Jessica TaylorFrom the Author - Page 2Pet Food PackagingCase study: Ohio Pet Foods and Ideas That KickMatthew Golladay, vice president of Ohio Pet Foods, returned to the family-owned and family-run petfood business to manage the buyout of Blackwood Pet Food, a brand the Ohio-based company had manufactured for years. Ohio Pet Foods specializes in co-packing premium and superpremium dry petfood diets and Blackwood certainly fell under this exclusive umbrella, with active and alternative recipes that included grain-free formulations with no soy, no corn or no wheat in slow-cooked, small batches.Pet Food MarketPure Pet Food boasts rapid growth with dehydrated dog dinners“As dog owners are becoming more educated about what is actually in commercial foods, and how they are made, many are turning to feed low processed, raw and home cooked meals, using high quality ingredients,” says Pure Pet Food co-founder Daniel Eha. “Pure takes away the inconvenience, health risks and costs that raw feeding and home cooking can bring, while providing a healthier alternative to those feeding one of the current commercial options.”NutritionNutrition update: Probiotics and digestive health pet productsProbiotics continue to remain a functional additive in petfoods and are making their way from their now comfortable spot in over-the-counter supplements to new products like cat treats, alternative ingredient premixes and an entire line of puppy to senior dog food. There has been extensive research done to prove these additives like prebiotics, probiotics and other digestive enzymes have beneficial effects on digestive health.Pet Food MarketHolistic petfood company expands to include cats, alternative formulasLike many holistic petfood brands, the story of Canine & Feline Caviar Pet Foods starts with a family pet with health issues and a pet parent fed up with the traditional veterinary diets available. Moguls the Great Dane was constantly plagued with allergies and skin problems, but lived to be 17 years old thanks to Canine Caviar, states the company website.NutritionCan adding color to petfoods also add nutritional value?Soluble dyes have been extensively used in petfood applications because of their ease-of-use, range of colors available and GMP limitations. Natural colors have become an increasingly appealing option for petfood use as they can impart shades that may not be achieved with synthetic colors and make for a much more pet-parent-friendly label.Pet Food MarketIndustry newcomer launches with a US-first in petfood packagingAs of press time, Adrian and Pamela Pettyan, co-owners and founders of Caru Pet Food, were on the cusp of their big brand launch at Global Pet Expo in March 2014. "We are encouraged by the responses we have received from consumers to date about both our delicious (as per the dogs, of course) dog food and the unique packaging," says Adrian. "Consumers have told us that their dogs find our food irresistible to eat and they love the ease at which they can store and serve the food, owing to the uniqueness of Tetra Pak containers."Pet Food MarketSimpsons Premium poised to export petfood around the worldSimpsons Premium is a family-run, holistic petfood business that was established in 2009 with one goal in mind: to provide pet parents with an affordable, superpremium, nutritionally complete dog food. "Our dogs are more than pets to us, they are part of the family, and it was important that we knew down to the last ingredient what went into their diet," says Lisa Simpson, co-founder of the dog food brand.Market Trends and ReportsConsumer trends: buying petfood onlineWhen asked to give buzzwords to describe trends in the petfood and treat market, many people—regardless if they are industry experts or pet parents—would answer with words found on many petfood packages: natural, organic, corn-free and human-grade. But perhaps the biggest trend is not what list of ingredients pets are getting from their owners, but where those pet owners are getting those popular niche food and treats.Market Trends and ReportsBravo! corners the raw petfood marketBravo! processes its petfood in a US Department of Agriculture inspected and certified facility with human grade meats and processing regulations. Then every product is sent to an independent laboratory to test for the presence of bacteria; consumers can receive the testing results on request.Market Trends and ReportsBuild your brand with packagingToday's pet parents are saavy, well-informed and know what they are looking for. It's up to you to let them know, as concisely and enthusiastically as possible, that your product IS exactly what they are looking for and what better way to express your message than through your packaging? Let's examine what one company did when they decided to overhaul their packaging, and then, let's check out what products are available to give your petfood and pet treat packaging a competitive edge.Pet Food SafetyUpdate: ingredient sourcing and traceabilityA provision of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) recently signed in to law requires that all players in the US petfood supply chain be able to quickly trace from whom they received an ingredient and to whom they sent it. Petfood manufacturers will have to maintain that information in digital form which means consumers could tap into this information through their computers or smartphones.ProductionNatural petfood pioneers"We started this business before it was fashionable," declares Susan Weiss, founder of Ark Naturals, Natural Products for Pets. "We believed and still believe we can make a difference." Founded in 1995 - a time, according to Weiss, when the petfood industry was not interested in natural - the company has continued to steadily grow while sticking to their initial goals.Previous PagePage 2 of 13Next Page
