Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter August 15, 2006
 

August 15, 2006
Volume 6, Number 16

This newsletter is also available in an Acrobat PDF format. To download the PDF click on the following link: Petfood Industry PDF.

Your free copy of the Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter is sponsored by BioFlavor® from NuPetra LLC. BioFlavor® is the industry's first choice for dog and cat food palatants. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.nupetra.com/.

Here's what's been happening lately:

 

Industry news

Provimi sees sales increase
The Provimi Group recently announced its turnover for the first six months of 2006. Sales increased by 15.4% to 857.1 million Euros. Volume and sales showed an increase in almost all countries. New acquisitions contributed 30.6 million Euros to sales, while more favorable exchange rates had a positive effect of 27.4 million Euros. On a like-for-like basis, sales growth was 7.6% over the period.

Volume also showed healthy growth, notably in the Netherlands and Romania. Strong growth in private label petfood continued—particularly in Central Europe, where Pet Hungaria, acquired in 2005, performed in line with expectations.

Animal Agricultural Alliance plans anti-terrorism course
The Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC) has partnered with the Animal Agriculture Alliance ( Alliance ) and Law Enforcement Academic Research Network, Inc. (LEARN) to host the Managing Activist/Terrorist Threats to the Food, Agricultural and Animal Industries: A Common Sense Approach training course. This two-day course, to take place October 17-18 in Columbus, Ohio, USA, will focus on the threats that both international and domestic terrorists, especially animal rights extremists, pose to animal-related industries and their customers—from retail outlets to restaurants, to food service companies to animal research facilities. Registration is available online at www.learninc.us.

Petfood Industry adds editor-in-chief
Debbie Phillips-Donaldson joined WATT Publishing Company on July 31, 2006 as editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry magazine. She will lead the strategic planning and development of editorial content for the magazine, digital media, Petfood Forums and all other products within the Petfood Industry brand.

Prior to joining WATT, Phillips-Donaldson served as editor of Quality Progress magazine and manager of editorial management for the American Society for Quality in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Her previous experience includes 13 years at Fancy Publications in Irvine, California, USA, where she held the successive positions of editor of Cat Fancy magazine, manager of new product development and vice president of editorial and manufacturing.

Rovema hires new regional sales manager
Rovema Packaging Machines announces the appointment of Dennis Winberry as the new regional sales manager for the Northeast territory. Winberry brings over 20 years of managerial experience in the packaging industry. Prior to his move to Rovema, Winberry was regional sales manager for NJM CLI.

Aquafeed Horizons at Victam 2007
Scientists from Fiskeriforskning Department of Aquafeed Development and Marine Processing in Bergen, Norway will join experts from industry to examine the latest concepts in feed development for aquatic species, cutting-edge aquafeed technologies and developments in aquaculture markets. The event, Aquafeed Horizons, will provide feed companies and their suppliers with important insights into the needs of aquaculture and the possibilities offered by advances in aquafeed technology and formulation.

Aquafeed Horizons will take place at the Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, the Netherlands, May 9-10, 2007. For more information, contact editor@aquafeed.com or visit www.aquafeed.com. For more about Fiskeriforskning Department of Aquafeed Development and Marine Processing, contact Department Head, Ola Fleskland at ola.flesland@fiskeriforskning.no, or visit www.fiskeriforskning.no.

In 2007: FOCUS on Treats
The FOCUS for 2007 will be treat topics, including:

  • New products;
  • Packaging and marketing;
  • Treat company case study; and
  • Functional ingredients.

FOCUS on Treats presentations are scheduled for Wednesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 19, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, USA. You can get more specific information by E-mailing Marcia Riddle at Riddle@wattmm.com.

Petfood companies under attack from leading UK pet insurer
A major pet insurance company in the UK is calling for the petfood industry to use clearer wording on the labeling of their products, based on a new study which reports an increase in pets suffering food intolerances. The study, released by MORE TH>N pet insurance, revealed that a rising number of that nation's pets are suffering from food intolerances and allergies. MORE TH>N has made a plea for petfood manufacturers to use better, more accurate labeling to assist pet owners and vets in diagnosing and preventing food intolerances.

New marketing manager at Bühler North America
Bühler North America announces the appointment of Brian Williams as new marketing manager. Williams has a high level marketing background. Williams will be heading the marketing department and will also be in charge of all advertising activities in North America. His assistant is Erin Rihn, marketing assistant.

Grow your organic business
On October 30-31, Strategic Research Institute will hold The Business of Organic: Finance, Marketing and Operations. The two-day conference will be held at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country in Sonoma, California, USA, and will focus on dynamic marketing techniques, the latest in certification and financial aspects of running an organic and natural food and beverage business. Featured segments will include a discussion on web marketing, understanding the organic consumer, the future of the organic and natural industry, how to survive among larger corporations now offering organic products and updates from QAI, CCOF and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

In addition, niche segments will be explored, including natural petfood and organic wine. This forum will provide established industry players, as well as those looking to break into the world of organic, a unique perspective into the business through case studies, insight from its most lucrative business owners and an in-depth forecast of an industry with growth that has now reached US$14 billion and rapidly continues to develop.

