Purina offers 'just right' personalized dog food

Nestlé Purina has launched a personalized dog food product, Just Right petfood, that will allow pet owners to order food specifically tailored to their pet's needs.

"We believe the best nutrition is personalized," says Purina. "That's why we want to work with you to deliver food tailored to your dog's unique profile. By combining your firsthand knowledge with Purina's expertise, we can work together to help keep your dog happy and healthy at each life stage."
Pet owners create an online profile that includes everything from basic information (age, breed size) to traits (activity level, coat condition, stool firmness). The profile can be modified at any time as the dog's needs change, and a 24/7 support team is available via phone, email or online chat to assist customers. Once a profile is completed, the food is made and shipped to the customer. Auto-reminders ensure that customers never run out of food.

High-end dog beverages the latest trend in pet pampering

California-based Yappy Hour Vineyard's nonalcoholic meat gravy for pets, sold in wine bottles and keeping to a wine theme with names like "Bark-deaux" and "Char-dog-nay", highlight the latest trend in pet pampering.

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Adult-themed beverages for animals have been a growing trend in the pet product industry, according to reports. Bowser Beer, for example, launched in 2008; a microbrewery in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, sells "beer" for dogs; and a Japanese sake company sells a variety of nonalcoholic spirits for pets.
The co-owners of Yappy Hour Vineyards got the idea for the product while working on gift baskets for dogs, noticing that there were a lot of dog-themed wine products (glasses, cocktail napkins), but no actual "wine." They began testing various options and came up with a (alcohol-free) chicken broth-based drink that they say tastes like a chicken gravy that you'd put over mashed potatoes or rice.
The drink is made in a Food and Drug Administration-approved facility in Florida and retails for $19.99.

Start-up petfood company creates warm dog food supplement

Wexford Farms Pet Food, a start-up company founded by three former Heinz executives, has created a warm dog food supplement called Warm Ups, and will be launching its second product line, Warm Meals, in November.  
Founded by Rich Rothamel, who has many years' experience in dog food at companies such as Heinz, Del Monte and Walmart, the warm petfood-topper products are being sold in pet supply stores as well as online through Pet360 and PetFoodDirect. The 1.75-ounce single-serve product is a blend of oatmeal, flavoring, rice and vitamins, which gets mixed with warm water and stirred by consumers, then added to a serving of the dog's food. Among other benefits, Wexford Farms developed the warm food so that the aroma is more intense once heated. 
Wexford Farms Pet Food has gone through two rounds of investment and raised US$1 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company invested in petfood production equipment for a 10,000-square-foot facility it's leasing in Warren, Pennsylvania, USA.
CEO Christopher Puma and Rothamel were working elsewhere while experimenting with a dog food enhancer, including hiring outside companies to run tests on the early versions. After deciding they had a potentially successful product, they hired a firm to run a standard 40-dog test. Of the 40 dogs tested, 35 showed a statistically significant preference for dog food that had been mixed with Warm Ups. The company is currently in the approval process for a patent on the warm food. 

Natura launches Farmhouse Stews line of dog food

Farmhouse Stews are available in four varieties.

Natura Pet Products' Innova brand has launched a new line of Farmhouse Stews. The stews provide pet owners with a way to enhance their dogs meals, serving as a petfood topper, a treat or a complete and balanced meal for dogs. 
Each of the four recipes features two animal proteins plus farm-grown fruits and vegetables in a gravy. The food comes in a resealable, recyclable tub, with a transparent window in the package that allows consumers to see the food before purchasing it.

Farmhouse Stews are available in the following recipes:
Turkey & Duck Recipe with Lentils, Apples & Mango (grain free)
Chicken & Salmon Recipe with Sweet Potatoes, Peas & Carrots (grain free)
Chicken & Venison Recipe with Brown Rice, Peas & Papaya
Beef & Bison Recipe with Barley & Bell Peppers

Party Animal Pet Food introduces grain-free coconut oil dog food

Party Animal Pet Food is launching a new dog food line made with organic coconut oil.

Party Animal Pet Food, a petfood company that produces all-natural, organic foods for dogs and cats, introduced Cocolicious at SuperZoo 2013. This new line of grain-free petfood is made with organic coconut oil along with organic and natural ingredient, available at retailers throughout the US starting in August 2013. 
Coconut oil offers health benefits to animals such as assisting in maintaining a stronger immune system and helping to promote oral health, healthy skin and a shiny coat.
"Coconut oil has gained mainstream awareness for its health benefits in humans, and it's now time for animals to benefit from this amazing, nutritious ingredient," said Daryl Abrams, founder/CEO of Party Animal. "We are thrilled to be launching a petfood line with organic coconut oil for our furry friends to love as much as we do."
The Cocolicious line will initially launch with dog food products in six flavors: Organic Chicken & Beef, Organic Turkey & Chicken, Organic Beef & Turkey, Wild Caught Salmon & Pork, Tender Pork & Lamb, and Lamb & Wild Caught Salmon. 

