier.
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Interquell corporate film




Would you like to learn more about Happy Dog?

Our corporate film provides an interesting insight into the Interquell’s origins and work.