The Pet Food War

Ann Hodgman, a freelance writer and former food critic, decides to write a review of various types of dog foods in her piece, “No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch.” The research aims to answer the questions that always puzzled her as a child. Questions about the ingredients in the dog foods and whether it taste like human food. The writer spends a week eating dog food to answer these questions. Her results, however, reveals a disappointing truth that dog food is not as glamorous as she once thought, instead it lacks the quality, health and taste it advertises.

Peyton Approved is a business that manufactures and distributes organic all-natural and hypo-allergenic baked treats for dogs. The company named after our dog (Peyton), was an idea that started at home after realizing the severity of his allergies from the products bought at the store; and what could be done to make all natural products that would not cause any more harm. What started as a home-based idea soon turned into a business after realizing that “Peyton” was not the

1.Opportunity to be the first to tap into the potentially vast market of frozen dog food in the Boston area

The Smackey Dog Food, Inc. is a family owned business. It was started by three sisters, Sarah, Kim and Jillian, in the kitchen of their home. They lived in a suburban area of Chicago, Illinois. Their business is making all natural dog food. After using their own dogs and the neighbor’s dogs as test subjects, it was discovered by local vets, pet stores and grocery stores. These local places began to distribute the dog food. The demand for their food began to increase and they moved their business to a larger facility and hired additional workers. As compared to competitors, Smackey Dog Food, Inc., began to rise

As this was Keller’s first audit on a dog Foods company, additional research was conducted to gain insight on some the most common risks that occur in the dog Foods industry. The audit team also went to visit the client prior to the audit to gain a clear understanding on how their business works. The audit team consisted of the audit manager Pete, and two audit staffers Maureen and Ben.

We recommend that Breeder’s Own Pet Food, Inc use the marketing mix otherwise known as the 4-P’s as their strategy to enter into this market. Their product contains 85% federally inspected beef by-products, beef, liver, and chicken as well as 15% of the highest-quality fortified cereal. There are no additives or preservatives in their ingredients. Their high-quality, premium ingredients set them apart from their competition. The food is frozen to prevent spoilage of the fresh uncooked meat. The fact that it is frozen makes it lasts longer than other competition food such as dry dog food. Packaging will be in a one-pound stand-up pouch with 12 pounds per case. We believe their price should be

Obtaining this competitive intelligence indicates that Kudler should continue to serve healthy, fresh products, and implement new packaging techniques to enhance portability. Kudler’s organizational culture must be willing to accommodate changing gourmet trends such as introducing gourmet pet food as a store product. Kudler Fine Foods can position itself by leveraging its strengths. How Kudler can gain a completive advantage is by the differentiation of its products, being the lowest cost producer in the industry, or focuses on a very narrow market. These generic

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. proposes to adopt a market penetration strategy due to having identified a growth opportunity in the dog food market, for its nutritionally balanced, high quality dog food brand, Breeder’s Mix. This premium product has been sold traditionally, to the show dog kennel market, but company executives are now convinced it can be repackaged and offered as a frozen premium product, to picky pet owners via general retail distribution channels. Since the product is considered premium, it should fetch premium prices because of its ingredients and its claimed benefits to

There are three main categories of dog food: dry, canned and treats. In 2011 the sales of dog food totaled somewhere in the arena of 14 billion dollars. Endeavoring to bring new dog food to an already established market can be a “daunting” task, especially when that particular dog food is frozen. Breeder’s Own Pet Foods as a whole has realized how diverse the dog food market is; however, brokers within this conglomerate believe that the true organic potential of this marketplace has yet to be “tapped” into effectively. With an ever-changing push toward becoming

Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. is a familiar story in terms of small business start-ups. They started in a family kitchen, experienced explosive growth, and have had some troubles handling the accounting and business side of the business. My firm, Keller CPA’s, does not have specific experience with auditing a dog food manufacturer, but we certainly have a good bit of experience with similar small business accounting and auditing issues.

Caninantics’s mission is to be the leader in introducing innovative, dog food dispensing product to the market. Through close customer contact and excellent relationships, Caninantics, will meet the needs of the customers. Caninantics, LLC, is a privately-held corporation and maintains an office and a small warehouse in a mixed-use area of North Beach. Three of the four investors in the company have full operational responsibility, the co-founders, have both entrepreneurial and industry experience to brings operational management, marketing, and financial skills

|Weaknesses: •   Lack of availability in all stores •   Lack of appeal to consumers due to thawing time / freezer space (convenience) •   Lack of appeal to supermarkets due freezer location •   Lack of brand equity in retail market •   Premium price | Threats: •   Store Location - Consumer must be educated to find product in different area of store •   Saturated market – sales top 14 million in 2011.   Dog food is also heavily advertised, so the challenge is to entice the consumer to buy Breeder’s Mix. •   Competition - 5 major brand name dog food companies dominate market with 75% of US dog food sales •   Challenge to get supermarkets to give up valuable freezer space for dog food |Evaluation of AlternativesBreeder’s Own Pet Foods product development strategy should be evaluated.   Currently only 1 out of 10 dog owners regularly buy frozen or refrigerated dog food and ¾ of those surveyed expressed no interest in purchasing frozen dog food (Kerin and Peterson, 2013).   This indicates that there is a limited market for dog owners who would be interested in a product such as Breeder’s Mix. Research does suggest however that frozen dog food dollar volume is increasing annually indicating there is a strong opportunity for Breeder’s Own to be the first to tap into the frozen dog food market in the Boston area.   Breeder’s Own Dog Foods needs a strong marketing campaign to convince consumers their brand is superior to

After careful review of each of the elements in launching this product, the following analysis can be determined. Zenith has to answer a specific series of questions in order to decide if their product of Show Circuit dog food will be a viable product. The market was in fact correctly segmented, although Zenith needs to see the shopping behavior of those willing to spend more on pet food. Marketing in a supermarket could inhibit the potential growth of the product. Because the market is already segmented and offered such a variety of dog foods, Zenith will have to market the product correctly and focus in on the benefits to be successful. Show Circuit needs to seek a position of a higher quality product in a different, more convenient location. It is important to play up how the location is a benefit rather than a detriment. This goes along with the sales program being successful. Show

Transition your existing pet food product lines to capture market share and dominant market presence in the growing organic and natural pet food market. The primary business objective is to develop new markets in a stalling and business with decreasing profit margins by appealing to the products that appeal to the health and safety of pets and their owners.  Our objective is to use your business’ existing strengths to emerge as the premier organic pet food brand and build a foundation for continued growth.

As a start-up company, Caninantics will largely benefit from conducting marketing research that will support its marketing strategy. The pet food industry has experienced tremendous growth and profitability in the recent past because of Americans constant love for animals and dogs. It is a competitive market that is characterized by numerous attempts by brands to differentiate themselves from other competitors. For individuals who own cats and dogs, the industry or market generates a staple product. Dog owners tend to prefer cheaper dry pet food because wet pet food is relatively expensive.