Pet Food News: Page 499

Premium petfood manufacturer establishes new lab in Malta

Petnutrition, a premium petfood manufacturer, is establishing a new research and development laboratory in Malta that will also upgrade the petfood company's quality control processes. The laboratory will be operated by a new company, Petnutrition R&D, and will be responsible for the analysis of the entire product range of wet and dry petfoods, supplements and oils.

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Party Animal offers three new canned dog food flavors

PartyAnimalPetFood.com added three new canned petfood flavors to its offerings for dogs. Party Animal's new dog food flavors of Heavenly Venison, Luscious Lamb and Ducked Up add to the company's canned organic dog food, dry dog food and canned organic cat food offerings.

Freshpet launches new dog, cat food advertising campaign

Freshpet is launching the next phase of its "Protest" campaign, which highlights the benefits of the brand's fresh, refrigerated dog and cat food and compares it with other dog food brands on store shelves. Freshpet's campaign, created by The Terri & Sandy Solution, is a follow-up to last year’s “Protest” spot, which was named the number one most effective spot in the petfood category, according to Ace Metrix.

Freshpet's new ads feature a variety of dogs, like this mutt, with signs that play off their breed.

Rice industry may benefit from pet humanization trend

The pet humanization trend provides a huge growth market for the US rice industry as pet owners, even during recessionary times, are increasingly purchasing premium and ultra-premium petfoods for their animals, said Jim Heim, president of business development for Central Garden and Pet Inc., at the 113th USA Rice Millers' Association convention. With US$1.8 billion in annual consumer spending in the pet segment, including US$60 billion in global sales of petfood and treats, Heim said that rice is an ideal petfood ingredient because it is nutritious and the least allergenic of all grains.

Online petfood retailer offers new holistic dog food

Pets Plus USA, an online retailer of natural, holistic dog food, recently launched a new selection of Natural Holistic Dog Food in new flavors with added nutrition. The new, Pets Plus Natural Holistic Dog Food uses premium petfood ingredients with no fillers or byproducts.

Court rules against petfood packaging company in insurance case

A petfood packaging company that damaged cans of dog food leading to a recall cannot seek compensation for damages under its commercial general liability policy, a US appeals court ruled. The petfood packaging company, Express Packaging of OH Inc., cannot seek reimbursement from its CGL policy with American States Insurance Co. after damaging cans of dog food belonging to petfood producer Mars Inc. during a packaging process, according to a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

Petfood manufacturer executive discusses importance of USDA

In a recent webinar series, Paul Hughes, an executive with petfood manufacturer Nestle Purina PetCare, discussed the importance of the US Department of Agriculture in the petfood industry, amid concerns over budget cuts for the department. Hughes provided an analogy relating the importance of an umpire in the game of baseball to the importance of USDA in providing information to the commodity market, on such things as petfood ingredients.

Dry petfood production report available from IBISWorld

The US dry petfood production industry declined at an annualized rate of just 1.9 percent to US$9.8 billion over the five years to 2012, according to a new report from IBISWorld. The "Dry Pet Food Production in the US: Market Research Report" says that while consumers refrain from purchasing pets during times of economic hardship, pet owners typically do not sacrifice purchases of petfood during these times.

FDA inspection at Diamond Pet Foods plant helps pet owner lawsuits

A US Food and Drug Administration inspection at Diamond Pet Foods' production plant found numerous health violations after a series of earlier petfood recalls for Salmonella contamination, which one expert says will be used to help support lawsuits against the company. The inspection, conducted six days after the first of eight recalls by Diamond Pet Foods, found violations at the Gaston, South Carolina, USA, facility such as failure to clean and maintain equipment and a lack of contaminant screenings on raw ingredients.

French petfood companies to merge in US$23.4 million investment deal

French petfood manufacturer Continentale Nutrition confirmed that investment funds AgroInvest and India Invest will invest 19 million euros (US$23.4 million) to acquire a joint stake in the company, merging Villeneuve Petfood with Continentale Nutrition. Continentale Nutrition also announced that regional public property company Communauté d’Agglomération du Boulonnais will buy its logistics platform for 10 million euro (US$12.3 million).

Del Monte reports 5.4 percent petfood segment sales increase

Petfood manufacturer Del Monte Corp. reported a 5.4 percent increase in sales for its petfood segment, although the company's overall net sales dropped 1.7 percent in its fourth quarter of 2012 ended April 29. Del Monte's petfood segment's operating income increased 24.3 percent to US$92.2 million on net sales of US$490.4 million in fiscal 2012, up from an operating income of US$74.2 million on net sales of US$465.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2011.

Market Trends and Reports

New website donates to animal shelters through online sales

A new website, www.AdoptAShelter.com, allows visitors to shop online at select merchants and have their purchases earn a donation to the animal charity of their choice, in an effort to provide more funding to overwhelmed animal shelters across the US. The free website allows consumers to shop online at 475 different merchants, including petfood and treat manufacturers like Best Bully Sticks, Sojourner Farms and Wysong, as well as pet product retailers like Petco.com and PetSmart.com.

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