The program is easy for stores to participate in, and is available only to stores who partner with their distributors.

To participate, stores should contact their local distributor, who will supply them with Frequent Buyer envelopes, which can then be used per participating customer. Collect 12 UPCs and receipts to submit for a free 13th bag.

“Our stores work hard to educate consumers on what it means to feed the very best, so being able to offer them a loyalty program is exciting.” Maggie Johnson, co-owner of Sojos, said.

For more information, visit www.sojos.com or contact Sojos at (888) 867-6567.

Razoo.com is a crowd funding platform for causes. Animals ranked in the top three, along with child welfare causes and causes for specific diseases, with nearly half of Americans, 49 percent, saying that they especially relate to animal causes.

“We have hundreds of fundraisers for animal welfare on Razoo, for all types of animals, and they are some of the most popular and most successful,” Lesley Mansford, CEO of Razoo.com, said. “The fact that so many Americans regard animal welfare as one of the easiest causes to relate to isn’t a surprise to us, but we are delighted to see it rank as high as it has.”

The national survey conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Razoo of 2,059 U.S. adults during the week of Nov. 8 through Nov. 12th also found that 94 percent of U.S. adults say they have donated to those in need.

It seems people find donating to others to be one of their three favorite “feel good” activities.

When asked what life events and activities give them the most pleasure from a given list, they responded to the survey by saying: Being in love, 56 percent; hugging my children, 48 percent; donating to others in need, 45 percent.

The youth, ages 11-18, are taught appropriate ways of handling the frustrations and learning the patience required for dog training, benefiting both the dogs and the kids.

They work with certified dog trainers to help provide the first phase of training to the rescued dogs, and also participate in exercises that help instill respect, responsibility, empathy, positive communication, self-control and social skills.

“We’re proud to contribute to Pawsitive Connection, a program whose philosophies we believe in and fully support,” Tony de Vos said. “We’ll also be sending them Crazy Dog Train-Me! treats to help shorten the learning curve in those dog training classes.”

The Crazy Pet Children’s Foundation, established by de Vos, owner of Cardinal Pet Care in Azusa, Calif., supports groups that help promote the values and life lessons that children learn from caring for a pet, using the foundation’s “Back Bones of Character” program.

The program encourages youth to: Be caring, contribute, have courage, be dependable, be fair and have respect.  The Back Bones of Character logo uses “bones” as symbols of the character values that are part of a spine or backbone – an icon that gives kids a memorable and positive vision of the strong character they can develop.

“Helping children and pets is a goal our two foundations have in common,” Sharan Wilson, the executive director of Freedom Service Dogs, said. “It’s so appropriate that a pet company that makes dog training rewards and has such an interest in kids and pets would sponsor our youth dog training program.”

To learn more about the Crazy Pet Children’s Foundation, visit www.CrazyPetFoundation.com.

Registered users have the ability to list their projects, including specifications and projected monetary goal, so that individual investors interested in supporting a specific cause can do so through donations. For example, a business owner could start a project to raise funds for helping spay and neuter feral cats or assisting a customer with the cost of their Rottweiler’s eye surgery.

Crowd funding sites offer a public a way to invest in ventures and causes in which they are truly interested, giving hands-on support to the individual, business, or pet in need, and receiving access to status updates or progress reports of the invested funds.

They also offer individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses a unique way to access funding they might otherwise have difficulty securing.
The platform is designed to power several specialized crowd funding websites, with GetFunded.com being the first of many planned category-dedicated crowd funding sites to be launched.

“As we move into 2013 with the launch of GetFunded, we are excited to see how this venture we are embarking upon will benefit the crowd funding community,” Adam Kotkin, Apps Genius Corp CEO, said. “The crowd funding market continues to grow and Apps Genius’ platform allows us to focus on certain underrepresented markets, where communities with specific interests can fund projects close to their hearts. Our platform is developed with the JOBS Act in mind and its possible future implementation to crowd funding sites and all the new possibilities that may open up ahead of us.”

Q: Tell us about Kanberra, and how it works.

Levesque: Kanberra products feature a pharmaceutical-grade selection of Mother Nature’s own proven antiseptic tea tree oils, purposely blended in unique and effective forms.  In our initial product, Kanberra Gel, the blend is taken airborne through basic dissipation, allowing the oils to interact with mold, bacteria, fungi and some viruses to essentially rid the air of impurities and associated odors.
Kanberra Spray features the same unique blend, only here it’s immersed in a natural emulsifier that can be used for air and surfaces.  In fact, it’s so effective and natural, it’s safe for topical use on humans and dogs. Some of the benefits include air purification, flea and tick repellent, odor control and as a soothing wound healer.

