Our Story
By Henrique Rodrigues, Founder of Benbo Naturals
A Brother Before I Could Walk
I was born into a home that already had a dog. Before I could even take my first steps, I already had a best friend. He wasn't a pet to me, he was my older brother. We grew up together, shared everything, and when he passed away, it felt exactly like losing a family member. Because that's what he was.
Dogs have been part of my life from day one. Not as animals we owned, but as family we loved.
Benji, Bongo, and the Name Behind the Brand
Years later my family adopted another dog, a Yorkie mix we named Benji. Two years after that, Benji got a brother. A Lab mix we called Bongo. These two couldn't be more different. Benji small, scrappy, and full of energy. Bongo big, lovable, and always hungry.
The name Benbo? Simple. Benji + Bongo. This brand was built for them.
The Wake Up Call
As Bongo got older I noticed something, he was putting on a lot of weight. Being a Lab mix, he was always going to be on the bigger side, but this was different. He seemed sluggish, less playful, less like himself.
I decided to do something about it. So I started researching.
What I found genuinely shocked me.
The dog food industry isn't as innocent as it appears. Many of the biggest brands on the market sell heavily processed foods packed with fillers, artificial flavors, and food dyes, all while marketing themselves as healthy and nutritious. I started thinking logically. A bag of dry kibble can sit on a shelf for years and look exactly the same. A bag of treats can last forever without ever going bad. That's not food. That's a science experiment.
And that's what I had been feeding my dogs.
Back to the Roots
I started digging deeper, into the origin of dogs, their natural diet, and what they were built to eat long before commercial pet food existed. The answer was simple. Real, whole, natural ingredients. Meat, organs, and bones. Nothing processed, nothing artificial.
I started making food at home for Benji and Bongo. Different ground meats, with natural ingredients that actually supported their health. The difference was almost immediate. But something still didn't sit right with me, I was feeding them healthy meals and then handing them ultra-processed treats full of the same junk I had just eliminated from their diet.
That's when Benbo Naturals was born.
The Transformation
Bongo lost weight faster than I ever expected, and his exercise routine never changed. Same walks, same playtime. The only thing that changed was what he was eating. He became leaner, more active, more alert, and genuinely happier. Benji thrived too. Two dogs, one simple change, results that spoke for themselves.
Here's the thing about dogs, they will always choose a natural treat over a processed one. Every single time. It's in their DNA. They are descendants of wolves. Their instincts, their digestive systems, and their bodies were built for real, whole food. Not ingredients they can't process, not fillers that offer zero nutritional value, not treats that never expire because they were never really food to begin with.
When you give a dog a whole dehydrated duck head or a bag of dried fish snacks, you're not just giving them a treat. You're giving them something their body recognizes, craves, and thrives on. You're feeding them the way nature always intended.
Why Benbo Naturals Exists
Benbo Naturals was created for every dog owner who has ever looked at the ingredient list on a pet treat and felt confused, misled, or just plain lied to. We exist to make it simple. One ingredient. Nothing hidden. Nothing added.
Your dog deserves to know what they're eating. And so do you.
Simple. Primal. Real.