HealthyPets buys new property in California

HealthyPets Inc. has acquired a 70,000-square-foot building in Newark, California, USA.

The company, which was founded in 1997, has increased its inventory by 25% in the past six months and its Web traffic by 30% in 2015, according to a report. HealthyPets operates HealthyPets.com and EntirelyPets.com.
HealthyPets owns two other buildings in Union City, California, USA. The new building in Newark reportedly includes office space and “flex” space for warehouse and manufacturing. The purchase price for the new property was reported at more than US$10 million.

Pet spending estimated at US$58.5 billion for 2014

Overall spending in the pet industry for 2013 came in at an all-time high of more than US$55.7 billion, a 4.5% growth over spending in 2012. In addition, the pet industry is positioned positively once again as the American Pet Products Association (APPA)'s annual comprehensive spending and data report estimates overall spending for 2014 at US$58.51 billion, a 4.9% growth over 2013.

test
Pet services showed the largest percentage of growth in 2013, rising 6.1% from 2012, putting spending in that category at US$4.41 billion. With grooming, training, boarding and other services on the rise, it's estimated for highest category growth again over the next year at $4.73 billion in spending, according to the report.
Veterinary care demonstrated significant growth in 2013, with US$14.37 billion in spending, second only to food category spending. While the number of veterinary visits is down, spending on care is rising. Pet insurance is also expected to increase in 2014. Included in the veterinary care figures, pet insurance is estimated at US$650 million and projected to grow to over US$870 million by 2015.
The food category is expected to reach an all-time high in 2014 with US$22.62 million in estimated spending, according to the APPA. Surpassing previous estimated growth in 2013, food sales proves yet again to be consistently increasing with a growth of 4.5%. This category remains the highest spending segment of the pet industry as petfood trends continue to follow human food and diet trends.
Further demonstrating a demand for health and wellness products, supplies and over-the-counter medications experienced a significant leap in 2012, with a 7.4% growth over 2011. Expectations fell slightly short in 2013 with growth of 3.9%. Category spending, however, is still on the rise and expected to be once again the third-highest segment in the industry behind food and veterinary care.
The only area expected to see a decline in sales is that of live animal purchases which is forecast to be down just under 2% in 2014.
"We have seen a slight slow-down in growth rates over the past few years of all pet types except dog and cat," said Bob Vetere, president and CEO of the APPA. "That is contributing to the overall decline in live animal purchases as well as the threat of pet sales bans in some communities. That said there are enough other positive influences to keep industry sales strong."
In addition to pet owners' increased emphasis on pet health, Vetere points to a recovering economy and the continuation of the humanization of pets as two leading forces behind increased growth in overall spending. "People are pampering their pets more than ever and manufacturers and businesses are offering new products, services and opportunities to meet their needs and wants from interactive and innovative toys to dog walking, doggy day-care and pet-friendly hotels, restaurants and airlines," said Vetere.
Vetere said the positive impact of pet ownership on human health will also help grow pet ownership in years to come.

Three Dog Bakery announces relaunch of We Pity the Kitties cat treats

Three Dog Bakery is relaunching We Pity the Kitty treats for cats.

Three Dog Bakery, which makes oven-baked treats and food for dogs, announced it is relaunching its all-natural cat treats, We Pity the Kitties.
We Pity the Kitties treats are made with one ingredient and are available in two flavors: Wild Alaskan Salmon and Chicken Breast. Salmon treats come in a 1.4-ounce resealable pouch and chicken treats come in a 2-ounce resealable pouch.
"We know that at least one-third of our dog parents have a minimum of one cat and that they want to feed them the same high-quality treats we have offered to dogs for years," said Brian Wietharn, president, Three Dog Bakery. "For almost 25 years, we have provided an all-natural, delicious way for dog parents to love their dogs - it just seems right to provide the same for our cat parents."