Q: Kanberra Gel is made with Australian tea tree oil. What are some of the benefits of using it in your product?

Levesque:  For over 400 years tea tree oil has proven to have powerful, yet natural, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. Many pet products, such as shampoos, use Tea Tree Oil in their formulas for this purpose.  At Kanberra the additional blend and innovative airborne delivery create a unique usage.

Q: Kanberra Gel was not originally made to be a “pet” product. How did you end up in the pet industry?

Levesque:  It comes as a surprise to many of our customers that Kanberra Gel was initially developed as an all-natural alternative to the harsh sanitizing chemicals used in the cleaning process of ventilation systems. We are part of a 20 year old indoor air quality company with a long history of being the largest ventilation cleaning contractor for the U.S. Navy. Kanberra was born from our desire to revolutionize this indoor air quality industry with natural solutions.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started with Kanberra Gel.

Levesque: I came to our parent company, Indoor Air Professionals, nine years ago with an extensive background in retail and direct sales and was hired to assist in our residential air quality division.  At that time, the product, which became Kanberra Gel, was unnamed and used primarily in-house for our ventilation hygiene service.
Several of us used the samples of the product in other areas, such as our cars, homes, gym bags and boats. After launching some exhaustive market research and brand development, we established the Kanberra division. Our first major bite was in the global mega-yacht industry, and we’ve been playing catch up ever since.

Q: What’s next for Kanberra Gel?

Levesque: At Kanberra we’re continuing to build our line with complementary products that utilize our unique blend of natural oils. We hope to launch 1-2 new products each year, and most, if not all, will be functional across all our major market silos, from pets to natural product retailers to marine and RVs.

Typically, natural bedding is made from either natural materials or 100 percent recycled materials.

Lisa Kniceley, inside sales rep for Vitakraft Sunseed, said they offer many eco-friendly and natural bedding produts.

“One of the natural products we currently offer is our Eco-bedding,” Kniceley said. “This unique, patent-pending paper crinkle is made from 100 percent recycled paper in the USA. Baking soda and Zeolite have been added for excellent odor control and absorbency. Eco-bedding is biodegradable, hypoallergenic and one of the best ever materials for rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters to use for tunneling, nesting and environmental enrichment.”

Kniceley said that eco-friendly products make environmentally conscious consumers feel confident that they are helping the environment when they purchase Vitakraft Sunseed’s Eco-bedding, which has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

“Founded in 1993, this independent, not-for-profit organization promotes responsible forest management and has earned the reputation for having the most rigorous and credible forest certification system,” Kniceley said. “By buying FSC certified products, we can all do our part to protect the world’s forests.”

CaribSea has two different types of natural bedding that are made from coconuts, the coco fresh for small animals and the coco soft for reptiles.

Their bedding products are made from coconut coir.

“Coconut coir can hold seven times its weight in water,” Jud McCracken, sales manager of CaribSea, said.  “The bedding is made differently than others. It is shredded mechanically instead of decomposed. It is a softer product.”

McCracken said the product has no environmental impact.

“It’s a waste product,” McCracken said. “There are no trees being chopped down. It’s completely natural, 100 percent safe for you to use.”

Kaytee  offers a pine small animal bedding and litter natural bedding. It’s manufactured with all-natural pine shavings, and provides an earth-friendly place for a pet to lie on and burrow in.

The natural pine oils suppress microorganisms and keep the environment clean and fresh. Earth-friendly, absorbent, and comfortable, Kaytee pine small animal bedding and litter is recommended for habitats that are open and well ventilated.

Another small animal bedding is Nodor Natural Bedding from Hartz. It is an ultra-absorbent, long-lasting cellulose fiber bedding for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice and other small animals.

It controls odors from pet waste and is powered by Nodor, their odor encapsulating technology.

Petell Pet Products offers a cedar bedding that is an all natural, absorbent, biodegrable bedding. It is meant for small animals and caged birds, as it provides a soft, comfortable and clean nesting area for pets.

Even non-traditional pet brands are jumping on the natural bedding trend.

Arm & Hammer natural pet bedding helps keep an odor free home. It’s compressed to six liters but expands to 14 liters. It controls ammonia and pet odors with pure and natural Arm & Hammer brand baking soda locked into absorbent cellulose fibers. This helps cages to stay drier, pets stay cleaner and homes smell fresher.

