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‘Mix & Mingle’ Chicago Networking Event
Month: June 2014
Photos: Central Open House Seattle
Taking Business Risks Is Important
When it comes to the natural pet food industry, business owners need to take a risk.
“Innovation is very delicate,” said Richard Thompson, CEO of Freshpet, a fresh, all-natural, refrigerated pet food. “Risk taking is important. Retailers have to put a fridge in their stores to sell our product. That was hard to sell at the beginning.”
Thompson’s comments came during a breakfast speech to members of the New Jersey chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.
“Dry dusty kibbles and mystery meat in a can? We thought we could use some innovation,” said Thompson. “Dogs are slowly becoming more and more human-like. They started in the back yard, now they are in the house and now they are even in the bed. We wanted to capitalize on the natural pet food trend. There are at least 14 percent of households that cook for their dogs.”
Thompson is no stranger to risk.
He invested in Freshpet in 2006 after years of manufacturing everything from table centerpieces at Pizza Hut to spaghetti and oil products.
“We are in 12,000 stores so it seems to be working,” said Thompson, who just opened his ninth factory, a state-of-the-art plant in Pennsylvania.
Thompson also spent years building the Meow Mix brand after he purchased it for $176 million from Nestle Purina, and then sold it for $720 million.
“Everybody remembers the jingle,” said Thompson. “Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, it is still one of the most recognizable jingles in the branded arena and that’s just good marketing.”
He advised business owners to always be looking ahead, no matter what field they are in.
“There are always plans for more,” he said. “The one piece of advice I would give? Control your destiny. Don’t leave it in someone else’s hands.”
PetSafe’s Bark For Your Park Finalists Announced
PetSafe has reveled the 15 finalists in its 4th annual Bark for Your Park contest for the chance to win $100,000 to use towards building an off-leash dog park.
Four runner-up cities, including the city with the highest percentage of votes per capita, will also win $25,000 each.
“We are overwhelmed by the response to this year’s ‘Bark for Your Park’ contest,” said Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, makers of the PetSafe brand. “It’s amazing to see how people come together to help improve the lives of man’s best friend in their communities. We encourage everyone to get out there and ‘bark’ for their favorite park, and we wish each of the finalists the best of luck in this year’s contest.”
More than 1,400 cities were nominated.
The 15 finalist cities were broken into three categories according to city size based on population.
The finalists are:
Small
• Enfield, NH
• Manassas Park, VA
• Potsdam, NY
• Tehachapi, CA
• Waverly, IA
Medium
• Auburn, NY
• Beckley, WV
• Port Chester, NY
• Sanford, NC
• Sulphur Springs, TX
Large
• Carrollton, TX
• East Hartford, CT
• Hattiesburg, MS
• Springfield, IL
• Taylor, MI
This year, instead of developing a 2-minute video explaining why the city deserves a park, finalist cities are asked to create a 30-second video spot designed to get their community members to vote, and are encouraged to reach out to their local TV stations to have the video spot aired as a PSA. Finalists can earn seven extra votes and a chance to win free PetSafe products every Friday, June 20 – July 25 from noon to midnight when they complete PetSafe’s “7 Vote Sniff-Out.”
PetSafe is also providing the 15 finalists with a finalist kit, which includes yard signs, point of information stands and tear sheets, posters, stickers, window clings, and dog park committee t-shirts, plus lots of downloads at www.petsafe.net/barkforyourpark. All of the materials are designed to help communities spread the word. The finalist kits also include instructions for submitting a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video if the city would like to do so, and a standard PSA is also available for download.
The 2014 Bark for Your Park contest winners will be announced on August 7.
To vote for a finalist, visit www.petsafe.net/barkforyourpark or check out PetSafe on Facebook.
Fauna Foods Customer Appreciation Event
Hills Sponsors First Cat-A-Palooza
The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando will hold the first “Cat-a-palooza” event in animal shelters throughout the city. The event takes place June 21-22, 2014.
Celebrating “all things cats,” the event seeks to find homes for the shelters’ cats and kittens. Hill’s Pet Nutrition will be paying adoption fees for the first 100 cats adopted at the event.
“We think cats are fantastic every day,” said Dianne Perkins, U.S. shelter program manager for Hill’s. “During our Cat-a-palooza partnership with Pet Alliance we are focusing special attention on felines and doing everything we can to adopt cats into new homes. We hope the community takes advantage of the very generous offer from Hill’s.”
In addition to the free adoptions, every adopted cat will also receive a free bag of Hill’s Science Diet cat food, six months of flea and heartworm prevention and free pet health insurance. As a special bonus, the first 20 cats adopted during Cat-a-palooza will receive a very special designer cat bed filled with toys and treats which is a $200 value.
“Summer is the time of year we receive the most cats and yet adoptions are low,” said Kerri Burns, executive director for Pet Alliance of greater Orlando. “We are so excited to partner with Hill’s Pet Nutrition not only to celebrate cats but also to put the extra effort into finding every cat in our shelters a forever loving home.”
The Pet Alliance animal shelters are filled to capacity with adoptable cats and kittens. On average, the Pet Alliance invests $254 in every adoptable cat. Every cat and kitten adopted by Pet Alliance has been spayed or neutered, permanently identified with a microchip, fully vaccinated and treated for fleas.
For more information, please visit www.PetAllianceOrlando.org.
Stella & Chewy’s to Build New Manufacturing Facility
Stella & Chewy’s is building a new 164,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Wisconsin that will also serve as the company’s corporate headquarters.