Women in the Pet Industry Network honors women entrepreneurs at recent conference

Women in the Pet Industry Network, an organization focused on women entrepreneurs who want to grow their pet businesses, announced the recipients of its first Woman of the Year Awards. The winners were named during a special ceremony at the group's The Start of Something Big! Conference & Awards Show in Portland, Oregon, USA, on August 24.
More than 60 nominations were submitted for the Woman of the Year Awards, which were designed to recognize the pet industry's leading businesswomen in five categories: Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Corporation, Advocate and Rising Star. A panel of four independent judges selected one winner from each category and designated one category winner as the official Woman of the Year. 
"These five incredible females exemplify excellence and dedication to the pet industry through their passion, leadership and outstanding achievements," said Shawna Schuh, president. "All Woman of the Year winners are shining examples of women who are committed to improving the lives of all pets - dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses and exotics - and their parents."
The Woman of the Year Award winners include:
• Corporate: Patti Moran, Pet Sitters International
• Entrepreneur: Rose Hamilton, Pet 360
• Advocate: Darleen Wheelington, Waggin' Tales
• Rising Star: Jane Harrell, Petfinder.com/Nestle Purina Pet Care
• Solopreneur: Christina Massie, Club K-9 Doggy Daycare
Of the five category winners, Darleen Wheelington of Waggin' Tales was selected as the official "Woman of the Year." She received an award package worth thousands of dollars in training, treats and exposure.

AKC/Eukanuba National Championship dog show to be held December 12-16

Thousands of dogs will compete in a variety of dog sporting competitions, December 12-16, in Orlando, Florida, USA, as part of the American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship.
The dog competitions have more than 15,500 combined entries for the events at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, which includes agility, obedience, showmanship and other competitions.
In addition to the competition, the American Kennel Club and Eukanuba are hosting Celebrate Dogs! from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, December 15-16. Celebrate Dogs! will feature dog-centric activities like the Eukanuba SuperDogs, American Kennel Club's Meet the Breeds booths, DockDogs, Eukanuba Extreme Soccer dogs, appearances by celebrity dogs and a canine shopping mall.
Highlights from the Best of Breed judgings will be video streamed by Bowtie Inc. on www.dogchannel.com. Events in the evening at the competition will be streamed live on Ustream. 

Hill's Pet Nutrition offers treats for small, toy dog breeds

Hill's Pet Nutrition recently added Hill's Science Diet Simple Essentials Treats to its line pet foods for small and toy breed dogs.
The product line is available at PetSmart, Petco and pet specialty stores in three varieties:  Skin & Coat Adult Small Biscuit, Light Adult Small Biscuit and Oral Care Adult Small Nugget.
“As the owner of a small breed dog, I know from experience that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to pet nutrition doesn’t work well for small and toy pets,” said Kostas Kontopanos, president of Hill's Pet Nutrition US. “We wanted to offer small and toy pet owners a high quality treat that’s a perfect reward for our little friends, without having to break off a piece of a treat that’s obviously designed for a much larger pet.”

APPA releases 2010 Pet Industry Spending Figures, 2011 Pet Owners Survey

The American Pet Products Association  released its 2010 Pet Industry Spending Figures, which showed growth of 6.2% from 2009 to US$48.35 billion in 2010.
Petfood spending increased 6.8% to US$18.76 billion in 2010 while pet supplies and over-the-counter medications grew by 5.1% to US$10.94 billion in 2010, APPA found. Health care-related pet spending showed the greatest growth within the pet industry, according to APPA figures, with a spending increase of 8.1% to $13.01 billion in 2010.
APPA forecast growth of 5.1% through 2011, with spending expected to exceed US$50 billion.  The overall spending data includes petfood, supplies, veterinary care, live animal purchases as well as services such as grooming, boarding and pet sitting.
AAPA also released the 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey, examining the demographics, buying habits and other traits of US owners of dogs, cats, fish, birds, horses, reptiles and other small animals. The survey found that the number of US households that own a pet increased by 2.1% to an all-time high of 72.9 million. About four out of 10 pet-owning households are multiple pet owners.
APPA 's pet owner survey found the following breakdown of pets owned in the US: 78 million dogs, 86.4 million cats, 151.1 million freshwater fish, 8.61 million saltwater fish, 16.2 million birds, 16 million small animals, 13 million reptiles and 7.9 million horses. For the first time, the survey asked respondents if the economy influenced their pet ownership. The majority of pet owners reported that the economy had not affected their decision to own a pet, but 18% of non-pet owners said their decision not to purchase a pet was because of the economy.
The 2010 Pet Industry Spending Figures and 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey were released at Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, USA, on March 17.

