Natura Pet Products to stop selling in Quebec

Natura Pet Products has decided to stop selling its products in Quebec, Canada, due to the country's bilingual packaging requirements. The packaging changes would have been a costly undertaking for the company, said Manon Lapierre, communications manager for Proctor & Gamble Canada, Petcare.

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The brands affected are Innova, Evo, California Natural, HealthWise and Mother Nature. Pet stores in Quebec can keep selling whatever Natura pet products they have in stock, but no more will be ordered. Under the Product Labeling Act in Canada, all products being offered must have both official languages, French and English, on the packaging. In addition, in Quebec the French language must be prevalent.
"It was just a necessity of business,” said Jason Taylor, a Natura spokesman. "We were not in a position to get bilingual labeling for all these products.” 

RECALL: Natura Pet Products expands dry petfood recall

Natura Pet Products is expanding its dry petfood recall because the petfood has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. 
Sampling conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Georgia Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of Salmonella in additional lots of dry cat food and a cat pet treat. Therefore, Natura is expanding the dry petfood recall to include other products manufactured around the same time, although it says no related illnesses have been confirmed. 
The recalled petfood products are sold through veterinary clinics and select pet specialty retailers online and in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Costa Rica. The dry cat food expiration dates for this expanded recall range from 1/1/2014 to 3/24/2014. The dry cat treats have expiration dates from 7/1/2013 to 9/27/2013.
Consumers who purchased the recalled cat and dog food products should discard them. For more information or a product replacement, please contact Natura at +1.800.224.6123, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CST.

RECALL: Natura Pet Products recalls dry cat, dog food brands for Salmonella

Natura Pet Products is recalling a number of lots of its dry petfood brands after testing by the Michigan Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of Salmonella in one of the petfood products. The recall applies to a number of lots of California Natural, Evo, Healthwise and Innova cat and dog food products.
The recalled petfood products were manufactured in a single petfood production facility during a two-week window in December 2012. Affected products are sold in bags through veterinary clinics, specialty pet retailers and online in the US, Canada, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Costa Rica. Products were distributed by Natura Pet Products from December 18, 2012, through March 15. Recalled petfood products have expiration dates ranging from December 17 to January 2, 2014.
Consumers who purchased the recalled products should discard them. Consumers who have questions should contact the company at +1.800.224.6123 or use the online contact form. 

Natura launches new pet food ingredient tracking website

Natura Pet Products launched a new website, www.SeeBeyondTheBag.com, that lets customers see how the manufacturer creates new pet food formulas and where the pet food ingredients are sourced. 



Natura's site lets consumers track ingredients and their source on an interactive map.
Natura’s new website shares the regions where Natura’s ingredients are sourced on an interactive map and presents a narrated video tour of the company’s plant in Fremont, Nebraska, USA, with profiles of employees working in manufacturing and product development at the plant. The site also features ingredient infographics that highlight benefits and fun facts, a timeline of brand milestones, and information on the company's safety and quality checks performed at Natura's Fremont Innovation Center.  

Natura reaches deal in class-action pet food lawsuit

A US$2,150,000 settlement was reached with Natura Pet Products Inc., Natura Pet Food Inc., Natura Manufacturing and Peter Atkins in a class-action lawsuit regarding advertising of Natura's petfood, according to a report. The lawsuit originated after claims that the company misrepresented its pet food quality as "human-grade."
The company admitted no fault, but reportedly agreed to the cost of the settlement in order to avoid a court trial. The settlement calls for the company to create a US$2,150,000 fund, from which it would pay attorneys fees, expenses up to US$60,000 to lawyers representing the Class and costs to Class members who submitted claim forms. The US District Court for the Northern District of California will hold a hearing in this case on February 17, 2012, to consider whether to approve the settlement deal.

Natura EVO receives Cat Fancy 2010 Editor's Choice Award

Natura Pet Products received a 2010 Editor's Choice Award from Cat Fancy magazine for its EVO Weight Management adult cat food and EVO Wild Cravings Weight Management cat treats.
The annual awards program features the most unique and exciting new products for cats and cat lovers as selected by the editors of Cat Fancy magazine. The EVO cat products were showcased in the magazine's December 2010 issue.
"We are very excited to receive this award from such a prestigious publication within the pet industry. Cat Fancy's Editor's Choice seal has become a symbol of pet product quality and innovation that pet parents know and trust," said Don Scott, president of Natura. "We created the EVO weight management options to meet the varying needs of pet owners, and we're very proud to be recognized for developing the new food and treats."

Natura donates petfood to Best Friends Animal Society

Natura Pet Products has teamed up with Best Friends Animal Society by donating its petfood to help feed needy pets.
Best Friends Animal Society is a non-profit, animal welfare organization located in Kanab, Utah USA, which operates the nation's largest sanctuary for homeless pets. The Innova brand petfood donated to the shelter will go toward feeding these animals.
“We are proud to have been able to share more than 40,000 pounds of our healthful Innova dog and cat food cans with Best Friends Animal Society. This exceptional animal welfare organization has shown unsurpassed dedication to the care of thousands of animals, and its mission provides an extension of Natura’s philosophy for animal health and well-being,” said Don Scott, president of Natura.

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?

Healthy Pets Northwest boycotts Natura Pet Products

Healthy Pets Northwest will stop carrying Natura Pet Products beginning June 30, according to an article from examiner.com.
Natura produces the natural petfood brands California Natural, Evo, Healthwise, Karma and Innova. Healthy Pets is boycotting these brands because Proctor & Gamble purchased Natura Pet Products in May. In a press release, Proctor & Gamble announced, "This move enables P&G to expand into the attractive holistic and naturals segment of the petfood category, complementing P&G's current Iams and Eukanuba brands."

Natura donates petfood to SPCALA

Natura Pet Products donated over 4,000 cases of dog and cat food to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (SPCALA), USA. The donation will go toward helping SPCALA feed homeless and needy pets in southern California.
“We are proud to have been able to share more than 4,000 cases of our healthful Innova dog and cat food cans with the SPCALA. This exceptional animal welfare organization has shown unsurpassed dedication to the care of thousands of animals and its mission provides an extension of Natura’s philosophy for animal health and wellbeing,” said Don Scott, president of Natura.

Natura donates petfood to No More Homeless Pets KC

Natura Pet Products teamed up with animal welfare organization, No More Homeless Pets KC, to help feed homeless and in-need pets around the Kansas City, Missouri, USA, metro area.
“We are proud to be able to share more than 4,000 cases of our ... Innova dog and cat food cans with No More Homeless Pets KC,” said Don Scott, president of Natura.
Through donations like this, the animal welfare organization provides food, adoption awareness programs and other services for local animals.
The Innova dog and cat food will be distributed to other petfood pantries in the Kansas City area, as well as rescue groups and people caring for feral and free roaming dogs and cats. In addition, the donated petfood will be used to assist low income pet owners.

Procter & Gamble to acquire Natura Pet Products

Procter & Gamble (P&G), owner of the Iams and Eukanuba brands of petfood, has signed a deal to acquire privately held Natura Pet Products, based in Davis, Calif.
P&G, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, says the move allows it to "expand into the attractive holistic and naturals segment of the petfood category," complementing the company's current petfood brands and helping advance an overall growth strategy of "reaching more consumers in more parts of the world more completely."
Natura's brands include Innova, Evo, Healthwise, California Naturals, Mother Nature and Karma. Its products are sold in pet specialty stores and veterinary clinics, mainly in the US and Canada.
"Its time for the right company to take our brands to the next level of growth. P&G is that company," says John Rademakers, founder and owner of Natura. "We know that P&G will honor our history as they capitalize on their strengths to build these brands."
The deal is expected to close in about a month.

Natura goes green with initiatives

Natura Pet Products challenged pet owners to go green this upcoming Earth Day on April 22 by supporting petfood manufacturers that are involved in environmental practices.
Natura’s own green initiatives include the construction of its new eco-friendly office, switching to hybrid cars for the company’s corporate and sales teams, adding a videoconferencing system to minimize air travel between its offices and reducing paper consumption by moving much of its communications online.