Walmart launches new ultra-premium dry dog food line

Walmart is launching its own line of ultra-premium dry dog food to compete directly with specialty pet product retailers such as PetSmart and Petco.
The new brand, Pure Balance, is an expansion of Walmart's Ol' Roy brand of dog food that is currently sold and is expected to appear on store shelves in the coming weeks. The Pure Balance line will include a chicken and brown rice variety and a lamb and brown rice variety, which will be sold in 30-, 15- and 5-pound bags. Walmart says the new brand contains no chicken by-products, as well as no soy, wheat or corn additives, artificial colors and preservatives.

Sam's Club launches new pet care product line

Sam's Club's new Simply Right line allows consumers to choose between wet and dry foods for their dogs.

Sam's Club recently launched a new pet care product line called Simply Right, available at its stores and online.

The pet care line includes eight petfoods, such as the Complete Nutrition cat and dog foods, and two Exceed dog food formulas, with a number of wet dog foods. The Simply Right line also includes a pet bed and a pet chaise lounger.
The new line will replace the company's Member's Mark pet care products.

Petfood labeling lawsuit thrown out

San Francisco lawyers rescued Wal-Mart and a group of petfood manufacturers on March 16 from a class action that could have led to millions of dollars in damages.
A federal judge in Nevada, granted a motion by the defense to pre-emptively deny certification to a class of plaintiffs that would have spanned eight states, including California. Margaret Picus, a Nevada woman, filed a class action in state court against Wal-Mart and a group of food manufacturers in April 2007, alleging that they illegally labeled their petfood "Made in USA," though some ingredients were imported from China.
The previous month, the Food and Drug Administration had announced that certain petfood ingredients imported from China were sickening and killing cats and dogs.
U.S. District Judge Philip Pro of Nevada denied Picus class certification in Picus v. Wal-Mart Stores, 07-00682, ruling that subjective, individual issues made a class action the wrong way to handle the case. Specifically, Pro wrote in his decision, the law requires the plaintiffs to prove that each person who bought the tainted petfood did so because it was labeled "Made in USA."