To view the full program agenda and expert speaking faculty of experts, or to register, log onto www.srinstitute.com/CX598, or contact info@srinstitute.com, Tel: +1.212.967.0095.

Feed Management Systems, Inc. honored as Partner of the Year
Feed Management Systems recently announced their winning of the Microsoft Business Solutions Outstanding ISV Partner of the Year—Partner Choice Award for Excellence and the CRN's Best in Show—MBS Partner of the Year award at the 2006 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Program Awards. The company was selected from an international field of top Microsoft Partners as delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology.

Awards were presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 1,800 entrants worldwide. Feed Management Systems was recognized for outstanding results and extraordinary performance. Feed Management Systems won this year's MBS Outstanding ISV Partner of the Year—Partner's Choice excellence award by exemplifying the highest level of customer service, competency and shared collaboration with Microsoft.

Petfood Forum 2007 has a new format
In 2007, Petfood Forum will present, as usual, concurrent sessions on Tuesday. However on Wednesday morning, the symposium will feature three general sessions:

  • Large pet retailers on what pet owners want;
  • A roundtable with petfood company CEOs; and
  • In-depth market research.

Petfood Forum 2007 will be held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, USA, April 16-18, 2007. You can get more information by E-mailing Marcia Riddle at Riddle@wattmm.com (attendees) or Dee Henson at Henson@wattmm.com (exhibitors).
Market data

Each month the Petfood Industry E-newsletter will bring you the latest market data available from several different sources including Euromonitor, Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) and ACNielsen.

Today's market research data chart comes to you from: Information Resources, Inc.



Total US food, drug, mass merchandiser (excluding Wal-Mart data) private label petfood sales for the 52 weeks ending March 19, 2006.

Source: Information Resources, Inc.
Vendor

US$ sales

% chg vs. 2005
Unit sales
% chg vs. 2005
Purina Moist & Meaty
$31.1 million
-5.6%
$6.1 million
-6.1%

Private label

$9.6 million
-1.7%
$2.8 million
-2.3%
Reward Special Cuts
$1.1 million
-19.9%
$0.29 million
-20.7%

Three Dog Bakery

$0.02 million
-10.0%
$0.08 million
-31.5%

Pet Life
$0.01 million
---
$0.03 million
---
Total
$41.9 million
-5.1%
$9.2 million
-5.5%

New report available: Rapid growth for dog treats in Canada
Dog treats showed robust growth in Canada in 2005, gaining almost 9% in current value to reach over CA$174 million by the end of the year, according to a new report by Euromonitor International, Pet Food and Pet Care Products in Canada. Recent product developments in the dog treats sector bear a striking resemblance to those in human food and snacks. For example, dog treats were launched in bite-size varieties, and brands such as Pup-Peroni Nawsomes Minis and Snausages To Go were based around the idea of convenient, “on the go” snacks.

Of even greater interest in dog treats is the widespread availability of treats with additional health benefits, as the trend towards promoting dog treats as more than just great tasting snacks continues. The predominant health benefit is oral health, with products such as Iams Small Biscuits and Hartz Dental Rawhide Chew Sticks designed to clean teeth and freshen breath.

For more information about Euromonitor International's petfood research and/or to purchase reports online, click here.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       

E-news

Can a small biz make it online?
Small businesses have their share of difficulties, but do they have any chance of succeeding online in a world dominated by eBay, Amazon and the like? The short answer is yes—if they combine the right mix of technology, marketing and customer service.

Building a website is undoubtedly a huge hurdle to overcome. Other areas of concern include buying and housing the inventory, managing the fulfillment and customer service and driving customers to the site. Limited marketing budgets are to blame for most of the challenges small businesses face when deciding to go online, acknowledged Sonal Gandhi, SMB marketing analyst at JupiterResearch. That said, several companies now cater to the online marketing needs of small businesses.

“These companies offer services as diverse as business listings on online directory services, to web-hosting services combined with search engine marketing and analytics,” Gandhi told the E-commerce Times. “Growing competition in this area is making online marketing more affordable and accessible for small businesses, ” she noted.

Once established, it makes sense to invest in at least a basic analytics package and understand conversion rates, which pages are the most popular and what products are the best-sellers. Then companies can look to big competitors for where to expand to next, and which customer-friendly features it may make sense to integrate next.

Also, it should be noted that companies cannot grow without maintaining positive customer relationships. Most small companies overlook the most important growth dependency—customer input. Only with continuous customer feedback and insight surveys can a company extend their services to meet their customers' needs.

Product news

Vibratory screening machine
The Type VRS is the Allgaier Group's most recent addition to its powerful and economic technology of process solutions for a wide field of applications. The circular vibratory screening machine—Type VRS—is suitable for the use of fractionating, protective and control screening and de-dusting, as well as being used for wet screening and dewatering of a variety of bulk solids.