Doug Gleason, the president and founder of True Blue, said pet lovers are becoming more and more interested in natural grooming products.

“It first started when people wanted to relate to their pet’s food,” Gleason said. “They started to become aware of the ingredients that were being put into dog and cat food. When they started thinking that, it started to spill over to other product categories. It raised their overall idea about natural products, which led into learning about natural shampoo and natural bedding.”

He said people are just becoming more and more conscious of what’s in the product and wanting more natural products. The next level of this is combining natural ingredients with how you want them to perform.

“Some years ago when people wanted to move toward natural products, there was a tradeoff with performance,” Gleason said. “It was all right if the product didn’t do exactly what you wanted it to do, but at least it was natural. Now we are at the point where you want the product to do exactly what you want it to do, and be natural.”

One last big trend they are seeing is called natural pet health and beauty.

“Some of our products have a lot of wellness components,” Gleason said. “We not only want our pets to have a beautiful looking and smelling coat, but we want them to be healthier and prevent future issues. One example are our ear wipes. Ear infections are one of the leading causes to go to the vet. Our product won’t fix it after the fact, but it helps to ward off the infections. Clean ears are less likely to get infected. Ear wipes are a way to be a part of the preventative health regime.”

Bobbi Panter, owner of Bobbi Panter, has products that are salt free and tear free. She worked with a chemist for two and a half years to handpick the ingredients to go into her products.

“It’s kind of exciting and a little bit frustrating because you want it just right,” Panter said. “It’s really rewarding when you get the one you have been going for, when all the percentages come together.”

Her natural line includes puppy dog shampoo, moisturizing dog shampoo, soothing dog shampoo and rejuvenating dog shampoo. They all contain natural ingredients specific to that particular product. For example, the soothing dog shampoo contains tea tree oil, aloe vera gel, lavender, cucumber extract and oatmeal to help soothe and heal dry skin and fur.

Panter has used primarily one chemist to help get all the formulas perfect and to her liking.

“I started by mixing things in my own kitchen,” Panter said.

Fresh From the Farm

Mutt Nose Best Co-Owner Jenny Dwyer said they have a “Farm to Bottle” philosophy.

“Handcrafted in Maine, our signature is that we incorporate antioxidant rich wild Maine blueberries into our formulas to provide superior skin nutrition; after all, a major component of a healthy coat is healthy skin,” Dwyer said. “We went back to basics and let nature provide our palette. We source our finest ingredients from local farms, vineyards, and even the deep blue sea. We leave the Maine grown, organic oats in our itchy dog shampoos so that the dogs benefit from the soothing relief of colloidal oatmeal.

Dwyer said the movement toward more natural products for pets has taken the market by storm in the past couple of years.

Ark Naturals’ Neem “Protect” Shampoo is an environmentally friendly, gentle and non-drying formula for cleaning dirt, oil and sebum from a pet.

It can be used on dogs, cats, horses and other animals.

The active ingredient is Neem, which has been used for thousands of years by the people India, Southeast Asia and Africa. Their shampoo contains no sodium laurel sulfate.

Justin Jones of Espree said the company was built on its dedication to pets and their family of pet friendly customers to solve pets’ problems with effective, natural, wholesome solutions.

“Since 1989, it has been our uncompromised belief that simple, natural ingredients are gentler and safer for pets and owners alike,” Jones said. “One of Espree’s strengths is the breadth of product line. Espree manufactures more than 80 different pet products and 10 equine products. In addition, the products are solution oriented. Many consumers are looking for natural products that are effective and meet a specific need.”

Espree products are 100 percent organically grown aloe from the inner filament of the aloe plant. Aloe vera is the highest percentage ingredient in every Espree product.

“Aloe vera has so many benefits: It helps heal burns and cuts, has anti-inflammatory properties, is a cell regenerator, has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects, and rehydrates the skin and coat,” Jones said. “In addition to aloe vera, Espree utilizes natural, botanically derived ingredients proven to meet or exceed expectations such as tea tree oil, oat proteins, silk proteins, natural fruit and flower extracts and oils, jojoba and vitamins; the list is long.”

Aroma Paws’ CEO, Crystalyn Guzman, said the company has a full line of natural and organic grooming supplies.

“Some of our most popular are our shampoo and conditioner in ones, in 9 formulas to help solve common dog skin and coat issues,” Guzman said. “Our Deodorizing and Conditioning Coat Spray helps condition and freshen dogs’ skin and coat in between baths.”

Earthbath’s CEO Paul Armstrong said the company has a full line of natural grooming products for pets that is needs-based.

“We have a variety of needs-based shampoos that can solve itching and hot spots, deodorize, clean sensitive or allergic skin, kill fleas, and provide light coat brightening or extra conditioning and more,” Armstrong said. “We offer 3-in-1 between bath spritzers that deodorize, condition and help moisturize skin, all while leaving a show-quality shine.”

Armstrong said that Earthbath’s products are more about what’s not in them than what is. They put in the basics and nothing else.

According to the Royal Canin’s 2013 Dog Owners Survey, 56 percent of respondents said that nutritional factors are the primary reason they pick their pet’s food, which means retail owners need to be knowledgable about the latest pet nutrition and food trends.

While a few years ago, talking about organic, grain-free, raw or even vegan pet food would have been out of the ordinary, these days it’s common lingo – and pet food manufacturers are paying attention.

Many, like Merrick, are taking a close look at what they currently offer and either reformulating or launching new products geared toward what pet owners are demanding.

Pete Brace, vice president of communications and pet parent relations for Merrick, said the company is in the process of a food revolution.
“We started it eight months ago,” Brace said. “We have relaunched our entire dry dog food portfolio. We know and understand what pet parents want.”

The new recipes are built on a new, five-star promise: to use local growers, use real whole foods, making food that is worthy of a fork, balanced nutrition and health you can see.

Using cutting-edge nutritional research, constantly reviewing supply partners and conducting quality assurance with their expert panel of dogs, Merrick has created 11 new recipes that coincide with an all-new packaging design and mark the beginning of a pet food revolution, they said.

But it’s not just dogs the company is passionate about. They launched a line of cat food and hope to bring a “food revolution” to that segment, too.

“We know that cat ownership is as passionate as dog parents are,” Brace said. “There are a lot of bi-pet households. It’s not that all or one. We think it’s important to serve both markets.”

Hills is another pet company, that recently launched a new line of natural food.

Their Ideal Balance line has no corn, wheat or soy, and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Natura Pet offers a large spectrum of natural pet foods that can fit a variety of nutritional needs.

Founded in 1992 by John and Ann Rademakers and Peter Atkins in California, they set out to answer one question, “How can we make pet food healthier?”

The result was a line of products that include the Innova, EVO, California Natural, Health Wise, Mother Nature and Karma brands. All of these are based on the company’s nutritional philosophy that  centers around six principles: Use only high-quality dog and cat food ingredients; use whole pet food ingredients that are nutrient rich and unaltered; use highly controlled cooking methods and quality checks to preserve natural levels of nutrients; use no artificial preservatives, colors or additives; formulate using pet food ingredients that provide the optimum nutritional profile for skin and coat and continue extensive testing and monitoring to assure optimal health and longevity of pets.

Going Raw

One trend that has surged in popularity is the raw food diet. In these cases the food is never cooked or baked. Many times, in the case of companies like Stella & Chewy’s, the food is frozen and freeze dried, which keeps it closer to its natural state.

Stella & Chewy’s offers a complete line of frozen, as well as freeze-dried dinners, for dogs and a line of freeze-dried dinners for cats. Their freeze-drying process maintains the vital proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and natural enzymes cats need to thrive. Plus, the freeze-drying “locks in” the nutritional value, the company says.

MiracleCorp features the Stewart Raw Naturals food line, which offers complete and balanced nutrition for every state of a dog’s life. Bruce Flantzer, senior vice president, said the food is never cooked or baked.

“Raw Naturals is made of whole protein, fruit vegetables and other natural ingredients that are high in essential fatty acids, live enzymes, antioxidants and friendlily bacteria,” Flantzer said. “Heat processing degrades natural enzymes, essential vitamins and minerals, thereby providing less nutrition.”

Flantzer said as consumers become increasingly aware of the health benefits of feeding a raw diet more will covnvert to feeding raw completely or begin rotational feeding.

“The raw dog food category is a fast growing segment in the pet food industry, with projected sales to reach $26.6 billion by 2015,” Flantzer said. “Stewart has plans to add new protein recipes to their existing line, with additional serving size options as well as expanding their all natural raw frozen treats.”

