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| PET GAZETTE | TRADE TALK
PETS CHOICE ACQUIRES COMPETITOR RUFUS FOODS
Pets Choice now has 10 brands under its portfolio
Pet food manufacturer, Pets Choice, has
made its first acquisition of 2019, expanding
its brand portfolio with the addition of rival
pet food brand Rufus Foods.
The sale, which completed on 25
February 2019, saw Pets Choice acquire
the Rufus Foods brand, boosting the
manufacturer’s brand portfolio to a total of
10, including well known brands Meatiful,
TastyBone and Webbox.
Rufus Foods has produced nutritious and
flavoursome meals for both dogs and cats
of all ages for over 30 years and the brand
offers a range of complete foods for both.
Tony Raeburn, Pets Choice CEO, said:
“We are excited to announce the recent
addition of Rufus Foods to our portfolio.
It compliments our existing brand
set perfectly, as it has a lot of heritage
and great loyalty amongst its customer
base.
“Moving forward, we will continue to
supply Rufus Foods to its existing customer
base, but, in line with our growth plans, we
are also looking to build on the brand and
the solid base that it already holds.”
Mitchell Todd, from Rufus Foods,
added: “With its industry leading position
and expertise, Pets Choice is the perfect
company to elevate the Rufus Foods brand
to the next level.”
PAWS.COM LAUNCHES DOG FOOD CHECKER TO
‘REVOLUTIONISE’ INDUSTRY
Customers will be able to compare different foods sold in UK supermarkets and their nutritional value with a traffic light grading system
New personalised pet food retailer and
champion of honest dog food, Paws.com,
has launched today with a dog food checker
that aims to “revolutionise” the £3bn UK pet
food industry.
The Dog Food Checker is designed to
“demystify” dog food ingredients, and make
it easy for dog owners to make the best
nutrition decisions for their pets at a glance.
The tool allows users to search for any
dry dog food sold in the UK and provides
a ‘traffic light’ rating for each nutritional
component of the food. It is the world’s first
traffic light grading system for dog food,
allowing users to compare different foods,
understand the nutritional values and trade-
offs between price and quality.
Alongside the checker, Paws has released
the UK Dog Food Transparency Report – its
extensive research of UK dog food labels. The
results suggested that dog food brands relied
on “misleading” labelling to avoid revealing
the exact ingredients in products, with 95% of
dog food owned by big brands containing at
least one undisclosed ingredient.
Paws.com’s research showed that 42% of
dogs owners felt misled after finding out that
food labelled as ‘with chicken’ could contain
as little as 4% chicken. As such, 89% of dog
owners saying it’s important that dog food
labels list exact ingredients. Currently, 47%
said they found it hard to understand a dog
food label and 39% couldn’t tell if a food will
be good for their dog or not.
Neil Hutchinson, founder and CEO of
Paws.com, said: “We want to radically
transform the way pet parents think about
the dog food they buy.”
TAILS.COM APPOINTS CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
RCVS Council candidates and new VN Council member announced
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
(RCVS) has announced the candidates
standing in the 2019 RCVS Council elections
and confirming the two members of the
Veterinary Nurses (VN) Council who were
nominated this year
There are nine candidates standing in
this year’s election, including five existing
council members eligible for re-election
and four candidates not currently on the
council.
This year there will be no election for the
VN Council as only two candidates – current
VN Council vice chairwoman Liz Cox and
newcomer Jane Davidson stood for the two
available places for elected members. Both
www.petgazette.biz
Davidson and Cox will start their three-year
terms on the VN Council at Royal College
Day on Friday 12 July 2019.
Rachel Marshall, chair of the VN Council,
said: “I would welcome our new VN Council
member Jane Davidson, I also wish to
congratulate Liz who I am sure will continue
to be a great asset to VN Council for a
further three years.”
Ballot papers and candidates’ details
for the RCVS Council election are due to
be posted and emailed to all veterinary
surgeons eligible to vote during the week
commencing 25 March, and all votes must
be cast, either online or by post, by 5pm on
Friday 26 April 2019.
March 2019