# Paying more for a name



## suebisaga (Sep 23, 2012)

If two foods had about the same ingredients and both look good for what they were would you pay extra for a name or company name?
Diamond has a lot of affordable foods but diamonds has had recalls and other issues. Fromm is a good quality food and so far has a good reputation and no recalls but is about $15 a bag more.
Now If I feed a bag or even two a month no real problem but I feed a bag a week (7 days). So that adds up to a lot. 3 bags Fromm is almost 5 bags diamond brand.
Trying to stay generic in product names. But a lot of say 4 or 5 star food seem to have very close ingredient list but the cost can range widely.
And then there bag size 30 pounds, 33 lbs, 35 lbs , and rarely 40 or 44 lbs.
So do you pay for the name?


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## shellbeme (Dec 8, 2010)

Yes. I will pay more for a name I trust. I feed the Fromm four star, to me there is a pretty big difference in ingredients between that an the diamond foods I've seen, but even if I had to choose fromm gold vs anything produced by diamond, I'd totally pay more just for the name.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I could never in good faith recommend any product with hefty recall history. 
I feed my dogs the way I do because I'm terrified of recalls (and other reasons) so if I were to feed kibble, I'd absolutely pay more to get foods from certain manufacturers, and avoid those less reliable. 
It's more paying for security than a name, really.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

Paying more for a name is generally just marketing. Earthborn is a very good example. Pro Pac is the best food in terms of nutrition and value made by Midwestern Pet. Pro Pac has more meat protein than all but one Earthborn and is half the price. Nutrisource and Precise are other examples where the standard formulas are much better than the "high end" formulas. 

So its best not to get caught up in the marketing. How in the world can they call Earthborn "Holisitic" when factory made Pea Protein isolate is such a major ingredient?


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## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

Sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think no. I don't think Diamond and Fromm are good examples are "similar" foods. I'd compare like TOTW and Acana/Orijen. If I was on a budget and was really trying to cut back at the time, TOTW would probably be my choice. I know people dislike recalls and I do too, but if you're on a budget you're on a budget. You can't magically get more money. There is also something to consider that there is always usually going to be a pretty big price difference between grain inclusive and grain free. 

Like CorgiPaws said, you're paying for security. You just have to decide if that's one of your major concerns before purchasing a food.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

domika said:


> Sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think no. I don't think Diamond and Fromm are good examples are "similar" foods. I'd compare like TOTW and Acana/Orijen. If I was on a budget and was really trying to cut back at the time, TOTW would probably be my choice. I know people dislike recalls and I do too, but if you're on a budget you're on a budget. You can't magically get more money. There is also something to consider that there is always usually going to be a pretty big price difference between grain inclusive and grain free.
> 
> Like CorgiPaws said, you're paying for security. You just have to decide if that's one of your major concerns before purchasing a food.


Where is the security in paying for Champion's Products? That company has had quite a few recalls and quality lapses that were not recalled. I think people just like to think it has a good record. By the way, there was a fire at Champion and just one production line is running. So, what is the impact on the quality coming from that plant now?


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## suebisaga (Sep 23, 2012)

Thanks for your replies.
I am in all reality trying to justify spending what I spend on the dogs food.
TOTW is a diamond product so how is it ok? when other diamond brands aren't. And I believe Fromm Gold Adult compares to Canidae as far as ingredients, and Fromm classic compares to Diamond Natural lines (which is repackage for TSC as 4-health and Costco as Kirkland). Grain free would be TOTW pacific and diamonds repackaged 4-health salmon and sweet potato or Natures domain salmon and sweet potato. I would be paying at least $50 more a month for the Fromm name.
Still looking into other food lines (all are starting to look the same to me just different prices) and quality and right now I am feeding Fromm adult gold but unless I can find better work soon I not sure how long I can justify the cost. Again I feed about 10-11 cups a day and about 3-3 and 1/2 bags a month.

Thanks


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

First, where do you live? Second, you should be buying half skids of food directly from companies or through feed stores, not buying retail.

You can even partner up and buy whole skids even cheaper.


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## suebisaga (Sep 23, 2012)

Michigan. Got no where to store large amounts of food safely . No one to partner with. And oh yeah have to pick a food to stick with first.
I can some times get Fromm adult gold for $42 for 33 lb. bags. But it most often cost $48 for 33 lbs. Precise or Nutrisource cost about the same.
I can store 4-5 big bags at once.


