Tyson Pursues A Knockout
Tyson foods, that is. The meatpacking giant is taking a gamble that the economy is going to the dogs, and dog food too. They formed an alliance with another company to produce deli-like dog food. Interesting, my dogs are behind me salivating as they read this.
Tyson, Springdale, Ark., is expected to announce Tuesday that it bought a minority stake for millions of dollars in closely held Freshpet Co., a Secaucus, N.J., company that is rolling out refrigerated dog food to thousands of stores such as Kroger, Supervalu and PetSmart.
The Freshpet brand is unusual because the company’s executives, a collection of former Meow Mix managers, are trying to make dog food look, smell and taste as much like human food as possible. The line, the first national brand of refrigerated pet food, is aimed at consumers who give their pets everything from clothes and car seats to cemetery graves.
“Everyone talks about the humanization of pets,” said Scott Morris, Freshpet marketing vice president. “But pet food looks the same as it did 30 years ago.”
Although Tyson has taken some criticism for pursuing this during a recession, they’re betting that dog lovers won’t cut corners when it comes to pet food.
Paul Bulcke, chief executive of Swiss foods giant Nestlé SA, which owns several pet-food brands, said earlier this month that consumers who have “humanized” their pets refuse to trade down despite the economic climate.
What do you think, is Tyson setting themselves up for a KO, or to be KO’d ? Give me a bark.
* “Why yes, that does look deli fresh,” said Oreo.
we only feed our dog “people” food and I wish someone would make “real” food that is nutritionally healthy for dogs. Until then, I will continue to cook for my dog. I agree with Tyson, even though we have been hit hard by the economy I have not changed the fact that I feed my dog pork chops. This new line sounds interesting and I hope the ingredients are all natural (no by-products) and will make it to area supermarkets.
Great, another dog food company. I bet this one will be just as low quality as all the others. There are a lot of dog food companys that make other things besides dog food, Purina is also Proctor & Gamble which makes all sorts of things, and you will never see me buying their food.
Oh, yes, forgot to mention that I think the “huminization” of dogs is totally true and totally false at the same time.
There are a lot of people, true, that have their sweet little toy dogs and spoil them, feed them “people” food, (nothing healthy usually) never train, excuse bad beheivior (even biting) as being “cute”, some even do this with larger “dogs”.
At the other extreme, there are tons of people who think that dogs are animals that deserve to live outdoors, have little or no love, little shelter, no need for vet visits and shots, and sometimes even that need to find their own food.
But somewhere in the middle is most of us Dogsters, we think that dogs should be fed a healthy diet instead of dry corn-and-who-knows-what based kibble. Its not a “huminization” its just trying to keep our dogs healtheir longer.
This is exactly what I mean. The ingredients in dog foods are horrible and I will not feed it to my dog. I just make my own for him. Broiled chicken, white rice, veggies and the occasional steak and cheese/fresh mozzarella for a special treat. I try to feed him healthy foods, but even when he does get indulged I still feel it’s better than the crap that goes into the commercial dog foods.
As if all the nitrates and preservatives in mass produced lunch meat wasn’t bad enough for humans. Not to mention all of the environmental damage Tyson is responsible for, the inhumane conditions in which they raise their poultry, and the substandard wages they pay their workers. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely a meat eater, I just make sure that I purchase from more responsible producers. There are several really good producers of high-quality pet food that is specifically tailored for the unique nutritional requirements of our four-legged companions. This one is Agnes’ favorite, and I don’t own stock in it or anything like that, I am just very impressed with the company and their products. Agnes loves it too which is the most important thing. http://www.natureslogic.com/