Petfood Industry reports news from Tyson Foods fourth quarter earnings report regarding its Freshpet line of refrigerated pet foods. Freshpet is currently in test rollout with national retailers and is reportedly finding high consumer acceptance; club stores are next in their distribution plans. The Freshpet website describes the product as lightly cooked and emphasizes that it remains refrigerated from production through sale and use. Freshpet foods combine the real food appeal of raw feeding while minimizing concerns about bacteria and the yuck factor some people experience when their pets devour raw meat. The earnings report also mentions Tyson participation in the refrigerated pet treats market, but gives few details.
I’m a bit confused on the evolution and marketing of Tyson’s refrigerated dog treats. Doing a Google search, I found a section on the Freshpet website which references the Loved Dog brand treats. The treats tie in to dog trainer Tamar Geller’s dog coaching brand of the same name and they are mentioned as being introduced by Geller rather than by Tyson on the site. There are no evident links from the Freshpet homepage to the Loved Dog treats. I found a blog post referring to the Loved Dog treats being available in the summer of 2008. The only links on the Freshpet homepage that lead to treats are for products branded as dognation treats, and a reference is made that this is a new name. If any readers have insight into what’s going on with the production and marketing of these Tyson-manufactured refrigerated treats, please leave a comment.
As I commented when I saw a dog grooming salon in Maryland with the “Fresh Pet” moniker, it gives the unfortunate impression that it is the pet that is the entree.
I saw the product in the store and didn’t find the ingredient list impressive.
Hello,
My name is Kathryn Winstanley, I work in Marketing for Freshpet. I recently came across your blog and thought who better to straighten up the confusion than the company itself!
Freshpet was founded in 2005, since then we have been creating new fresh foods for dogs including Slice & Serve rolls, Fresh Bites, Treats and recently our new Homestyle line. We launched a line of treats cobranded with Tamar Geller about two years ago. After a year or more, we mutually decided to end the relationship. Freshpet relaunched the treats in October under the name Dog Joy Treats and Tamar Geller has continued her work with training and philanthropy.
In March of 2009, Tyson foods purchased a minority share of Freshpet. Tyson does have plans to launch a pet treat, but that is completely seperate from Freshpet and will not be refrigerated.
I hope that clears a few things up. Please feel free to email directly if you have any more questions you would like to clear up for your readers.
Kathryn,
Thanks, that’s exactly the type of informed comment I was hoping would come along. I’ll look forward to seeing the new treat when it launches!