safety at night

Had a great Holiday season though I missed our dog, who spent some time, "in jail", as my daughter referred to the "spa". I'm interested in the economics of dog spas. Lebeau's digs were almost $50/night yet was confined to a rather small, well-lit room physically separated from numerous other dogs. He was taken out daily for some exercise and socialization with other dogs, but I'm not sure the amount of supervision required to manage the 20 "clients" who stayed there over the Holiday.

This is a rapidly expanding category and is no longer simple associated with Mom & Pop dog runs. Lebeau checked into to a newly built facility associated with a busy Vet practice and hospital. It seems like a great setup for the Vet with opportunities to cross sell. However, there was no secondary retail, no offers to sell anything on the way out.

things slowly come 'round

A couple of the outfits claiming that their products were made from "Wild Icelandic Salmon" now acknowlege that their product is actually from Norwegian farm-raised salmon. No apology yet for mis-representing the product: Iceland Pure, Naturvet are two of note. Still no change in their packaging yet.

The Myth of Truth in Labeling of Pet Products

Another day and another earful from a retailer who can't consider that the products they sell are not what they seem. Case in point: POOCH PICK-UP bags by KYJEN a California company making bags of "Biodegradable Cornstarch". Sold at PetSmart and countless other retailers around the USA.

I had doubts about the company's claims and sent a box of bags to Applied Materials Lab in Illinois for assessment. They were to measure the presence of cornstarch in the product as well as whether the product met the ASTM6400-99 specification for biodegradability.

Here's what the report said:

"The Pooch Pick-Up" package claim of "biodegradable" is not met, based on the requirements of ASTM D 6002 and ASTM D 6400 and the apparent absence of starch. The bags do not meet the claim of containing cornstarch of a detectale percentage... analysis of the tee shirt style, green. 0.9 plastic bags show the composition to be high density polyethylene. They were not found to contain any starch, soy protein isolate or other biodegradable material by this analysis."

Then again, if the manufacturer put the claim on the package shouldn't we believe it?

PETCO Salmon Oil...still on shelves

...just visited a few dog-related sites and looked at the forums to learn a bit about where dog owners are getting their information about the products they use.

I came across and example that got me, "down the rabbit hole". PETCO sells their own label of Salmon Oil and boldly declare that the product is made from "Wild Icelandic Salmon Oil".

I think you know where I'm going here.

Back in August '08 I contacted the company and questioned the legitimacy of the claim. At first dismissed, I eventually provided enough evidence that they acknowleged the product to be mis-representing the product. They agreed to take action. They did remove the claim from their website. However, a quick look at the website photo's will show that the bottles (and the claims on them) remain the same.

I understood that the appropriate action (consistent with FDA regulations) would be to remove the product from shelves. Given the many months that have passed I was frustrated to see that not only is it still on the shelves, but store personnel have not been advised of any discrepancies and continue to recommend the product to their customers as a brand that carries the "reputation and knowlege base" of PETCO ( I got this quote from a PETCO store where I asked why "I" should trust the brand). My gosh!!!

Is this type of infraction serious enough to raise questions about every one of their products?

Misleading Claims in Pet Products

Much of today has been spent re-connecting with existing customers and attempting to connect with some target retailers in states where we have thin representation. Almost none of the store owners I've called this week attended the big industry trade show, Global Pet Expo.

I'm heading down this path of identifying questionable claims to help give retailers and consumers the tools to verify they are getting what they are paying for.

Let's start with Salmon Oil. In future posts I'll go into more detail about the nature of salmon processing, questions of sustainability and purity along with issues relating to country of origin.

A quick look at one vendor, Naturvet, reveals a great deal of what frustrates every day.

You'll notice this product is clearly declaring that is made from Wild Icelandic Salmon. The problem is that there is no commercial fishery, in Iceland, for Wild Salmon. If fact, a quick call to the Iceland Directorate of Fisheries with request a for information about Wild Icelandic Salmon Oil production will get you laughed at!

Late last summer I contacted the company to alert them to the fact that their product was misrepresented. They ultimately agreed and promised to "correct" the situation. Well, it is now Feb. '09 and the product is still on the shelves. What makes the situation even more frustrating is the owner of the company, is a Board member of the National Animal Supplement Council...the Industry body dedicated to the quality standards by which animal supplements are delivered!

Now I don't doubt that the quality of the oil in their bottles is reasonable. However, there is no question that it is NOT what is declared on the label. This is in clear contravention of FDA regulations yet the company continues to sell a product whose stated claims are wildly inaccurate.

Naturvet, in order to obtain their NASC "Seal" must show that they have, "a Quality Control Manual", this is to insure the company provides consistent and quality product. I imagine one line in their specification reading:

"Raw Material spec: Wild Icelandic Salmon, Salmo Salar"

The QC department missed that one!

Ian

http://www.spikebrand.com/

This being my first post, I should let you know that I'll be blogging to offer news, and rants from my desk, as I develop SPIKE brand into a viable and relevant company.

Today's Rant
First, let me say that most independent pet store owners get into the business based on a real love for animals. It is not an immediately obvious path to becoming a retail tycoon! That being said I'm often frustrated at hearing retailers bemoan the fact that they're too busy to dive into the nature of the products they sell. They don't seem to have the time to hear it in traditional sales calls or in the body of detailed product information spec's.They're too busy to cull the B.S. from most vendor supplied information about products. Often they seem to get their evidence anecdotally..." I read some where that this product does this".

The flip side of this is that consumers contact me complaining that their favorite pet store doesn't employ knowledgeable staff. They want to rely on retail pet store staff to be informed purveyors. These same consumers are just as likely, however, to be duped by marketing or well-meaning online posts offering downright misleading or questionable advice.

I struggle with how, as a manufacturer, do I navigate these waters? How do I get the message across that much of what is offered by some companies is based on pure fiction without seeming like a "basher" or a "whiner".

Regulatory agencies seem not to have the resources to enforce their mandates. Retailers lack the incentive and/or expertise to properly vet manufacturers' claims. Consumers are poorly served and don't know who to trust. I don't want to become an Enforcer. But, I do have an obligation to convey what I know about products that are clearly not delivering on their stated claims. Where I'm wrong please let me know. I can, absolutely, be swayed by objective evidence.

Up until now, when I've seen a competitor making claims that I know, or suspect, are misleading I contact them directly. Most times I'm politely dismissed. However, the odd time they will acknowledge a mistake and correct it...I love that. Everyone makes mistakes and deserves the opportunity to fix a problem. In those instances where my suspicions are groundless based upon evidence to the contrary, I've usually learned something and am happy to get back to business.

Lately, I've been met with companies that willfully try to confuse or mislead customers. Over the course of subsequent posts I'll offer examples of this and hope for your comments.

Thanks for taking a look.
ian
www.spikebrand.com.