Some of the benefits that Flantzer said a raw diet has is the dog will have a better skin and coat, cleaner teeth and healthier gums, better immune and cardiovascular system. A grain or gluten free diet may be the right choice for dogs with allergies.

Quality Ingredients

Many owners want their pets to be eating the same high-quality meats, grains and vegetables they are.

Sojos, which specializes in homemade all natural freeze-dried pet food, strives for that.

“The meat used in Sojos Complete recipes is “freeze dried” and raw, which is extremely rare because other shelf stable dehydrated pet food manufacturers, use “dehydrated meat”, which is technically cooked,” Maggie Johnson, owner of Sojos, said. “At Sojos, we freeze dry our own meat. Freeze drying is a moisture removal process that does not take place at high “cooking” temperatures, so we can control the outcome and ensure that the meat goes in raw and comes out raw.”

When comparing natural food to other kinds of pet foods, Johnson said retailers need to be able to speak to the nutritional benefits of feeding products that are really truly natural and healthy.

“When a pet is eating something that comes from Mother Nature which was meant to be eaten by them, then they are eating something ‘natural’ and they will thrive because the nutritional value present in the ingredients is superior,” Johnson said. “‘Regular’ pet food is commercial dry or canned pet food that is manufactured using synthetic nutrients, feed grade by-products loaded with GMOs, artificial flavorings and colorings, and preservatives. These products have traditionally been manufactured by very large companies that have spent billions of dollars convincing customers that their products are the solution when it comes to what we ought to feed our cats and dogs.”

Vegan Options

As vegan diets for people become more mainstream, there is an emerging trend to have their pets follow that same way of eating, too. For the most part, a vegan diet consists of no animal products at all, including dairy.

Halo offers a new vegan garden medley for dogs in both  dry and wet formulas. The food features plant protein from nutrient rich chickpeas and peas and contains no animal protein or fat and no dairy, but contains the same essential nutrients found in diets with meat as the protein source, the company says. In addition, there is no corn, wheat or wheat gluten and it has no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives in the food.

Since 2005, the family owned and operated V-Dog brand has been offering animal food without animal products. Based in California, the company offers premium products that are 100 percent cruelty-free.

The ETA Star Awards are designed to recognize companies that have made a significant difference in the payments.

“We are thrilled that ETA has recognized our innovative technology and we are excited to continue finding new ways to help our merchants succeed and grow,” Jason Richelson, founder of the company, said.

The topic of health is becoming more prevalent now-a-days, than ever before. When you open up a magazine, turn on the TV or read the news, usually you can find something about a health related study, or how you should eat healthier. It’s a conscious choice we are starting to make as individuals, to help better our lives. Now, that we have helped ourselves, we are starting to turn our attention to our pet’s health.

The natural segment of the pet industry has continued to grow each year. It’s something that we feel is so important that we have devoted a pullout supplement in our June issue of Pet Age to just natural products. In it you will find information about natural nutrition, treats, grooming and bedding. Each one of them is about some of the top products you can find in that category, and other information you may need to help sell your natural products.

All-natural products are something I am extremely passionate about, not to just do the right thing, but to keep myself healthier. I personally do a 90 percent organic diet, do yoga and exercise every day.  All of the cleaning products in our house and laundry detergents are organic and contain no VOCs. The things I do, a lot of people do and they are bringing their lifestyle to their pet.

The nutritional section is about the different organic, grain-free, raw, frozen and vegan pet food options that are now available. It covers the different high-quality ingredients that can be found in different natural food.

The treats section covers the expansion of the treat industry. It also features a couple of companies that put their own different homemade touches on their treats. The natural bedding section covers its recent expansion and the different materials that are used to make all-natural bedding products.

Finally, the grooming section covers the ever expanding natural options that are available in this segment. Also, how the products continue to evolve as more scientific studies are being discovered.

The natural section in the pet industry continues to be an extremely interesting, and evolving, area, as more research is done on how to give pets the best possible life. It is one that excites us, being able to show you several different options to have in your store and to give a little background on each of them. While there are so many all-natural products out there that we can’t get to all of them, we hope this shows a small, interesting portion of it.

If you haven’t started selling natural products in your store, this is the push to do so, as it will only continue to grow. If you’re already selling natural products in your store, then we hope this either pushes you to expand your selection, or it helps you to learn more about the products you already have on your shelves to give better information to your customers.

We hope this supplement serves to educate you and provide you with information that you didn’t know and you could share with your customers.

- Craig Rexford