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Breaking News: Proctor & Gamble Purchases Natura Pet Products
- 5-5-2010
- Categorized in: Pet Food News
Breaking and heart breaking news…Proctor & Gamble purchases Natura Pet Products. All the products, Innova, Evo, California Naturals, Healthwise and Karma – gobbled up by one of the Big Dogs of pet food. Now a partner food to Iams/Eukanuba.
The following is a press release issued by Proctor & Gamble
P&G Acquires Natura Pet Products
P&G Expands Further in 'Super Premium' Pet Food Segment
CINCINNATI, May 5, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) has signed an agreement to acquire Natura Pet Products, Inc., a privately-held pet food business based in Davis, California.
This move enables P&G to expand into the attractive "holistic and naturals" segment of the pet food category, complementing P&G's current Iams and Eukanuba brands and helping the Company advance its overall growth strategy of "reaching more consumers in more parts of the world more completely."
Natura's brands include Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature and Karma. These brands are sold in a limited number of pet specialty stores and through veterinarians, mainly in the United States and Canada.
"These outstanding brands and the great employees of Natura Pet Products will complement our Eukanuba and Iams brands very well," said Dan Rajczak, senior vice president of P&G's global pet care and snacks businesses. "This acquisition gives us a strong position in the holistic and natural pet food segment. It will enable us to enhance the health and well-being of even more dogs and cats and represents an exciting new source of growth for our business."
"It's time for the right company to take our brands to the next level of growth. P&G is that company," said John Rademakers, founder and owner of Natura Pet Products. "We know that P&G will honor our history as they capitalize on their strengths to build these brands."
Natura Pet Products employs about 140 people, mainly at its production sites in San Leandro, California and Fremont, Nebraska. P&G is targeting to close this deal in about a month, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. Specific terms of the deal are not being disclosed.
About Procter & Gamble
Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), Braun(R) and Fusion(R). The P&G community includes about 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
SOURCE Procter & Gamble
http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1422726
I am beyond comment at this point.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Truth about Pet Food
Petsumer Report
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com
P.S. Thanks to J.M. (an independent pet food professional - they folks are fantastic!) for alerting me to this news. Without all my eyes and ears out there - this website couldn't be done. Thank you all!
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What devastating news.
Why would this necessarily be "devastating news" ?
How long exactly have you been living under a rock? Do you even understand how terribly corrupt and money driven Proctor & Gamble is?
Each and every last one of their "foods" are commercialized garbage they have paid off our government to advertise as wholesome.
Please, take a peek. Just a peek. This is the kind of company Proctor & Gamble is.
http://www.iamscruelty.com/
My hope is that Tommy R and all animal lovers look into what they feed their animals--don't trust any advertising. I am a vegetarian and my boys eat their fruits and veggies along with a human grade dog food with good marks from Susan.
You are right Mikodesu. Proctor & Gamble, like most of the big names, General Mills, Pillsbury, Kelloggs, etc., have bought off the FDA and our politicians. You do not have to look very long or hard to find this out. What is scary is they are buying all of the holistic companies - human and animal ---look out. That old saying--"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck--it be a duck." Money is the name of the game and they could care less if you or your animals are harmed. Sorry to say--I use to trust--now I do not and do much research leaving out many products that I use to purchase. I want to thank Susan on behalf of all pet lovers for your hard work to keep us informed. Your a life saver and an angel!
Another interesting fact. Are you also aware that Monsanto has convinced the US government to pressure the world into not allowing companies to advertise that a product does not contain GMO's and that it will be against the law to advertise that fact. The fact that a product is genetically engineered will be hidden from the public. Scary when you read the reports from respected research companies that tell you all of the facts about GMO products.
Take care and be aware of everything you use for both yourself and your beloved animals.
Oh be nice now. There are many people out there who do not know what others have learned. I have learned so much from Susan. I did not know that about Iams but refuse to purchase their products due to the ingredients ... again, thanks to Susan.
Relax!
P&G would not be that foolish to change the recipe in any way.
My cat would know the difference.
-TommyR
It's not about the specific products, it's about the overall philosohpy of the company. They still conduct animal testing on many of their tride and true products. Totally unnecessary and obsolete in this day and age. If their products are safe and healthy, they shouldn't need to conduct such tests.
