'I and love and you' petfood brand plans fast industry expansion

Boulder, Colorado-based investment firm Revelry Brands acquired a stake in Only Natural Pet Store LLC, and that partnership led to the desire to create a superpremium petfood brand. That brand is "I and love and you," a manufacturer of a variety of pet products designed to be wholesome and healthful for cats and dogs.

test
The brand did well initially, gaining ground on Whole Foods shelves and tripling its sales from 2012 to 2013, according to the companies. Now, growth capital investment from Chicago-based Winona Capital Management and Revelry will allow "I and love and you" to build its executive team, increase product development efforts, expand to a new facility and prepare for a national launch with the next (as yet unnamed) retailer.
The launch may triple or quadruple "I and love and you's" distribution, which currently sits at 1,200 stores and retailers. The 65 products under the brand range from kibble and treats to supplements and medications. The idea, said Steve Ball, CEO of "I and love and you," was to create a brand that would cover all elements of pet care and products that would be on the leading edge of trends such as dehydrated raw food.
Winona said that it expects the trend of buying natural food for pets to continue "as increases in pet ownership and disposable income as well as the humanization of pets drive demand for premium pet products and services." Jason Sowers, a Winona principal, said it is a great opportunity to invest in a company that is "a great leader, an excellent brand with innovative products."

Merrick acquires natural, organic pet food company Castor & Pollux

Merrick Pet Care Inc. signed an agreement to acquire Castor & Pollux Natural PetWorks, a privately held natural and organic pet food company based in Oregon, USA.
Although specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, Merrick Pet Care says the acquisition of Castor & Pollux further advances its key growth strategies of expanding the company’s brands in the super-premium petfood segment and allows for greater utilization of its manufacturing facilities located in Hereford, Texas, USA.
“This acquisition is about building a new company that is even stronger than the sum of its parts,” said Greg Shearson, CEO for Merrick Pet Care. “Both Merrick and Castor & Pollux were built by passionate founders determined to provide optimal nutrition for pets. That remains our commitment today. Our Merrick pet food recipes are developed and made every day in our own facilities, enabling us to deliver superior nutritional quality and safety.
“Even in this historically difficult economic environment, we see pet parents seeking higher quality and ingredient certainty in the food choices they are making for themselves and their pets,” said Shearson. “And together, we can better meet the growing demand for the highest quality petfood.”
Merrick plans to consolidate Castor & Pollux's operations at Merrick’s Texas, USA, facilities.
"The addition of the outstanding Castor & Pollux brands gives us a solid footing within the natural and organic space. Coupled with some exciting new plans we have to evolve the Merrick brands in the next few months, we are well positioned for growth of our entire Texas-based operation,” Merrick Pet Care Inc. founder, Garth Merrick, said.

Horizon Pet Nutrition launches fish dog food formulation

Horizon Pet Nutrition introduced a new fish formulation to its super-premium dog food line, Legacy. 
The company says this new grain-free dog food formulation does not include potato or tapioca, and includes peas as the main carbohydrate. Horizon says the food was formulated with fish as an alternative to chicken for dogs that may be allergic to chicken.

TV vet Joe Inglis launches line of dry petfoods, sauce supplements

Joe Inglis, founder of the Campaign for Real Pet Food, launched his own range of dry petfoods and pet supplements called Vet’s Kitchen.
The supplement line includes an "Active Joints" chicken sauce recipe in 300 ml squeeze bottles and two more sauce-supplements that will be launched in November. Concentrated dry dog food recipes include Puppy; Adult Chicken & Brown Rice, Adult Salmon & Potato and Senior and Light. Dry cat food recipes include Adult Chicken & Brown Rice and Adult Salmon & Rice.
“The development of the range has been based on extensive consumer and market analysis, which identified four key trends in the pet food market – a trend to dry, a trend to superpremium, a trend to natural and a trend to additional supplementation for specific health conditions – which led to our core consumer proposition,” said Inglis, former Blue Peter veterinarian and presenter on The One Show on BBC 1 channel.