Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter January 16, 2007

January 16, 2007
Volume 7, Number 2

This newsletter is also available in an Acrobat PDF format. To download the PDF click on the following link: Jan16PDF.

Your free copy of the Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter is sponsored by AFB International, maker of Optimizor® and BioFlavor® brand palatants. AFB is the petfood industry's first choice for dog and cat food palatants. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.afbinternational.com.

Here's what's been happening lately:

Industry news

UC Davis launches study on FMD
The Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS) in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California (UC) at Davis, California, USA, has launched a US-wide research study aimed at protecting the livestock industry from the devastating consequences of foot and mouth disease (FMD).

US livestock producers are being asked to participate in an online survey to gather data on animal movements and husbandry practices. The data will be used in a simulation model to predict the duration and magnitude of a FMD outbreak, as well as determine the best strategies for containment. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Diseases (FAZD) and is supported by the USDA and the Department of Homeland Security. The online survey can be found at: http://www.cadms.ucdavis.edu.

Viliesis joins Dogmatic Products
Dogmatic Products announced recently that it has appointed Paul Viliesis as vice president of sales and marketing. Viliesis comes from Mar's Inc., where he was national sales director. He will be responsible for overseeing Dogmatic's US accounts, while growing its global sales and distribution. Dogmatic is expanding their offerings with “hyperpremium” natural dog treats.

NECCO salutes puppy love with conversation hearts sayings
The New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) has gone to the dogs (cats, goldfish and birds) this Valentine's Day season. The 2007 edition of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, an iconic part of Valentine's Day in the US for more than 100 years, pays tribute to America's pet-loving ways with 10 new animal-inspired sayings, including: “Cool Cat,” “Puppy Love,” “Take a Walk,” “My Pet,” “Top Dog” and “Purr Fect.”

With more than 100 years of history, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts are the original and top-selling Valentine's Day treat. Each year, NECCO produces eight billion Sweethearts Conversation Hearts during the six weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.

Call for abstracts: AAVN symposium
The 7th Annual American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN) Nutrition and Research Symposium (in conjunction with the annual ACVIM Forum; www.acvim.org) will be held in Seattle, Washington, USA on Wednesday, June 6, 2007. Graduate students, residents, interns, clinicians and researchers interested in large animal, small animal and exotic species are invited to submit abstracts of practical and scientific topics related to nutrition.

Abstracts can be focused on basic or applied/clinical research. Case reports describing unusual or difficult cases are also encouraged. Abstract deadline is March 7, 2007. All abstracts must be submitted electronically by the deadline to Dr. Sean Delaney. Abstracts will be reviewed by the AAVN Scientific Program Committee and selected on merit. Authors will be notified of acceptance via E-mail on or before April 4, 2007. For additional information contact: Dr. Delaney, AAVN vice president, Tel: +1.530.756.3862, E-mail: sjdelaney@dvmconsulting.com.

Old Mother Hubbard awards sales excellence
Old Mother Hubbard has announced the recipients of its 2006 Sales Excellence Awards. Liz Wilshere received the company's President's Award; Jackie Rockseth was presented with the Manager of the Year award; and Bill Wilson was named Territory Manager of the Year.

The President's Award recognizes “high personal and professional standards of one who exemplifies and lives the mission and culture of Old Mother Hubbard.” The award selection process included nominations by area managers, as well as an evaluation of both quantitative and qualitative achievements within the company, conducted by the selection committee.

Market trends insights survey winner
Thank you all for giving us your insights into petfood market trends. We told you that you could win free registration to Petfood Forum US, and the winner is.....Steve Fraley, of Waggers Pet Products! He will receive a free registration to Petfood Forum 2007. Joyce Neth, director of research & insight for WATT, reports that nearly 500 readers from 58 countries responded to the Petfood Global Market Trends Survey. Survey results will be presented by Packaged Facts at Petfood Forum in the US and Europe. Thanks to all who participated!

Marketing topics at Petfood Forum 2007
The Petfood Forum 2007 program offers several valuable marketing topics and exposure to new business and networking opportunities. Scheduled for April 16-18 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare near Chicago, Illinois, USA, Petfood Forum provides face-to-face contact with petfood marketing experts—speakers, suppliers and your industry peers. Some of the marketing topics speakers will cover at the symposium are:

New product trends;
Popular functional ingredients;
Packaging—noteworthy issues;
Scrutinizing superpremium petfoods;
The future of petfood retailing;
Global sales trends;
Innovative treats;
Executive roundtable;
What pet owners want; and
The petfood industry in 2012.

For details and to register, go to www.wattnet.com/petfoodforum/home.cfm or E-mail Marcia Riddle (attendees) at mriddle@wattnet.net or Ginny Stadel (exhibitors) at gstadel@wattnet.net.

FDA approves the first drug for obese dogs
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the approval of Slentrol (dirlotapide), a prescription drug indicated for the management of obesity in dogs. Slentrol reportedly reduces appetite and fat absorption to produce weight loss.

According to manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., the drug is a new chemical entity, called a selective microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor, which blocks the assembly and release of lipoproteins into the bloodstream. The mechanism for producing weight loss is not completely understood, but seems to result from reduced fat absorption and a satiety signal from lipid-filled cells lining the intestine.

For more information on Slentrol, go to www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/2006-141-260-fois001.pdf and http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/E6-22542.htm . The manufacturer's information can be found at www.pfizerah.com/slentrol .

