Taking the Mystery
When I talk to people about raw feeding for pets, I get a wide variety of reactions. To say the topic is controversial is a gross understatement. Why would I want to tackle such a controver- sial topic? Come on over to Tampa and have a lunch with me sometime. There is no doubt, we'll be seeing and hearing more about raw feeding in the months and years to come. It is the fastest growing segment in the natural category of the pet food indus- try. We have talked to many a seasoned raw feeder, who believe that there is just no better way to feed their pets.
BUT ISN’T RAW BAD FOR MY PET? CONSUMERS ARE MISINFORMED. Despite the growing popularity of raw feeding, there is still a great deal of confusion, fear and misinformation amongst most consumers. Some even react to the topic of raw feeding as if it were taboo. Here is a typical conversation I have at my store in Tampa on a daily basis: Customer: “What is the best product you have to help
keep my dog’s teeth clean?” Me: “In my opinion, there is nothing better than raw
meaty bones to keep your dog’s teeth and gums clean and healthy.”
Customer: “What’s that?” Me: “A raw bone. You know, a bone from an animal, let’s
say a cow, that hasn’t been cooked or smoked and still has the marrow and some meat left on the bone.” Customer: (staring at me in disbelief, blinking,
“Eeeeewww! Really? You want me to feed my dog a bloody bone? I thought that it was bad to feed my dog those kind of bones. Won’t they choke? Won’t they get sick? Won’t I get sick? I’m afraid to feed my dog a bone like that. I thought that if I fed my dog dry crunchy food (kibble), that would keep their teeth clean.”
Me: (thinking about the next logical statement and won-
dering how it is that we all got so far removed from the food that we eat that we don’t even know what a raw meaty bone is, or where it comes from). “Well, you did ask me what is the best product I have for cleaning your dog’s teeth, right?” And we’re
70 THE NEW BARKER
out of Raw Feeding. Part 1 in a Series.
As I sat down to right this article, I realized that I just could not start a discussion on raw diet without first talking about some background information. Having invested 20+ years as a marketing professional, I firmly believe that consumers must go back to square one in order to have a basic concept of the pet food industry. What I’ve written about here is no exaggeration on the conversations I have in my store, multiple times, every single day.
–by Yvonne Guibert
off to a long dissertation on some of the common pet food miscon- ceptions and what we used to feed our pets before the dizzying array of commercial pet food options we are confronted with today were available.
CONFUSION BY DESIGN: IT’S NO ACCIDENT. The conver- sation depicted above represents the impact of one of the most effective industry-wide branding strategies ever created. It’s not an accident and it’s not entirely our fault as consumers. And it’s not just the pet food industry; it’s the food industry as a whole. It is important to under-
stand that the pet food industry is simply a component, or a sub- set, of the entire food industry. Did you know that the largest, most popular brands of pet food are made by common brand names found in nearly every household in the U.S.? According to Pet Food Industry Magazine’s January 2013 issue, the top five global pet food companies based on 2011 data are: 1) Mars Petcare Inc. - division of Mars, Inc. mostly known
for popular candy confections and makers of the following brands: Pedigree, Whiskas, Royal Canin, Cesar, Nutro and Greenies. 2) Nestle Purina PetCare - pet food division of Swiss-
based Nestle, S.A. and makers of the following brands: Alpo, Beneful, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Frosty Paws, Purina pet foods and more.
3) Hill’s Pet Nutrition - subsidiary of the Colgate-
Palmolive Company mostly known for soaps and detergents and makers of the following brands: Hill’s Science Diet, Hill’s Prescription Diets (including 60 prescription diet formulas for cats and dogs), Hill’s Ideal Balance. 4) Del Monte Foods Co. - mostly known for canned foods
and makers of Meow Mix, Kibbles n’ Bits, 9 Lives, Milk Bone, Pup-Peroni, Snausages and Pounce; acquired Natural Balance Pet Foods in May of this year. 5) P & G Petcare - subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble Co.,
known worldwide for many household consumer goods and makers of Eukanuba, Iams and in 2010 the company acquired Natura Pet Foods (California Natural, EVO, Healthwise, Innova, Mother Nature and Karma).
www.TheNewBarker.com
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