Just bought a case of my dog's favorite (perhaps former favorite canned food, Innova's Evo Turkey & Chicken. It's now Chicken and Turkey, and the 3rd-listed ingredient has become "Natural Flavor." So you think P & G wouldn't dare to change the formula?
Uh, they absolutely would. They will continue to do anything to create quantity at the lowest cost to them. Even brands like Natural Balance have changed their formulas.
Wonder when someone is going to notice that Iamscruelty.com is run by PETA. You know... PETA... the guys who run an animal shelter with a 98% kill rate... and actively TURN DOWN potential adoptive families.
PETA does not believe that you should have a right to own a pet, so why would they say anything nice about any company that makes... pet food?
I understand your concern about PETA, I think overall they hurt the animal rights movement more than help. However, you should be just as untrusting of P&G. Dog food quality speaks for itself. When companies put millions into advertising, the actual product usually suffers. The money they should be putting into food quality goes to convincing the consumer to BUY, BUY, BUY!
Don't think for a second that if P&G find a cheaper way to produce Natura products, they won't jump on it. Cut corners on food quality here, makes them a little more profit there....and I'm sure we will start seeing the Natura brands on TV now.
The Natura Company didn't spend a lot on advertising, it focused on a good product that sold itself. What a bunch of sell-outs they are...I'm so disappointed and angry. I trusted this company to be in it for more than the money. What a waste of a good, solid product.
I'm a dog trainer and used to highly recommend their products. They are coming off my list of healthy dog foods. Time to search out other companies that actually care about their product and the consumer.
Helpful hint to see if you're educated about dog food ingredients: If you think Beneful dog food (Purina) is healthy for your dog, you have a lot to learn....
Just FYI, PETA doesn't operate any shelters. At all. The organization has aided in the euthanization of animals for years, ones that would have died on the streets (i.e. sick/abused/dying animals) and those that would have been gassed in shelters (gassing animals is more stressful and less humane than euthanizing via injection) Members of the organization do find a lot of homes for homeless animals and they do not want to "turn down" forever homes for a homeless pet. But they are not a shelter, and they have played "clean up" by euthanizing abused/dying animals. The whole uproar about PETA wanting to kill all pets came from one shady incident involving one or two PETA memebers, where apparently adoptable animals died in their care instead of being adopted out. The organization didn't authorize or endorse what happened. I remember reading about it when it happened several years ago. So, yeah, it is pretty old news.
Dislike PETA all you want, they do some things I dislike, but at least get your facts straight.
Kingsley, one of my pet peeves is people who criticize others for not getting their facts straight and then proceed to post completely false information.
Here is a link to records obtained under a records request to the state of Virginia, where PeTA does, in fact, maintain a shelter. http://www.petakillsanimals.com/downloads/PetaKillsAnimals.pdf PeTA kills more than 90% of the animals unfortunate enough to wind up in their custody. They try to obfuscate the numbers by including pets brought to spay/neuter clinics so that to someone casually perusing the numbers it might not look as bad as it is.
As to the "shady incident" involving one or two PeTA members, it was well documented that they were PeTA employees that were collecting animals and using drugs supplied by PeTA to kill the animals in the back of the PeTA van and then they disposed of the animal carcasses in local dumpsters. PeTA even sent lawyers to defend them, successfully I might add, by claiming that once the animals had been turned over to PeTA, they were the property of PeTA and they had the legal right to kill them if they chose. In this document from the appeal http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions... the convictions, you will see that the people killing the animals were PeTA employees and were routinely traveling to NC to receive animals from shelters (whose employees thought they were sending the animals to a wealthy shelter where they would find good homes) and then kill them as soon as possible.
The link didn't publish properly, trying again: http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/pdf/071014-1.pdf
Marguerite -- Im on your side... I have HEARD, so dont quote me or get mad....that PETA employees are the ones beating the seals and then tape it and try to say its some other person/company...if this is true they should rot in hell.
Also PETA must have never taken courses in Economics...Supply & Demand....when you walk over to Mrs. I Married Richie Rich and bloodstain her fur coat....you just killed about 40 more minks/foxes because she will go home and say "Oh Rich Husband, look what they did to my beautiful coat" and he'll say "No worries lover, I will buy you another one".....so WTF are they accomplishing....
And dont get me started on their stand with research animals.....They and alot of other animal rights activists think that setting these animals free is great....most of those animals are immune deficient and live in sterile environments....living outside would kill them....