Flexible packaging products
North State Flexibles provides flexible packaging excellence for maximum point-of-purchase impact. We specialize in high-impact flexographic printing, laminating and custom converting of various film materials into an array of exciting flexible packaging products for consumer and industrial goods. We are no newcomer to high-quality printing, being formerly known as Rexam Flexible Packaging. For over 50 years, we have provided unique, eye-catching packages to a diverse range of leading consumer goods companies.

DON detection
Charm Sciences announces its ROSA ® Qualitative P/N kit for deoxynivalenol (DON; vomitoxin), a 3-minute strip test for the detection of DON which has successfully attained the USDA's Certificate of Performance with a screening choice of 1 ppm for wheat and barley, or 0.5 ppm for wheat. The Rapid One-Step Assay (ROSA) is the fastest approved test for DON, and the only approved strip test that provides a ppm reading (with optional ROSA-M reader) and the flexibility to meet domestic and export requirements. Introduced in 1999, Charm's ROSA lateral flow test strips and readers are the leading diagnostic tests employed worldwide to screen for antibiotics and aflatoxins.

Research notes

Prediction of urine pH in cats fed dry and wet foods
The objective of this study was to determine if urine pH can be predicted using the nutrient components of feline foods. One hundred fifty foods (90 dry foods, 60 wet foods) were fed to groups of 10 adult cats (mean, 8.5 years of age) to determine the urine pH of cats fed each food. The food was fed for a period of 7 days, and pH was determined on freshly-voided urine on days 5 to 7 of the test. Through step-wise regression, it was determined which cations, anions and sulfur-containing amino acids were of importance for urine pH prediction.

Three models were developed for urine pH prediction. These models included: 1) wet and dry foods; 2) wet only foods; and 3) dry only foods. The cations included in all models were sodium, potassium and magnesium. Calcium was excluded from the wet only model. The anions for all models were chloride, sulfur and phosphorus. Including sulfur in the model allowed for the exclusion of methionine and cysteine from the dry model.

Urine pH of adult cats can be predicted from the nutrient components of the food, thus reducing the number of animal studies in order to optimize urine pH (for struvite and/or oxalate prevention) for specific products. Separate formulas must be used for dry and wet foods in order to maintain accuracy.

Source: Yamka, R.M., Friesen, K.G. and Schakenraad, H., 2006. The prediction of urine pH using dietary cations and anions in cats fed dry and wet foods. Intern J Appl Res Vet Med 4(1):58-66.

Prevalence and risk factors for obesity
Using a cross-sectional study design, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in dogs over 1 year of age seen by US veterinarians during 1995 was determined. Risk factors for overweight and obesity were also determined from the following variables: age, breed, gender, body condition score, food type, reported concurrent disease and geographic region. Thirty-four percent of adult dogs (n = 21,754) were overweight or obese. From multi-variate analyses, overweight dogs were more likely to be older, of certain breeds (Cocker Spaniel, Labrador Retriever, Dalmatian, Dachshund, Rottweiler, Golden Retriever, Shetland Sheepdog, mixed breed), neutered and to consume a semi-moist food as their major diet source.

In addition, overweight adult dogs were most likely to reside in the Pacific, South Central, East North Central or Northeast regions of the United States and be diagnosed with hyperadrenocorticism, ruptured cruciate ligament, hypothyroidism, lower urinary tract disease or oral disease. Obese dogs were more likely to be older, of certain breeds (Shetland Sheep dog, Dachshund and Golden Retriever), neutered and to consume “other” foods (meat or other food products, commercial treats or table scraps), homemade or canned foods as their major diet source. Also, obese adult dogs were more likely to live in the Pacific or Northeast region of the United States and be diagnosed with hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, ruptured cruciate ligament or neoplasia.

Practitioners can use these data to counsel dog owners on obesity prevention, especially owners of dogs with ›1 risk factors for overweight/obesity, and to strongly advocate for the maintenance of canine patients at an ideal body condition.

Source: Lund , E.M., Armstrong, P.J., Kirk, C.A. and Klausner, J.S., 2006. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Obesity in Adult Dogs from Private US Veterinary Practices. Intern J Appl Res Vet Med4(2):177-186.


Positions available

Our help wanted listings aim to inform petfood industry professionals about employment opportunities worldwide. Contact our sales staff at henson@wattmm.com or stadel@wattmm.com for more information on placing a listing in upcoming issues.

References

Watt Books – Weekly Specials
Every week or two a new special will be listed. This may be a new book or an opportunity to purchase a book at a reduced price.  



Contact information

To submit any information you would like us to consider for publication on our website, in the printed magazine or on this newsletter, E-mail your information to Jenny Kvamme, DVM.

We are always interested in hearing your ideas about the value of this newsletter, or whether you have any problems downloading or viewing this document. If you would like to discontinue your free subscription to this newsletter, or if you have additional E-mail addresses to add or remove from our subscriber list, please contact Petfoodindustry@wattnet.com


WATT Publishing Co.

122 S. Wesley Avenue

Mt. Morris, Illinois 61054 USA


Your free copy of the Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter is sponsored by BioFlavor® from NuPetra LLC. BioFlavor® is the industry's first choice for dog and cat food palatants. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.nupetra.com.