On May 5th, the horrible and upsetting news broke that Proctor & Gamble were purchasing the Natura Pet Food company. Word spread like wildfire online, and there weren’t too many dog parents that were happy about the announcement. Most were in agreement that Natura Pet food would not be the same once P&G took over.
From the Natura Pet web site:
Natura Announces Change In Ownership, But Not Philosophy or Commitment to Quality
You may have heard Natura expects to be acquired by The Procter and Gamble Company sometime in June 2010. By joining the P&G family of brands, our intent is that we will have more resources to raise awareness for the benefits of natural and holistic pet foods. Our hope is even more pets will then experience the benefits of Natura’s high-quality, super-premium brands.
P&G has assured us of their commitment to this business and to the people who have been our partners and our advocates over the years. We will continue to deliver the high quality products that have earned consumers’ trust.
For more than 20 years, Natura has dedicated itself to producing healthy, high-quality pet foods, and we will remain true to that philosophy. As we move forward with this change in ownership you can continue to find Natura pet foods at your local independent pet specialty retailers.
Thank you for your dedicated support and advocacy for Natura Pet foods. We have genuinely appreciated your support in the past and we hope we can count you among our valued customers in the future.
Sincerely,
Don Scott
President
My favorite is this line:
P&G has assured us of their commitment to this business and to the people who have been our partners and our advocates over the years. We will continue to deliver the high quality products that have earned consumers’ trust.
Okay, come on! Why on earth would a company that supposedly cared soooo much about pets in the past, believe the same company that destroyed other petfoods like Iams and Eukanuba? Do they think we are stupid? Or is it just that their definitions of “commitment” and “high quality” have changed?
The Natura president even released a video explaining their reasons for partnering with P&G
http://www.naturapet.com/video/don-video-c.swf
It’s laughable. They’re either delusional or plain just don’t care! I can’t imagine how they could think P&G has a commitment to excellence and animal well being. It’s truly a shame!
As soon as I heard the news, I thought, darn, okay, maybe I need to stock up on EVO kibble. I felt relieved that I just purchased a bag the previous day. But as I thought about it more, I became more and more worried.
What if even now, before the sale is even finalized, there was quality issues with Natura petfoods? How could I possibly trust a company that wants to be affiliated with such a poor pet food company. Yes, I totally understand a need to sell or find new partners, but come on, why would you pick the bottom of the bottom?
So, I returned the new bag I bought, and decided to make a clean break from them.
I have been trying to decide which route I am going to take with regards to my two ratties’ pet food. Thankfully, I only feed a small amount of kibble in the morning, their main meal is dinner when I feed commercial RAW (Bravo, Stella & Chewy)
I really would love to try Orijen, but my regular retailer doesn’t carry it, and it’s doubtful she will be able to in the near future. They manufacturer in such small amounts that they keep their retail options lower than most pet food companies. There are at least two other stores in my area that do carry Orijen, and I might look into them in the future.
In the meantime, I have a bag of Petcurean Go Natural on order from my local pet food store. No, I am not 100% convinced that this is the best brand, but I will give them a chance.
I have been using freeze dried Stella & Chewy for their AM meal, which they absolutely love, but it’s expensive. I also really would like to try Honest Kitchen dehydrated. Both are great options for when we travel!
I’ll post regular updates on how their food situation plays out.
Other Links: