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.

K9 Natural ranked among fastest growing New Zealand petfood companies

K9 Natural was named one of the fastest growing petfood companies in New Zealand by the Deloitte Fast 50 ranking.
The petfood company ranked eighth on the list of New Zealand's 50 fastest growing companies. K9 says it increased sales by over 320% a year and the company forecasts sales exceeding US$15 million for the next financial year.
"We are well aware that making the fast 50 doesn’t mean we have made it; we have just made it to the start line. There is a lot of hard work required to ensure we capitalize on this great opportunity," said Calvin Smith, K9's chief executive.

Nature's Variety donates petfood for nationwide canine cancer walk initiative

Nature’s Variety will team up with 2 Million Dogs Puppy Up! Against Canine Cancer for a nationwide walk initiative on November 7.
Nature’s Variety will donate 3,600 sample bags of its Instinct and Prairie lines of kibble. The donation will be spread to dogs in cities throughout the US, including Atlanta, Georgia; Auburn, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati, Ohio; Edinboro, Pennsylvania; Fairborn, Ohio; Fort Collins, Colorado; New Milford, Connecticut; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Poughkeepsie, New York; Richmond, Virginia; and Seattle, Washington.
The 2 Million Dogs initiative began from Luke Robinson's quest to walk 2,000 miles with his two dogs across the US in 2008, raising awareness of canine cancer, in memory of his other dog, Malcolm. Afterward, he felt that if he and his dogs could walk 2,000 miles, he could get 2 million dogs to walk 2 miles to raise funding for canine cancer research. 

DuPont accepting entries for packaging innovation awards

DuPont Packaging announced it will begin accepting entries in the 23rd DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation.
Packaging designers, retailers and manufacturers may all enter their new product packaging developments in the competition at no cost. Entries will be evaluated by a jury panel for excellence in packaging innovation, sustainability and cost/waste reduction. Entry forms and guidelines are available online. The deadline for entries is Feb. 28, 2011 and winners will be announced in the spring of 2011.
“The industry is facing many challenges to address cost and waste reduction as well as sustainability demands while responding to consumers’ needs for greater convenience. Innovation is key to these new packaging approaches and we aim to recognize innovative solutions from around the world that address local needs,” said Shanna Moore, global director of sustainability at DuPont Packaging.

Don't tout your social responsibility if it doesn't exist

Last week brought a cautionary tale for any brand or company looking to promote its social responsibility. Chevron had its "We agree" campaign -- intended to brandish its corporate responsibility image over that of other oil giants -- hijacked by a group called the Yes Men, working in tandem with a couple environmental groups.

The "hijackers" issued fake press releases and even built a phone website closely mimicking the actual "We agree" site, pointing out what they believe to be Chevron's environmental miscues and hypocrisy.

Recently I mentioned the proliferation of purpose-driven campaigns and the danger of so many brands jumping on the cause marketing bandwagon that consumers could become jaded. But the Chevron case highlights an even bigger danger: What if consumers just don't buy your message? What if they don't believe your brand is truly socially responsible?

I read a very good column on AdAge.com by a branding expert named Jonathan Salem Baskin. His advice to avoid a situation like Chevron's? Tell the truth. In other words, don't promote your cause or social responsibility if it doesn't exist.

Consider this from Baskin:

Let's face it: We marketers have long tolerated a "truth gap." We've celebrated it, because it meant we were successful in our efforts to invent a host of imagined benefits for which consumers would pay extra. It didn't matter that the claims we claimed could never be substantiated, or that the values with which we associated our brands were purchased, not organic. Sell the same car or TV for more because of some sleight of superficial badge? No worries; nobody had the capacity or desire to discover the truth.

Not so much anymore. That truth gap is coming back to bite us.

I admit I'm somewhat biased, but I honestly don't think most petfood companies are guilty of perpetuating such a truth gap, nor can I think of any situations of a petfood marketer touting a cause or some aspect of corporate responsibility that just doesn't ring true.

Perhaps that's because selling petfood is, in many ways, very different from selling cars, TV or oil and its by-products. On the other hand, given the strong emotions inextricably linked with the pet industry -- after all, most pet owners don't consider choosing and buying food for their beloved pets as simply a purchase transaction -- that means petfood companies must be even more careful to be sure their marketing rings true. Especially if they're touting their support of pets, the environment or another cause.

Nestle predicts petfood sales over US$ 1 billion in Latin America

Nestle SA expects petfood sales to surpass US$1 billion in Latin America next year as consumers there start buying supplies designed for dogs and cats, according to a Bloomberg article.
In the article, Nestle Purina's Chief Executive W. Patrick McGinnis said sales in Latin American countries like Brazil are growing at nearly 20% a year, as incomes of pet owners rise. McGinnis also said Nestle is hiring more salespeople and pursuing acquisitions to strengthen its Latin American business. According to the article, Nestle reported nine-month sales growth and a total revenue of US$85.4 billion, helped by gains in emerging markets like Latin America.

Safety considerations for petfood plant owners looking to modify facilities

Petfood plant owners looking for ways to modify existing facilities to accommodate new petfood processes must consider the challenges in doing so, due to many recent recalls for petfoods contaminated with Salmonella, says an article in Reliable Plant magazine. 
Four primary contamination pathways must be examined to determine whether there is impact on sanitary operations: the path of the product from raw material to final product, surrounding process areas such as hallways and packaging, offices and exterior areas. The treatment of fines, product dust that collects at the bottom of all process and packaging equipment, may be another contamination pathway commonly overlooked.
Positive air pressure systems are often useful in retrofitting an existing petfood plant because they create a pressure differential between processing areas and outside spaces, which prevents airborne flow of contaminants to sanitary areas. In addition, facilities that typically clean with water and drain systems should consider alternatives to cleaning with water such as vacuum systems or pressurized carbon dioxide. Culture of the existing plant should be taken into account by educating plant personnel of sanitary practices and good manufacturing processes (GMPs) for petfood. Petfood plant owners may want to consult an experienced engineer who can bring knowledge gained from other related industries to modifying their existing plant.