Dog food trucks gaining popularity across cities in the US

The popularity of food trucks for dogs is growing in a number of USA cities, offering treats, ice cream and meals for dogs.
Owners of these food trucks from Orlando, Florida, to New York, New York, are reporting successful business and positive feedback from customers.
"This year is turning out to be really good because a lot of people are hearing about me," said Angela Meyers, who launched The Frosty Pooch in July 2012. "I'm getting a lot of return customers."
Meyers makes small-batch, dog-friendly ice cream in six flavors, which she sells from her truck in parks and farmers' markets in the New York, New York, area.
In Chicago, Illinois, business for Donna Santucci, who opened Fido To Go in 2011 is growing so quickly that she is now looking to franchise the business and is searching for a bigger cooking facility. Santucci currently makes the cookies and frozen yogurt cups from scratch in a commercial kitchen.
A number of factors have contributed to these food trucks' rising popularity, including the fact that pet owners seem to be willing to spend a lot on their pets, as well as the improving economy. For some petfood brands, these food trucks can act as mobile marketing campaigns, such as for Purina's Chef Michael's, Science Diet, Freshpet and Rachael Ray's Nutrish that have all done dog food truck promotions.
Pet owners are also becoming more concerned about the safety of their pet's food after a number of petfood recalls, which includes knowing how and where their pet's food and treats are made. "You get to know these people in the trucks, you know they make the food and you get to have a relationship with them," said Angela Hill, a dog food truck customer from New York, who fosters rescue dogs.

Startup dog food company looks to enter national petfood market

A new startup petfood company, TurboPup, is hoping to make petfood more convenient for people who take their dogs out travelling with them and people on-the-go.
Kristina Guerrero and Brandon Sylvester started the petfood company after having trouble packing enough dog food for their dog when they took it along with them on skiing and camping trips. The company offers 500-calorie meal bars, mostly currently distributed by retailers in Oregon, USA.
However, realizing their customer base was much broader than just outdoor enthusiasts, Guerrero and Sylvester just signed Backcountry K-9 as a national distributor and are now aiming to sell the petfood bars at a range of other retail outlets.
The bars are currently produced in a specially created kitchen at the couple's home in La Pine, Oregon, USA. The couple also packages and ships the bars themselves, but realize they may have to give up production once the bars are sold nationally. "We'd love to grow to a point where we don't make the bars," Guerrero said.
The all-natural bars are wheat-free and come in bacon flavor, but cheddar and grain-free peanut butter flavors will also be offered in the future. Guerrero says an 80- to 100-pound dog would need four servings over the course of a day, though it is not dog food to be used on a regular, daily basis. 

Dogs' digestive system health may improve with pine tree carbs, study finds

Dogs' digestive system health may be improved by consuming carbohydrates from pine trees, according to new collaborative studies by US Department of Agriculture, university and corporate scientists.
The carbohydrates, known as GGMOs (galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides), are a by-product of treating wood chips that remain after trees are cut into lumber. The chips are treated with heat, high pressure and water to separate them into cellulosic fiber and hemicellulosic carbs, such as the GGMOs. 
USDA Agricultural Research Service chemist Neil P.J. Price began his studies of these fiber-rich carbs in 2007 under the terms of a cooperative agreement with a company called Temple-Inland. This Texas, USA-based producer of wood products made from loblolly pine and other southern yellow pine trees approached ARS about potential new applications of the carbs.
Price used proton magnetic resonance and other analytical techniques to study the potential benefits of the carbs as a petfood ingredient. This research led to another collaborative study directed by George C. Fahey, Jr., a University of Illinois emeritus professor of animal sciences.
In the second study, purified GGMOs from southern yellow pine were added, in place of dietary cellulose, to a high-quality kibble at the rate of 0.5-8 percent. The kibble, or a "control" kibble containing no added GGMOs, was then fed to six healthy female dogs. Analyses of the dogs' fecal samples showed that increasing the percentage of pine GGMOs in the kibble was, in general, associated linearly with several significant indicators of a healthy lower digestive system, including an increase in populations of beneficial Bifidobacterium bacteria.

Halo offers new vegan dog food option

Halo, a pet food company co-owned by Ellen DeGeneres, recently released a new vegan formula dog food, Vegan Garden Medley for Dogs.
This plant-based dog food contains no preservatives or meats found in other pet foods.
"Halo recognizes there are limited options for owners wishing to feed vegan," says Donna Spector, veterinary advisor for Halo Pet Foods. "Halo’s motivation behind creating the Vegan Garden Medley Wet and Dry Formula for Dogs was to provide a healthful, complete and balanced option using the highest quality natural ingredients possible."
Halo claims it has no plans to offer a vegan cat food because cats are carnivorous and could not fully thrive on a plant-based diet.

Halo, Purely for Pets to create vegan cat and dog food lines

Owner of petfood brand Halo, Purely for Pets, Ellen DeGeneres, and her wife, Portia de Rossi, are creating a range of vegan petfood, according to a report.

The Chicago Sun Times reported that, in addition to opening a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, California, USA, "the couple are also developing a line of vegan petfoods - after discovering a void in the market for people looking to feed their dogs and cats vegan vittles."
The couple follows a vegan diet, meaning followers of their diet consume no animal products at all, including butter, eggs or milk.
It is unknown when the petfood range will be available, or if the line will include treats for other animals as well.

The Honest Kitchen offers dog food Taster Kit

The Taster Kit provides several different foods and treats in one package for consumers to try.

The Honest Kitchen launched a petfood Taster Kit that allows new consumers to sample several of  the company's food and treat products for dogs in one purchase.
The pet food kit contains three, 4-ounce trial size boxes of dog food, an 8-ounce box of Pecks Buffalo & Blueberry cookies, a sample of the Perfect Form digestive supplement, a free pet health and nutrition booklet and US$15.00 worth of coupons. The Taster Kit retails for US$18.00, the company says, and it can be purchased in stores or directly on the company's website.
“Most consumers are familiar with how to feed ‘scoop and go’ kibble and canned food, but might need help transitioning their pets to our alternative, just-add-water dehydrated recipes,” said Lucy Postins, founder and chief executive. “We hope the new kits will be a fun way for pet owners to learn about whole food nutrition, how to feed our food, and also spice up their pet’s dish as fido taste-tests our savory, wholesome foods.”