I am an animal lover, and will never buy, or never will buy, anything from P&G.
Way to go. I just switched to EVO a few months ago and I guess that I have to start looking for another food. Its a shame, my dog is doing very well with this food but I am sure P&G will mess this brand up too, even if they say that they wont. I understand business and i feel it is only a matter of time before they cheapen the ingredients.
MikeT,
You might try Timberwolf Organics, esp. Ocean Blue w/wild Alaskan Salmon. It's a great company, ethical & knowledgeable owner/founder (Mark), great ingredients. We never find kibble that surpasses it in quality, both in ingredients (+ processing & sourcing, involving much quality control) and results. This is especially true given that my dog is allergic to chicken, excluding many foods.
I won't be buying the Evo Herring treats again. Ever. I refuse to support Procter & Gamble/Iams.
Thanks so much CC. i will look into it.
I fed Timberwolf until a few years back when my dog became sick after eating Ocean Blue that they recalled. I bought my food directly from them, online. I got numerous email promotion offers from them on a regular basis. They never informed their direct buyers that there was a recall. When I spoke to a company representative about this, she was evasive and incredibly rude. She told me that it wasn't the company's fault that retailers didn't inform their customers of the recall. When I told her that A) I bought my food directly from them via their website and B) they could have easily sent an email notification, she said, "it's obvious there's nothing I can say to please you so if you want to switch brands that's fine with us" and hung up. I wasn't the only one to have this experience with them. The internet was rife with complaints about similar treatment at the time. Timberwolf fired back with statements that the recall was factual but that the complaints about no notification and rude communication from the company were fabricated by "competitors" trying to harm the brand name. There are a lot of people out there who will never trust Timberwolf Organics again and I'm just one of them. A recall can happen to anyone. They way it was handled is unforgivable.
Innova has really gone down. My dog has been on Innova Sr. for 3 years and in the past months he has had diarrhia. I did not what was causing this because his diet had been very much the same until I went online about recalled dog food. Innova was on the list! I was not aware that Proctor & Gamble bought out Innova, Evo and others. I was paying for premium quality dog food and not getting it. That is why my dog would not eat the food!
(Proctor Gamble) has taken advantage and misreprensted their product since the take over.
I'm not sure where you saw that there was an innova recall but I just checked the FDA site and found recalls from everything including Blue Buffalo to the much praised Kirkland foods, but nothing for Innova.
If you review the history of Iams and Eukanuba since they were acquired by P&G, you have an idea of what will happen to the companies who have just been bought.
I think this is a sad day. The independent retailer is the one responsible for Naturas success and now they sell to someone in the industry with the worst reputation for not only cheapening up a formula but for distributing into mass market - - that only hurts the independent retailer. This is a shame. I'm looking at other alternatives already - Natures Variety and Petcurean's Go! and Now! line
I will be sticking with Nature's Variety Grain Free. Its good food from everything I have seen and my dogs love it.
No more EVO, ever.
I won't buy any P&G products due to their testing cruelty, for one, and two, when they bought Iams the quality of the ingredients and the formula was downgraded. Several pet stores in my area refused to sell the "new" Iams when bought out by P&G. So if they changed the quality of the ingredients in Iams (which used to be a decent food a decade ago) when they bought it, chances are they will do the same to Innova, Cal. Natural, Evo, Healthwise, and Karma. Maybe not right away, but I bet they will let the consumers feel comfortable and then BAM, the changes will be made.
Because Iams or P&G don't have healthy ingredients in their food. Do a google search for reviews on Iams and see what people say.
I agree with the poster when she says Devasting.
This is devastating news because Procter & Gamble is notorious for testing their products on animals (perhaps not this) but check out the Buy Cruelty Free information and you will see their products galore as the worst perpetrators of this atrocity. I recently changed to Evo because of my dogs' allergies and because of the recommendation of Dr. Fox. I will look elsewhere, however, for a high quality, wheat and corn free alternative. How sad--it is so hard to find something healthy that my dogs love and they did love the Evo. But I cannot in good conscious support P & G on anything.