“The development of our new build-to-suit facility is a strong commitment to the metro Milwaukee community that has been so supportive of Stella & Chewy’s since the early days,” said Marie Moody, founder and chairwoman of Stella & Chewy’s. “It’s amazing to be a part of a business community that supports growing companies and helps foster the entrepreneurial spirit.”
Stella & Chewy’s will be the first tenant in the 220-acre OakView Business Park currently in development.
“We’re very happy that Stella & Chewy’s will help us launch our new OakView Business Park in Oak Creek,” said Steve Scaffidi, mayor of Oak Creek. “A leader in their industry with tremendous potential for growth, Stella & Chewy’s chose Oak Creek as the place they wanted to be. It speaks to their commitment not only to their company and the customers they serve, but also to our community.”
Stella & Chewy’s has selected Venture One Real Estate, LLC and Clayco, Inc. to develop the new facility.
“We are really excited to be expanding our operations in the City of Oak Creek,” said Jen Guzman, CEO of Stella & Chewy’s. “We have a fantastic group of partners working with us and supporting us on this project including Venture One, Clayco, Judson and Associates, the City of Oak Creek, Wispark, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and many others.”
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in early June and the company expects to move into the new building in the second quarter of 2015.
Bringing a Pet to Work Reduces Stress
A new survey conducted on behalf of Wellness Natural Pet Food found that bringing pets to the workplace can improve health.
Twelve percent of American dog owners are currently allowed to bring their dog to work. A majority of them feel that it helps reduce stress and improves their mood. Forty percent of dog owners think that having their pet at work will also make for a more positive work environment.
“Some employers have even gone as far to create a formal ‘petiquette’ policy,” Chanda Leary-Coutu, senior marketing communications manager for Well Pet said.
The same survey found that a majority of dog owners say that their pet makes them much more social. An even bigger number of dog owners stated that they get more exercise with a pet.
A whooping 81 percent state that their dog helps reduces stress. If you are in the lucky 12 percent who are allowed to bring their dog to work, it is national “Take your Dog to Work Day,” on June 20, 2014.
Champion Petfoods New Project
Champion Petfoods recently announced its partnership with Kentucky-based Gray Construction in the building of its third kitchen.
“We are very proud to invest in Kentucky’s people and agriculture,” said Frank Burdzy, president and CEO of Champion. “Our new custom fitted kitchens will advance our Biologically Appropriate and Fresh Regional Ingredient foods.”
“To be involved in a project that boosts Kentucky agriculture and the economy in the home state of Gray is nothing but an honor,” said Stephen Gray, CEO of Gray Construction.
Champion’s dog and cat foods are prepared exclusively in its own kitchens. The company’s new Made-in-Kentucky foods will be available in 2016.
New Director of Marketing at Lincoln Bark
Stephanie Ericson has been hired as the Director of Marketing by Lincoln Bark, a Chicago-based dog treat company. She previously worked at a non-profit focusing on social media, marketing and media relations.
Ericson will be providing digital marketing and advertising campaigns as well as coordinating charitable events and sponsorships.
As Director of marketing, Erickson plans to help educate owners on Chia seed benefits in Lincoln Bark products.
“After learning what Chia seeds can do for me as a runner, I was thrilled to find a family owned business that had discovered the benefits that Chia seeds deliver for dogs,” said Ericson. “I am excited to help spread that knowledge.”
Kinn Expands Reach With New Distributors
Kinn is expanding their distribution network with the addition of United Pacific Pet and Zeigler’s Distributor, who will begin distribution of Kinn products throughout the East and West Coast markets.
Ziegler’s will distribute the full line of Kinn products throughout eastern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia and Eastern West Virginia. United Pacific Pet will offer Kinn products in the Southern California and Las Vegas territories.
“We are excited to work with United Pacific Pet and Zeigler’s in our efforts to expand the retail availability of the Kinn product line,” said Alex McKinnon, founder and CEO of Kinn, Inc. “Both distributors share our passion for providing the best in pet products to consumers and we are proud to partner with them as part of our expansion throughout the United States.”
For wholesale and/or distributor inquiries, please contact Jack Drasner, head of Kinn’s North American sales efforts, at [email protected].
Dogtopia, Paws With A Cause Raise Money for Veterans
Dogtopia, a national dog daycare, boarding and spa franchise, partnered with Paws With A Cause, a non-profit organization that provides assistance dogs to veterans and people with disabilities, for its 10th annual Dogtopia Charity Dog Wash.
On Sun., June 22, Dogtopia locations across the country will participate in the event.
Proceeds will benefit Paws With A Cause veterans programs and support efforts that provide veterans, service members and their families with dogs to assist with physical disabilities, enhancing their quality of life, helping with healing/recovery and often providing a new outlook on life.
“We are so pleased to be partnering with Paws With A Cause and helping to further the access veterans have to the dogs that are so impactful to their lives,” said Amy Nichols, CEO of Dogtopia. “Our entire company looks forward to this event, and we are proud of the work we have done to benefit veterans and assistance dogs. We look forward to marking the 10th anniversary in a big way with a great partner.”
Dog owners are invited to bring their dog(s) in for a bath given by Dogtopia¹s trained team members and volunteers. The event will also feature food, pet friendly vendors and fun for the whole family. A $15 per dog wash donation is requested.
Dogtopia has set out to raise $35,000 for working dogs helping veterans across the United States.