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## steinle (Sep 18, 2012)

Let me start off by saying that yes I absolutely pay more for a name because that name has earned their reputation for a reason. A company with a history of recalls should throw up more than one red flag. One of the less mentioned ones is quality of ingredients. Do you really think a company with recalls left and right churning out 30lb bags of food with loads of "meat" for $20 is using the good stuff? I highly doubt it. It's the same reason that I pay more at the farmers market for my veggies rather than running to wal Mart for them. Ingredient lists tell us nothing about the actual quality of the ingredients. Ash levels do, and generally very good foods like Fromm will have relatively low levels. Another way is how well dogs do it, and dogs do exceptionally well on foods like Fromm and Acana, usually evidenced through their coats and other physical traits. Protein digestibility is very important, and higher quality meats are more digestible. Hope this helps and sorry If I sounded condescending I didn't mean to! :tongue:


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

It's not necessarily that I'm paying for a "name". I'm paying for trust, quality control, and company. It's why I like Fromm so much. I've never read or heard anything bad about them, no recalls, small family owned, great customer service, quality controls, etc.

Sure, an ingredient list may look nice and fancy, but what's the quality of those ingredients going into that particular food? Even if Ol' Roy came out with an identical list to Fromm, I'd still never feed it... no matter how great the price or how good the ingredient list may look. I also think there's a lot of foods that LOOK really good (often on the 5 stars on the review sites) that I'd never feed due to the company they're coming from.

I think paying extra is worth my peace of mind.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

suebisaga said:


> Michigan. Got no where to store large amounts of food safely . No one to partner with. And oh yeah have to pick a food to stick with first.
> I can some times get Fromm adult gold for $42 for 33 lb. bags. But it most often cost $48 for 33 lbs. Precise or Nutrisource cost about the same.
> I can store 4-5 big bags at once.


Precise Foundation is $42.99 for 44lbs nationwide.
Pro Pac Adult Chunk is $30 for 44lbs nationwide
Canidae about the same price as Precise
Dr. Tim's Kinesis or Pursuit (top food) $45 for 44lbs on a direct half skid purchase, figure 23 bags. He is in Michigan, as are many pro-trainers that sell it.
Eagle Pack Original is $48 for 50lbs.

Those come to mind.


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## steinle (Sep 18, 2012)

Another thing I forgot to mention is that foods can have the same first 5 ingredients with vastly different amounts of each. Making them nutrutionally very different


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## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

suebisaga said:


> Thanks for your replies.
> I am in all reality trying to justify spending what I spend on the dogs food.
> TOTW is a diamond product so how is it ok? when other diamond brands aren't.


I know totw is a diamond product, there are a lot out there so I just picked a specific one to compare. Not saying its "ok"

I was just stating an opinion please don't take it for fact or pushiness.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I do. Once in a while I go for the better price but ultimately I go back to what works best. Fromm wins, hands down. I'm not sure what I would feed if I had to cut costs. It's a compromise between budget and the dogs' good health really.


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## losul (Oct 13, 2012)

tried to edit, but accidentally deleted my post instead.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

you have to do some research and figure out what food is better. you can
always add fresh food to whatever you feed.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Brit said it all. Peace of mind.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

After feeding a kibble that was (eventually) recalled during the 2007 debacle where thousands of dogs and cats died, you can be absolutely sure that YES, I will, and I do pay more for a kibble because of the brand and/or manufacturer. There is nothing worse that reading about dogs dying, then checking your bag of kibble and finding it is in the recalled list. The other thing is that they take so long to recall dog food, usually it's not until they are forced to and by that time, a lot of damage can already be done.


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

For those on a budget, which I am, I buy the kibble that best suits my dog and budget. I tried Earthborn, but the excessive peas/pea products in all but one of their formulas caused my boxer loose poos. I've gone back to TOTW (currently transitioning to the Wetlands formula). While Diamond has had recalls, the biggest danger is to humans, not the dogs, with the samonella issue. Dog's digestive tracts are too short to have time to develop samonella in most cases. I'm careful to wash my hands after handling it, and I've had no issues. If I was on even more of a strict budget, I'd try the 4Health brand, sold at Tractor Supply, produced by Diamond, as well. If their Salmon and Potato was truly grain free, which it isn't, I'd try it now.


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## mheath0429 (Sep 8, 2012)

I wouldn't feed Canidae - its also a diamond manufactured brand.

Where abouts are you in Michigan? Metro Detroit?


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

The Canidae GF are made by Diamond. The other kibbles are made by American Nutrition and a small amount by themselves.


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## suebisaga (Sep 23, 2012)

Not in Detroit but near Ann Arbor. I had been feeding the all life stages. Is the above true it isn't made in a diamond plant?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

^ Canidae just made their own plant, but I'm sure on the details on which foods are made where, etc.


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