Seriously! Please give me a break, I really need one, as I just love the results I get from Natura and no way am I ever going to feed it under P & G. Natura you let me and my pets down. I've seen this before years ago with rabbit pellets decades ago. First the package changes color, then the food smells different, then it looks different, and it's about then you notice the animals are not doing as well, or worse yet in the case of Heinhold, there were deaths. These people must feel great sleeping in their bed with money, I'm not giving a DIME to P&G if I can help it ever again. (knowingly)
The packaging and formula for several of the EVO foods did recently change. And from the chatter I've seen since on Twitter, a lot of dogs didn't do well after the change. My GSD still eats their low-fat brand, but I have noticed incosistent issues with her on the new formula. Have to wonder if it's related to this sale....
Either way I can't see myself continuing to feed my dog a P&G product. Not after all the news I've seen about their foods. Which is very sad, EVO was one of the very best dry foods out there.
That does it for me---I just bought my last EVO anything..or any P&G pet food..
Another excellent pet food bites the dust and now supports Proctor & Gamble's animal testing ~~ NOT ME!!
Hi Susan: Thanks for posting the article. We're expats living in Shanghai and were buying Innova Evo from Hong Kong and Australia online. We've tried Orijen here and the cats were happy. Same price too!
FYI - I wrote to P&G regarding the purchase of Natura/Innova - the response was very telling. NO promise to not change the food. BS response..
P&G RESPONSE:
P&G is committed to the Natura nutritional approach and product quality. P&G will also continue the Natura focus on high-quality ingredients from trusted sources. We have no intention to change the Natura product performance or unique benefits that the diets provide.
On Aug 19, 2010, at 11:03 AM, PetCare <petcareservice@2jzqxhicdoo5yl9r1oqzc3nlf.in.salesforce.com> wrote:
Dear:
I apologize for my delayed resposne to your email. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us.
P&G is committed to the Natura nutritional approach and product quality. P&G will also continue the Natura focus on high-quality ingredients from trusted sources. We have no intention to change the Natura product performance or unique benefits that the diets provide.
Natura brands, such as Evo and Innova, target a segment of pet owners not currently served by P&G and Natura is an industry leader in the natural and holistic segment of the pet food market. Both Natura and P&G will continue to focus on enhancing the well-being of dogs and cats while preserving individual brand equity and product performance. The Natura brands will play an instrumental role in accelerating the growth of the Pet Care business.
If you have additional questions, please contact us anytime through our E-mail Us Now page located on our web site at www.IAMS.com. Or, look for instant answers on our web site FAQ. We would also welcome your call Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 800-675-3849.
Thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Sharon
Iams Pet Care Team Member
MY RESPONSE TO P&G RESPONSE:
Thanks for response - but I am disappointed. Your prepared statement/answer does NOT say that ingredients will not be changed or tampered with. The sentence below says nothing and can't be measured or evaluated.
Based on the fact that you obviously intend to revise ingredients as you did with Iams and Eukanuba - not to mention the Salmonella recalls, I have no choice but to find a new food for my pet.
I will consider posting this on pet care blogs. Really disappointed in P&G.
I received the same response from Proctor & Gamble. They say and do nothing to insure the quality of food and products will continue so I too will look for another food company for my dog.
Does anyone know why they sold out to Proctor & Gamble?? I have not heard anything about the turn of events. They had customers who depended on them and they turned around and out of the blue (didn't say anything to their faithful customers) and sold out???
I cannot believe I just saw this. I guess it is because of the class action suit againist natura. proctor and gamble does horrible unnecessary experiments on Animals. I try my best not yo but their products, which is really difficult because they own so many things, never will I buy Calif Natural again. Shame on them for selling the animals out
marla
I think I am going to vomit.
So is "touches your life" the new adspeak for sells poison labeled as food and then spits in your face?
Business as usual then? Hey, at least they noticed people want better food for pets. They will certainly make and sell swill but at least they noticed.
Lots of money to be made. Soon as they start on cutting costs there will be lots of sick pets. And vet expenses for people.
No, not good news at all.
You are right! It is all about the money!! They do not care about pets and their health! This is tragic that all companies care about is the bottom line and not about health and safety.
The sole reason we carried Natura pet in our store was that it was a small company trying to do the right thing. Now that's blown. How can they even want their names associated with Iams and Eukanuba? I am disgusted they sold to P&G.
I gather they sold, because they are getting old and want to retire. It's a family business and the kids don't want to take the business over. Apparently they included a clause in the contract requiring their formulas to stay the same for a certain amount of time, but the store I go to figures that P&G will find a way around this requirement sooner or later. They warned me that they will be finding alternative brands soon.
