Petco and Champion Petfoods announced a strategic partnership on Jan. 17 that will bring Champion's award-winning ACANA and ORIJEN dog and cat foods to all Petco stores and petco.com beginning March 4.
In support of Petco's commitment to offering only high-quality, nutritious foods that contribute to the health and well-being of pets, the partnership adds ACANA and ORIJEN to Petco's curated assortment of high-quality, specially formulated pet foods – making Champion's "Biologically Appropriate" formulas available to even more pet lovers.
"Champion is an extremely mission-driven company that's built a well-deserved reputation for serving up award-winning foods for dogs and cats, and their ACANA and ORIJEN brands align perfectly with the bold nutrition standards we announced late last year," said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin. "As a leader in providing pets and pet parents with everything they need to live healthy, happy lives together, we're thrilled to add industry-leading brands for anyone who wants to feed their pets the healthiest foods available."
Petco recently became the first and only major retailer of pet food and treats to take a stand against artificial ingredients by announcing it will not sell food or treats containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives* for dogs and cats by May 2019. The change reflects one of the top concerns pet parents have today: nutrition. By only carrying products Petco believes support the health and well-being of pets, the company is making nutrition decisions easier for pet parents.
For more than 25 years, Champion Petfoods has earned pet lovers' trust by producing foods that are "Biologically Appropriate", made with fresh regional ingredients that are never outsourced. ACANA and ORIJEN diets mirror the freshness, variety, and abundance of meats that dogs and cats are evolved to eat with formulas designed to nourish them completely and as nature intended.
"We are extremely excited to partner with Petco, a company with such a strong reputation and commitment to ensuring the well-being of pets and peace of mind to pet lovers," said Champion President and CEO, Frank Burdzy. "This new relationship is an important step toward our goal of building trust and making our Biologically Appropriate foods available to more pet lovers everywhere. Petco has continuously evolved to offer products and services that put pets first – often taking industry-first stances that lead the way for others. We look forward to working together to bring the best in pet nutrition to even more dogs and cats across the United States."
"Consumer and industry response to Petco raising the bar on our nutrition standards has been phenomenal, and the addition of ACANA and ORIJEN to our portfolio are significant proof points in our ongoing journey to be pet parents' trusted partner of choice," said Nick Konat, Petco Chief Merchant. "We're proud to have both products join our assortment and are confident their distinctive formulas built with fresh, regional and high-quality ingredients will be a big hit with new and existing customers alike."
Petco operates more than 1,500 retail locations and employs 26,000 partners across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico.