Is the M&A market heating up for petfood?

A couple months ago, it was Procter & Gamble announcing it's acquiring Natura Pet Products. (See what your fellow Petfood-Connection.com members had to say about that.)
Around that same time, an investment group in Canada announced it's buying Petra Pet Inc., parent company of pet treat manufacturer Beefeaters.
Now comes word that a global equity firm, the Riverside Co., is buying one of the only two petfood companies in Turkey. Tropikal petfood was founded in 1999 as a distributor for international brands such as Sport Mix, Pro Pac and Beaphar. It began making its own dry petfood in 2005, becoming the first domestic petfood producer in Turkey, it says, with brands Goody, Champion, JFD and JFC. The latter two are new lines.
With its new brands and an annual capacity of 7,500 tons--and being based in a rapidly developing market for petfood--one can see why a company like Tropikal would be attractive to investors. Or really, why any petfood or pet care company would be attractive, given how well the pet industry has ridden out the economic storm.
Does this mean the mergers and aqcuisition (M&A) market is heating up for petfood? What other mergers or acquisitions do you expect to see this year?

Eukanuba brand awarded 'Superbrand' status in three markets

Proctor & Gamble Pet Care's Eukanuba brand was recognized with “Superbrand” status in the three markets of Croatia, Hungary and South Africa.
The award honors a market’s strongest brands for exceptional achievements, excellence in branding and outstanding credibility.
“The 'Superbrand' status will help us to create an even more discerning brand identity in the three markets,” said Richard Pistori, P&G Pet Care commercial director for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

AFIA calls for FDA revision of Reportable Food Registry

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its Draft Guidance for Industry on its Reportable Food Registry to ensure the registry legally recognizes standard commercial feed industry practices for ensuring the safety of its ingredients. Further, AFIA said FDA must establish regulations for when actions taken to ensure human food safety should be applied to animal feeds.
Under current requirements of FDA Amendments Act of 2007, the Reportable Food Registry requires the reporting of any food, feed, ingredient or petfood deemed reasonably likely to cause serious adverse health effects or death in humans or animals. AFIA asked FDA to revise its draft guidance to include the following: “No reportable food report is required if a load of incoming product has been sampled, but legal transfer has not occurred, provided the trailer is on the premises of your facility only for as long as is necessary to sample, test and reject the shipment, and no longer. Your facility has not ‘held’ the reportable food. Therefore, you are not a ‘responsible party’ with regard to such food.”
AFIA Vice President Richard Sellers also asked for clarification of FDA’s definition of “reportable food.” The phrase, “…will cause serious adverse health consequences to humans or animals” in the current definition and FDA attempts to explain it, “leave many questions unanswered and may be subject to misinterpretation,” said Sellers.

London rolls out first ice cream van for dogs

The first ice cream van for dogs has made its debut at a Boomerang Pets Party in London, according to an article from the London Evening Standard.
The van offered two flavors of ice cream: the Dog Eat Hog World flavor, a gammon and chicken sorbet, and the Canine Cookie Crunch flavor, dog biscuits mixed with ice cream. The flavors were developed specifically for the party by a team of scientists who experimented to find the right combination of taste, temperature and texture.

Del Monte CEO predicts growth in its petfood business

Richard Wolford, chief executive of Del Monte Foods, predicted growth in the company's petfood business, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Del Monte recently lowered its sales outlook to 2% - 4%, from 3% - 4%. But despite the economy, the company expects to see the most growth in its pet business, according to Wolford.
"People always feel very special about their pets," said Wolford. "They treat them better than their children; our survey will actually show they are more willing to cut back on their children then they are their pets in a tough time."

Participation in the GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) program has increased, and is expected to grow even more.
The GMP+ FSA scheme ensures the whole feed chain meets the legal regulations on feed safety. On July 1, the GMP+ FSA scheme had 11,285 participants in 67 countries throughout the world, and it currently has 16 trade associations as partners in Germany and the Netherlands. GMP+ International, the administrator of this scheme, expects a further increase in participation due to stricter market requirements and changes in the certification scheme.
In mid-September, the GMP+ FSA scheme will go on a worldwide tour and will launch the Feed Safety Database (FSD). GMP+ certified companies and its partners will be able to use the FSD to minimize the risks to safety in their production process, feed products and feed safety policy.

MarketResearch adds new report on natural pet products

MarketResearch added a new report by Packaged Facts, titled “Natural, Organic and Eco-Friendly Pet Products in the U.S., 3rd Edition.”
The report divides the market into two classifications: petfood and pet care. For each classification of the natural and organic market, the report provides retail sales estimates from 2005 through 2014. It also provides competitive strategies and profiles of key industry manufacturers, along with trends in new product development. According to the report's pet owner consumer survey, 62% of dog owners and 56% of cat owners have purchased natural or organic pet products within the last three months.