This is terrible. Thanks, yet again, for being so quick to get the word out, Susan.
Being naturally cynical especially about pet food I can't imagine the food formulas being much different from one "package label" to another. Really. Has there been any scientific testing to PROVE that Royal Canine's "Poodle" (or small breed) formula is any different than the "Boxer" formula (other than the size of the kibble or maybe twice as much dosage of additives than the other?). You can NOT tell me that they have an assembly line system that shuffles off a a completely different chicken-based kibble because it's going into one bag or another. This is crazy. They can't even represent the integrity of one formula over another much less at a brand name level. EVO just costs more money. Holistic and Naturals segment? Proctor & Gamble (much less any other pet food manufacturer) wouldn't recognize Holistic and Natural food if it was on the CEO's dinner table! I still say....whatever is in this pet food....if it's so darn safe and worthy....then serve it to the employees' children. That would sure change things!!!
There IS a difference. Good foods like EVO (or what it was) are meat-based and contain high amounts of protein, similar to what cats' and dogs' ancestors ate in the wild. And yes, it DOES use human-grade ingredients. It is better for our pets than worthless grain by-product and air-filled crap. Please do your research before spewing verbal diarrhea. Is "cynical" the new synonym for "idiotic"?
Kudos for taking the time to respond to my comment. At least you're reading the TAPF forum! I acknowledge all personal critiques and defend my own. Yes, I am cynical and not an idiot. If I were an idiot I wouldn't be cynical. But then please don't take any offense at my inference You are a commercial pet food believer. And that's fine. You've obviously settled for the lesser of many evils. And that's okay too. But it isn't the solution. With your choice you are entirely missing the point. Not sure how long you've been following ALL that Susan Thixton has been discussing. Or if you've seen the documentary Food, Inc. If so, you will soon realize that all aspects of mass (not locally sustained) food production depends upon the perfect perception. It's called advertising and marketing. When Susan says that the only industry which is legally allowed to LIE to it's petsumers is the Pet Food business, what does that say to you? "Oh but there are just a couple of companies out there that certainly don't? And they just happen to be the ones I've selected?" Wasn't Evo just bought out by P&G? I could certainly be wrong. But if it was then it (or another one just like it) sold their soul to a conglomerate. What then are they more interested in? Delivering a quality product or making the biggest profit? If you haven't noticed lately, serving the petsumer community isn't fraught with a high level of devotion and passion for doing the right thing. Or more to the point backing it up with some science, testing and reported results. And if you do find a company that says it is doing the right thing, it behooves them and quite a few others, to START documenting their activity (as in legally binding commitments) instead of so glibly doing self-promotion. That was the point of the Royal Canine comment. Do you really think the Boxer kibble is radically different than the Poodle kibble? No, I thankfully didn't lose a pet because of what it was eating. No, I wasn't ignored by the involved parties wishing to avoid responsibility. But a company (or an industry) can't very well become transparent in it's operation thereby earning trust and loyalty if it has so much to hide. Such plants won't even open their property to public inspection. As I mentioned in another post, how many credible companies get to do business based on good faith and WORDS alone? Certainly not the one I work for. It is extremely regulated and fraught with independent oversight and is accountable to governmental regulations (for whatever that's worth). I'm glad EVO is working for you. And I hope your pet doesn't fall into the 50% category of all pets that die from cancer....eventually.The first awful weekend of the Menu debacle, I called Natura concerned about the Evo I was feeding my cats at the time. They were very understanding and helpful unlike the big corporations who were either ignoring the problem or downright hostile. I believe they were first in saying they would no longer import ingredients from China. A sad day indeed. Time to finally get serious and start making my own!
This is awful news. I guess I'll be looking for a new dog food, since I will not be able to trust California Natural and EVO, anymore.
Anybody know if Solid Gold is safe for our doggies? I won't feed Nutro, or other questionably foods.
SG is made by Diamond. That used to look pretty bad, but Diamond looks great when compared to P&G.
Look at Petcurean Naturals. Their Go! and Now! foods are great.
Perhaps you should look at Merrick. I feed my dog the Grammy's Pot Pie and he loves it. I have no complaints.
Sure..If you like to feed Diamond products.