Pet owners' spending on cat, dog food up 62 percent since 2001, report says

Since 2001, pet owners' spending on dog and cat food has grown 62 percent to a record US$19 billion in 2012, according to a report. 
Euromonitor International estimated petfood spending at US$12.41 billion in 2000, measured in current prices, and says spending grew even in the recession to US$17.7 billion in 2008 and US$18.5 billion in 2009. 
The market's growth is attributed to more than just a rising number of households owning dogs and cats, as these numbers have stabilized to an estimated 75 million cats and 85 million dogs in the US.
One reason for the growth in petfood spending is the economy. “A Broadway show is really expensive for many people,” said Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, science adviser to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “But, for a couple of bucks you can buy a bag of treats for your dog or give them an extra scoop of food and feel good about yourself.”
Continued growth in petfood spending is also attributed to the humanization of pets. According to Paula Flores, head of global pet-care research at Euromonitor, as cats and dogs have become more important members in American families, this has driven premium petfood sales. 

Sustainability of pet ownership, feeding practices topics of new research

University of Illinois animal sciences researcher, Kelly Swanson, in cooperation with scientists at natural petfood maker, the Nutro Co., raised a number of important questions on the sustainability of pet ownership in new research.
Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the present while not compromising the future. Swanson said that although the carbon footprint aspect of sustainability receives the most attention, nutritional aspects are also important. “If you just change the diet a little, the financial and environmental costs associated with it are quite different,” he explained.
Since dietary ingredient selection and nutrient composition affect the sustainability of the petfood system, and because protein is costly financially and to the environment, protein source and amount of protein in the diet are especially important.
Swanson's research shows that dogs and cats require specific nutrients, not specific ingredients, making it possible to meet nutrient requirements with a variety of nutrient sources. For example, animal protein can be replaced by plant protein, which requires less water and energy to produce. Soy-based proteins are a common petfood ingredient, and their production is estimated to be 6 to 20 times more efficient in terms of fossil fuel requirements, Swanson said.
Petfood manufacturers also make heavy use of the secondary products from the human food chain. “That’s great from a sustainability standpoint because we’re using the products that would otherwise not be used,” he said. 
Swanson's research shows there are strategies to make petfood manufacturing more sustainable while still meeting the animals' nutritional needs and keeping products affordable. 
“Advancement in areas of nutritional sustainability will help us develop innovative products to improve pet health and nutrition and produce quality and safe petfood,” said Rebecca Carter, research scientist at The Nutro Company. “Nutritional sustainability is part of a wider sustainability platform to improve the sustainability of our products and promote the sustainability of pet ownership and the petfood industry.”
Swanson stresses the importance of educating consumers and veterinarians, as well as the petfood industry, about sustainable feeding practices. 
“[Pets are] being fed as much as 20 percent more than they need, so their health is poor, and you’re wasting all that food,” said Swanson. “Especially with cats, it’s very difficult.” 
Swanson said it would be helpful to develop a model that would estimate the environmental impact of petfoods and serve as a basis for strategies to increase the sustainability of petfoods in the future. Researchers concluded that there are no “good” or “bad” feeding practices, but just some that are more or less sustainable. They hope the findings highlight areas where changes could be made to current practices and stimulate discussion within the industry so that the overall sustainability of petfoods may be improved in the future. 
"Nutritional Sustainability of Pet Foods" by Kelly S. Swanson, Rebecca A. Carter, Tracy P. Yount, Jan Aretz and Preston R. Buff was recently published in Advances in Nutrition and can be viewed online.

Petfood Forum donors raise US$2,000 for CHAMP Assistance Dogs

Petfood Forum's donors raised US$2,000 for CHAMP, an organization that trains service dogs for people with disabilities.