BarkingDeals.com, Dogster.com announce daily pet deals partnership

BarkingDeals.com and Dogster.com have partnered to share BarkingDeals.com's daily deals with the Dogster.com community. 
“Today’s Deal” from BarkingDeals.com will be integrated through a variety of social media platforms hosted by Dogster.com. This partnership will spread the word by utilizing the Dogster.com community of fans and followers in order to bring discounted offers to pet parents. “When we noticed the popularity of economical, group-buying sites increasing, we wanted to offer the same type of service to the pet owner community,” said Steve Watters, CEO of Barking Deals. “By offering new deals daily directly to Dogster.com fans and followers, pet lovers can try products that they might not have tried otherwise. It’s a great value for the Dogster.com community and an easy way for manufacturers to try their hand at social media marketing. It’s a win-win for all!”

Natura to sponsor Super Pet Expo shows in 2011

Super Pet Expo announced that Natura Pet Products will sponsor its 2011 US pet shows.
The 2011 sponsorship marks the eighth consecutive year that Natura has partnered with Super Pet Expo. The pet events are scheduled for February 11-13, at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, New Jersey; February 25-27, at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; and March 18-20 at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
“We are honored to have Natura Pet Products as our official pet food sponsor of Super Pet Expo," said Eric Udler, president of Super Pet Expo. "With their support, we are able to continue our efforts in educating the public about proper pet ownership.”

Purina sponsors 'Project: Pet Slim Down' to fight pet obesity

In an effort to fight pet obesity, Purina Veterinary Diets has put together "Project: Pet Slim Down," a nationwide program that unites veterinarians and pet owners in helping pets lose weight. 
The online program, which allows owners to get advice for and track their pet's weight loss, focuses on shrinking the growing number of overweight cats and dogs in the US. According to a survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 45% of dogs and 58% of cats are overweight or obese. "Pet owners might mistakenly think that a pudgy dog or cat is cute, without realizing this extra weight puts the pet at a greater risk for developing serious health problems, including arthritis and diabetes," said Dr. Grace Long, a veterinarian with Nestle Purina. "But the good news is that with proper nutrition and exercise, pet obesity can be reversed." 

BarkingDeals.com offers group pet product discounts to consumers

BarkingDeals.com was recently launched to provide pet industry companies an outlet for social media marketing and consumer product discounts, functioning like the popular site, Groupon.
BarkingDeals.com offers products from pet manufacturers and distributors at discounts of 50% to 90% for members, including free shipping. Members can share the site's daily deals with friends via Facebook, Twitter and email.
“When we noticed the popularity of economical, group-buying sites increase, we wanted to offer the same type of service to the pet owner community,” said Steve Watters, chief executive of BarkingDeals.com. “By offering new deals daily, members can try products that they might not have tried otherwise. It’s a great way for manufacturers to launch or expand their social media programs to committed buyers and a great way for consumers to see what else is out there for their furry friends. It’s a win-win for all!"

Petco launches mobile site for on-the-go shopping

Petco launched a customized mobile website for shopping and pet care information online and on-the-go.
Powered by Digby's Mobile Software Platform, the new site offers 24-hour mobile access to Petco's products with photographs, customer reviews, a store locator and online purchasing capabilities.
“Whether in one of our more than 1,000 PETCO stores nationwide or online at PETCO.com, we’re committed to providing our customers with everything they need to be great pet parents in a fun and enjoyable shopping environment,” said Katie Grisko, Petco's web strategy manager. “We’re thrilled to provide a whole new level of convenience for our online customers with mobile access to PETCO.com – from anywhere, at anytime.”

