Who's Making the Pet Food?

This is something I posted a few weeks back, but it's still current and still bothering me.....


If one company is making pet food for a variety of manufactures, is one really better then the other?

Although it is common practice in the grocery industry for a name brand company to also produce lesser known store brands, I still like to think that the laundry detergent I bought for $8 is superior to the generic store brand selling for $6.

This same concept comes to mind when I’m buying pet food. The company that is selling (marketing) a certain brand is not necessarily overseeing the production of the food. The company that is making the food, in this case Menu Foods, is producing both the “premium” brands, and the “commercial” brands.

How am I, as a consumer, supposed to believe that these brands are truly different? In consumer products, as in pet products, a lot of the mark-ups in cost of the premium brands is due to the extra marketing costs associated with the increase of advertising such brands.
Why do we believe certain brands are premium? Because the companies spend millions of dollars each year marketing their products and branding them as such. Look who’s sponsoring the big dog shows, the pet expos, and other big media events. It’s those premium brands. But then look back at who’s making the food for a lot of those brands – the same company making the commercial brands.

So, is there really any difference other then marketing between the premium and the commercial? When it comes to a recall, there sure isn’t!