GoodGuide: Rates the top 5 dog, cat food brands

GoodGuide studied 1,500 products in 50 brands of dog and cat food to rate the top products in dry and wet petfood, and Science Diet took the number one spot for both dog and cat food brand.
Ratings take into account things like concern for the environment, personal health and social responsibility to come up with scores in the categories of health, environment and society. The top-five rated brands, according to Good Guide, are:

Top 5 Cat Food Brands 
1. Science Diet
2. Eukanuba
3. Evo
4. Innova
5. Eagle Pack

Top 5 Dog Food Brands 
1. Science Diet
2. California Natural
3. Innova
4. Evo
5. Karma
In addition, GoodGuide provides consumer tips on buying the right petfood. Pet owners should look for products that show transparency by revealing such information as calories to better monitor pets' health. They should also choose foods that have undergone real-life tests, not just lab tests, which will be represented by a phrase like "Animal feeding tests using AFFCO procedures substantiate that (name of product) provides complete and balanced nutrition." Finally, consumers should pay close attention to marketing claims and verify them through other sources if possible.

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."

Eagle Pack introduces new line of dog food, redesigned website

Eagle Pack has introduced a new line of wet dog food. The new food is available in chicken, beef, lamb and turkey flavors. All of the company's products come in redesigned packaging, which features color coding, nutrition information and the brand's heritage story.
In addition, the Eagle Pack website has been redesigned to feature the company's new color palette. Consumers can now interact with the brand through the Eagle Pack Club e-newsletter and Large Breed Resource Guide.

Cat food controls cane toads in Australia

Cane toads, which secrete poison that kills pets and wildlife and injures humans, prompted several initially unsuccessful campaigns to wipe them out in Australia. However, scientists have discovered that just a dollop of cat food could stop the toads.
The cat food attracts Australia's carnivorous meat ants, which swarm over and eliminate baby toads, killing 70% of them, according to the Herald Sun.

Kitchenware for serving petfood now available

Australian designer Belinda Jennings has released her line of exclusive kitchenware for serving petfood – Muttlery & Catlery.
The range currently includes a pet spoon and pet cup designed to make serving wet and dry food easier for the pet owner.

Reducing costs in wet petfood production

Savings can often be achieved by optimizing usage of gels and thickeners. Read the full article.