All American Pet Co. offers new products at convenience, drug stores

All American Pet Co. Inc. (AAPT) launched a new product strategy focused on the drug store and convenience store marketplace.
The company's Grrr-nola Dog Food Bar and Grrr-nola Natural dog food products are now available to consumers on the shelves of convenience and drug stores. This new product availability comes after a 67% increase in pet product sales over the previous year for 37,700 US drug stores.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to focus on this very large and un-tapped distribution channel for our new product forms. In addition to the health advantages, our convenient packaging now allows us to achieve a much broader product placement footprint, thereby touching many more customers," said Lisa Bershan, president of AAPT.

Burns Pet Nutrition partners with UK colleges in KTP project

Burns Pet Nutrition joined the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project, which helps small to medium-sized businesses access knowledge and expertise in colleges and universities.
KTP project is a UK-wide initiative, led by the Technology Strategy Board and the Welsh Assembly Government, involving over 100 universities, colleges and higher education organizations. Burns Pet Nutrition identified a weakness in its marketing strategy, which led the company and its partner college to develop a project proposal to help increase business using online marketing activities. After the implementation of social media marketing and new initiatives such as interactive brochures, the company saw a 38% rise in visitors to its website. The company also improved its customer relationship management systems as a result of its KTP project partnership.
“Since the project began we’ve developed a better website, which has helped us launch our new range in wet petfood," said Hamish Burns, project manager at Burns. "To complement that we’ve implemented a far more efficient procedure within our online buying and shipping process and this has improved customer service."

Fatwa leads to ban of pet ads in Iranian media

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has released a statement banning all Iranian media from publishing any advertisements about pets or pet-related products in response to a fatwa issued by Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi.
According to Advertisement and Information Dissemination Office Director Alireza Karimi, publishing any ad about keeping, buying or selling pets is now forbidden. In addition, ads promoting petfood and shops selling pet accessories, especially for cats and dogs, have been banned. Shirazi has declared dogs to be "unclean" based on shariah, a Koran-derived law.

Trade show director: HH Backer sees increased buying

HH Backer’s 22nd Annual Pet Industry Spring Trade Show, held April 23-25 in Baltimore, Massachusetts, USA, drew approximately 4,900 registered buyers from 1,536 firms, according to the show’s program publisher, Pet Age.
Trade show director Colette Fairchild reported that 224 exhibitors displayed pet products in more than 406 booths in addition to new 56 exhibitors.
“Even though the attendance numbers were down compared to previous years, buying seemed to have increased compared to last year’s show,” said Fairchild. “We’re confident this trend will continue.”

Interzoo 2010 sees record number of visitors

Exhibitors and exhibition promoter, Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH, announced record-breaking results at the end of the recent 31st Interzoo in Nürnberg, Germany. With 4% more exhibitors and 3% more trade visitors from 117 countries compared to 2008, the event has exceeded expectations.
More than 38,000 trade visitors attended to find information on petfood, grooming aids, accessories and services. A total of 1,502 companies from 53 countries presented their innovations and trends for four-legged pets, ornamental birds, fish and reptiles for the four days of the exhibition on a record gross display area of over 90,000 square meters.
International exhibitors also rose from 77 to 79%. Besides Germany, the most exhibitors came from China, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the USA, France, Belgium, Spain and Poland.

Global Pet Expo sees record attendance

After compiling final show numbers, the American Pet Products Association and Pet Industry Distributors Association announced that Global Pet Expo 2010 exceeded attendance expectations.
The show featured 803 exhibitors, 2,250 booths and more than 3,000 new product launches. Approximately 4,495 pet product buyers from around the world attended, up from last year’s 4,100 buyers.

Mars to only use sustainably sourced fish

Mars Petcare has committed to using only sustainably sourced fish by 2020 in its petfood products.
Dwindling global fish stocks prompted Mars to work with the World Wildlife Fund to develop its fish sustainability commitment.

Greyhound wins Petrodex photo contest

Comet, a seven-year-old Greyhound, won the Superstar Smiles Photo Contest sponsored by Petrodex, a dental brand from Sergeant’s Pet Care Products Inc.
Radio personality and pet enthusiast Steve Dale served as the celebrity judge of the nationwide contest, which received nearly 2,000 photo entries in four weeks.