Medipharm announces recent additions
Darwin Kuhlers has joined Medipharm as the company's Midwest regional sales manager. He was previously with Pioneer. Dick Dietz has been promoted to key account manager. Lara Sparks has joined the company as QC/QA supervisor. She was previously with American Fresh Foods.

Market data

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

US food, drug and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) cat snacks/beverage sales for the 52 weeks ending October 8, 2006. Source: Information Resources Inc. (IRI).

Vendor	US$ sales	% chg vs. 2005	Unit sales	% chg vs. 2005
Meow Mix	$119 million	8.7%	$22 million	4.7%
Iams	$118 million	-13.3%	$12 million	-17.2%
Private label	$81 million	1.8%	$21 million	-2.0%
Purina Cat Chow	$78 million	0.2%	$13 million	-3.0%
Friskies	$57 million	-9.4%	$13.8 million	-15.5%
Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula	$54 million	10.9%	$10.6 million	1.7%
Purina ONE	$53 million	-2.5%	$8.6 million	-11.2%
Friskies Chefs Blend	$38.4 million	-18.3%	$10 million	-22.8%
Purina Kit 'N Kaboodle	$38.1 million	-8.7%	$8.5 million	-10.8%
Friskies Fancy Feast	$25.5 million	73.7%	$5.8 million	58.9%
Purina Kitten Chow	$24.5 million	-12.2%	$6.8 million	-13.3%
Friskies Feline Favorites	$24.2 million	110.3%	$6.4 million	82.6%
Total	$986 million	0.0%	$203 million	-6.4%

New report: Cat food in Canada to show solid growth
Euromonitor International forecasts that sales of cat food in Canada will grow at an average annual rate of 3% in constant value terms over the 2005-2010 period. Volume sales, however, are expected to grow at a slower rate, which is an indication of consumer moves towards premium cat food, a shift supported by the introduction of nutritiously improved and gourmet products.

Retail sales of cat treats are projected to be the most dynamic during 2005-2010. New formulations of cat treats, including new flavors, and a rise in the cat population are expected to support strong growth. The cat treats sector is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6% during the forecast period to reach C$60 million by 2010. Despite this robust growth, it represents a slight slowdown from historic rates as market saturation is expected to impact sales to an extent.

Euromonitor International publishes petfood and pet care reports on 52 country markets. Click here for more information about petfood and pet care reports from Euromonitor International and to buy reports online.

E-news

Bloggers enthusiastic for organics and health trends
Umbria, Inc., a market intelligence company that specializes in blog research and consumer generated media (CGM) for market insight, has released the first comprehensive data addressing organic eating habits, health trends and user demographics, based on the analysis of blogosphere conversations.

Umbria is offering its syndicated Organic Eating Habits and Health Trends reports on a subscription basis, with a quarterly look at changing consumer attitudes and buying behaviors, to help marketers and other interested parties track this rapidly evolving market. For more information, click here.

Useless information
According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 middle managers in the US and the UK , the information-gathering process at most businesses is neither efficient nor effective. Most of the business information they receive has no value, said 53% of the respondents to the survey.

Only half of the respondents said their companies do a good job governing information distribution—or have established adequate processes to determine what data should go to what parts of the organization. The findings indicate that organizations are simply failing to keep up with the volume of information produced by technological innovation. In fact, 59% of the managers said that because of poor distribution, they miss information that might be valuable to their jobs “almost every day.” Although they know the information exists somewhere in the company, they cannot find it.

Apparently, “sharing” is not a corporate trait. Surprisingly, it is easier to get information on the competition than on one's own company—45% of the managers said gathering information about what other parts of their company were doing was a challenge and 40% said that other parts of their company were not willing to share information. Conversely, only 31% said that getting information on their competitors was difficult.

More than half (57%) of the respondents said that having to go to numerous sources to compile information made managing the information difficult. In addition, 42% said they accidentally use the wrong information at least once a week.

Research notes

Blood vitamin concentrations in dogs
The objective of this study was to investigate the blood vitamin concentrations in healthy dogs fed non-specified commercial complete diets and to determine the effects of defined dietary vitamin intakes on blood vitamin levels and hair and skin condition. Sixty-four privately owned dogs, aged from 1 to 8 years, without history of skin or coat problems were included. All animals were fed commercial complete diets with uncertain vitamin concentrations before enrollment. The animals were assigned, according to weight and gender, to four groups with graded vitamin intakes. The blood vitamin levels and skin and coat quality of the dogs were investigated at day 0 and day 122.

Coat and hair condition was not influenced by the experimental diets. The retinol concentrations were reduced at the end of the experiment compared with the baseline levels, retinyl esters were not influenced. 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol decreased in all groups, a-tocopherol was constant or tended to decrease. Ascorbic acid, thiamine pyrophosphate and riboflavin concentrations were not affected by treatment, flavin adenine dinucleotide and pyridoxal-5'-phosphate were partially reduced on day 122.

Cobalamin, pantothenate and biotin concentrations increased with higher dietary intakes, folate levels in tendency. In conclusion, this study gives a survey of blood vitamin concentrations in healthy dogs and provides a data base for the evaluation of the vitamin status in health and disease.

Source: Tran, J.L., et al., 2007. Blood vitamin concentrations in privately owned dogs fed non-standardized commercial diets and after intake of diets with specified vitamin concentrations. JAPAN 91(1-2):40-47.

Positions available

Our help wanted listings aim to inform petfood industry professionals about employment opportunities worldwide. Contact gstadel@wattnet.net for more information on placing a listing in upcoming issues.

References

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Contact information

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