Petfood Forum's successful donor campaign raised a total of US$2,000 on behalf of Canine Helpers Allow More Possibilities (CHAMP).
CHAMP Assistance Dogs Inc. is a nonprofit organization that helps increase the independence of people with disabilities by partnering them – free of charge – with specially trained service dogs. Many have benefited from this service, including the 2013 Petfood Forum opening keynote speaker and paralympian, Kerri Morgan.
As part of this new partnership, Petfood Forum asked its 2013 attendees and exhibitors to donate to CHAMP. The money raised will be used for training and certification of therapy dog teams, funding of the Ability Awareness Program for schools and civic groups and funding of another program that works with dogs from the rescue community.
Petfood Forum thanks the CHAMP program sponsor, Trouw Nutrition, and all donors. For more information about CHAMP, visit the website at www.champdogs.org.

Kendall Packaging Corp. to expand packaging facility

Kendall Packaging Corp. will break ground on a 56,000-square-foot expansion to its Jefferson, Wisconsin, USA, packaging facility on April 26.
The expansion will double the packaging plant’s production and storage capacity, and it is expected to be completed in late summer 2013. The plant upgrade comes after the successful launch of Kendall’s natural cheese and petfood product lines, and installations of a 10-color W&H Miraflex press in Jefferson and a 10-color W&H Primaflex at its Pittsburg, Kansas, USA, facility.

The Honest Kitchen launches petfood testimonial sharing platform online

The Honest Kitchen, an all-natural petfood company, launched a new website, which includes the new social media sharing platform, True Stories.
The True Stories platform allows consumers to make their own cats and dogs into "Official Poster Pets" for the company. True Stories product testimonials allow real customers to be spokespeople for The Honest Kitchen by providing feedback on the beneficial effects of the food on their pets’ ailments, such as skin and coat disorders, digestive upset, ear infections and urinary tract problems. 
Customers can upload their product success stories and pet photos on the site, and the True Stories platform customizes customers’ pet photos into Polaroid-style portraits on the site with the pet’s name and campaign logo. Customers can then share their Trues Story across their own social media networks.
In the coming months, the Official Poster Pets’ images and stories will be made into full-size physical posters, signage, magazine advertisements and promotional postcards for retailers. 

Sensient develops new emulsion technology for natural colors

Sensient Colors LLC, a business unit of Sensient Technologies Corp., expanded its research and development efforts globally by developing an Advanced Emulsion Technology for natural colors. 
This new emulsion technology combines multiple oil- and water-based natural colors to provide a complex color matrix in a single delivery system, achieving new natural color shades. The water-based emulsions allow for multiple oil- and water-based natural colors to co-exist in a single color system. Sensient says this new technology can lessen package staining, reduce color bleed and allow for lower usage levels, as well as minimize off-taste flavors sometimes associated with natural colors. 
“This novel emulsion technology enables complex color matrices to be combined, allowing for additional natural color shades that once were unattainable, with enhanced stability and performance compared to traditional emulsion technology,” says Mike Geraghty, president, Color Group, Sensient Technologies Corp.

BlogPaws selects Westminster Kennel Club spokesman as emcee for 2013 event

BlogPaws announced that Angel On A Leash and Westminster Kennel Club spokesman, David Frei, will be the celebrity emcee for the 2013 Nose-to-Nose Social Media and Pet Blogger Awards. The event will take place on Saturday, May 18 during the 5th annual BlogPaws Pet Blogging and Social Media Conference in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, USA.
Frei is the public spokesman for the Westminster Kennel Club and has been the television voice of Westminster since 1990. With Westminster, David helped create Angel On A Leash, a charitable activity dedicated to creating and administering a therapy dog program at the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Angel On A Leash was later founded by Frei as an independent charity, and the program has expanded into a number of additional facilities across the country.  
“We are incredibly excited to have David Frei emcee our awards as the BlogPaws conference continues to grow each year,” BlogPaws co-founder, Yvonne DiVita said. “BlogPaws is a pet-welcoming three-day conference that brings pet parents and enthusiasts together with each other, with the brands they buy and with experts that give actionable advice.”