A growing body of research shows that in humans, tart cherries can act as an antioxidant and help people suffering from various conditions and forms of inflammation. “Our family found relief from arthritis and gout through cherry concentrate, and that got the ball rolling,” says Carol Jones-Adams, describing how her functional treat company, Overby Farm, was born.

Palatability has become as important to petfood formulation as the core ingredients. After all, those ingredients can’t provide nutritional benefits if pets won’t eat the food or, perhaps more importantly, their owners don’t perceive the pets are enjoying the food. Thus, leading organizations invest heavily in research and work to ensure they can accurately measure the palatability of various formulations and flavor enhancers.

A brand should have a purpose, a reason for being, says Erin Mulligan Nelson, VP/chief marketing officer for Dell computers, in an article for Advertising Age. “It should make a difference in the world in some way.”

“Top consumer groups turn to sustainability.” That was the headline for an Entrepreneur.com article by Bill Roth, president of NCCT, a San Francisco-based consulting firm specializing in sustainability marketing and business strategies. Roth, writing about last year’s Sustainable Brands Conference, was referring to US youth, women and CEOS. Representing an annual buying power of about US$10 trillion, these three consumer groups are “shifting their purchasing criteria toward sustainability,” Roth wrote.

Everyone in the world who has anything to do with the pet industry converged on Nuremberg, Germany, the week of May 10—or at least that’s how it seemed. Actually, more than 38,000 pet trade visitors from 117 countries attended Interzoo 2010, according to its organizers, in addition to 1,052 companies from 53 countries exhibiting their products for cats, dogs, small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles or supplies for companies manufacturing those products.