# Need brand suggestions



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I dont know how many of you have seen the other thread about my managing job that I got at a pet boutique, but I'm very excited about it and look forward to implementing some changes. One of the things I want to do is to bring in couple "budget" foods. Right now the cheapest food we sell is Fromm Gold which is $50 for a large bag. I've been trying to find some inexpensive grain free additions from the list of distributors and I'm a bit disappointed with a selection. I though hi-tek naturals would be a good option, but they really jacked up their prices and now it'll be around the same price as Totw ($53 for a large bag), the fish formula will be $60. 

Here are some options that I have:

- fromm classic
-canidae
-hi tek naturals
-healthwise
- nutri-source

I'm also considering Victor, but I'm afraid it wont sell well because the packaging is too plain looking, unfortunately thats what many customers base their decision on. 

I would appreciate any feedback on these brands if you're tried it for your dog (or cat) and how they did on it , especially in terms of digestion/elimination/gas. 

thanks!


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## steinle (Sep 18, 2012)

Well just to start I own a small business that sells dog food, emphasis on small. Fromm Classic is an excellent value option but not grain free. You listed Nutrisource, I'm really only impressed with the Chicken and Lamb varieties, the Salmon and Bison ones seemed to be chalked full of pea ingredients. The Chicken and Lamb have peas but don't seem to have as much. One that you didn't list was Earthborn, and I think if you're selling TOTW for $53 a bag, you could sell Earthborn for the same or cheaper (obviously I don't know your profit margins so I can't say for sure). And if asked between Midwestern Pet Foods vs Diamond, it's just no contest Midwestern wins hands down. As far as grain free, those are the two that really stand out to me. Now that being said, 90% of my sales come from grain-inclusive foods. I took a different approach, since there are already high-end pet boutiques in my town who cater to the grain-free crowd, I target the grocery store folks and convert them over to quality value foods like Fromm Classic, Fromm Gold and Canidae ALS. I recently read and article that 9/10 dog owners buy grain-inclusive foods, so I figured I'd try to tap into that market as much as possible. So even though you didn't ask I'll tell you anyways, if you're not carrying Fromm Classic I really would, it's a fantastic value and a great option for the people who come into your store but are used to paying $30 for a 40lb bag of Beneful, doesn't have the quite the same sticker shock as an $80 bag of Orijen. Sorry about my little tangent there, but to your original question, I'd say Nutrisource and Earthborn are good ones to look at. Dr. Tim's has a GF but there's no distributors for his food near me so I'd have to order it by the pallet.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I think Steine has some good advice.

We seem to be a mecca of pet food stores here in Portland - both smaller independent as well as all the chains. There are dozens and dozens and I've been to many if not most. Since your customers already have familiarity with Fromm, I would suggest carrying the Fromm Classic also even though it's grain-inclusive. It is such a reputable company with no recalls and dogs seem to do well on the product.

I've fed the Earthborn Meadow Feast (lamb) which none of my dogs did well on (poor coat and skin); and also the Earthborn Coastal Catch which they did fairly well on. The formulas are a good price point and the company has a good track record. It sells well around here. I personally stopped feeding it because the formulas all have high ash levels except for the Coastal Catch. Plus, some of them rely on pea protein too much for my liking. However, probably much of the public doesn't know and doesn't care. I think a better choice is the NutriSource grain-free which once again has had no recalls. My dogs ate it for awhile but one of them didn't handle the higher fiber (5%?) so well and I like to keep them both on the same food - still think it's a good option though.

Healthwise is a nice simple solid formula (no grain-frees) but it is part of the current Natura recall so I don't know how that might affect things. I have no familiarity with Hi-tek.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

$50 for a 33lb of Fromm Gold? It is $39.99 here!!!!

Hi-Tek doesn't sell well outside the deep south. It was here for a while but ended up in clearance in many stores. I will tell you some other stuff but only off-line.

I would still give Victor a whirl that is a darn good food and good choices of formulas. It might surprise you. Yes the packaging is plain but they all have bold colors. 

Verus is a great simple line of foods for the average dog and the company has a really cool line of canned foods. The price point is very good for a food of that quality. That is an Ohio Pet made food.

I would carry Annamaet, all the GF foods plus Encore, Option & Adult. Encore is a better food than Fromm Gold and comes in 40lb bags for people with bigger dogs. When stores pick up the Annamaet line they do very well and Robert Downey will probably visit your store and do a lecture on nutrition. Annamaet has the best fish and red meat GF around and those would sell very well. Not all value picks, but Encore, Option and Adult are very good values.

Nutrisource has terrible repeat buying I am told. 

Precise standard foods would be better than Nutrisource and some come in 44lb bags at less than $1lb.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Well, I talked to the owner and we think bringing Canidae back is a good decision, we have a lot of people ask for it. It's going to cost about $43-45 for chicken and ALS and $50 for the lamb (markup is 40%). I like Fromm Classic, but they only have 2 formulas which isnt as varied as the Gold line. 

I'll have to check precise (I didnt like their grain free line, too many peas) and we'll most likely bring in Earthborn as an alternative to Totw. We've also had customers complain about orijen/acana rising prices, so I wish I could find slightly cheaper alternative to it that's very similar in composition. I wasnt able to track down horizon legacy unfortunately, but we did just get in Petcurean grain free which is $55 for a 25 lb bag. I'll see if I can find Annamaet, but last time I checked, it was as expensive as orijen. 

Thanks everyone for suggestions.


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## steinle (Sep 18, 2012)

Champion is getting unreal with price increases, I have one customer left who orders it so I'm just going to cut it off, not worth it. Where did you check pricing on annamaet? Can't say for sure but I've heard online it's way over priced so if you reach out to the company to get dealer pricing. I know fromm classic is a bit plain and not any variety, but I that's honestly what I like about it, it keeps cost down and is a classic, simple recipe.


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

My suggestion is Earthborn...there's a lot of people on another forum I'm on that feed it. Seems pretty popular and the prices are pretty low.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

the package may seem plain to you but that doesn't mean it won't sell and the customers may not see it that
way. i think what sells food is what's listed on the label.



Unosmom said:


> I dont know how many of you have seen the other thread about my managing job that I got at a pet boutique, but I'm very excited about it and look forward to implementing some changes. One of the things I want to do is to bring in couple "budget" foods. Right now the cheapest food we sell is Fromm Gold which is $50 for a large bag. I've been trying to find some inexpensive grain free additions from the list of distributors and I'm a bit disappointed with a selection. I though hi-tek naturals would be a good option, but they really jacked up their prices and now it'll be around the same price as Totw ($53 for a large bag), the fish formula will be $60.
> 
> Here are some options that I have:
> 
> ...


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## riddick4811 (Nov 2, 2011)

I would buy Victor over the other foods mentioned. I was considering trying Hi Tek, but my issue is the same with it as Victor. The only stores that sell it are out of my way and open during the hours I work and closed on Sunday which is my day off! I would feed Victor more consistently if it were sold closer to me and not have to drive 30-40 minutes depending on traffic in a rush to get there before they closed. 

If I had the money and resources I would love to open a pet store in my town as we don't have a single one and I think it would do really well. A bread store just closed down and it would be perfect to do a dog grooming/supply store! 

Finally getting a Petsmart closer. It will be 9 miles away and it will open in May.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I would bring in Earthborn. I suggested my friends store bring it in during the Diamond fiasco a few months ago, and it has become one of their most popular sellers. 

Now is also catching on up here. 

What about Nature's Variety Instinct? For those that don't want to pay the Orijen prices? They also have the raw boost kibble, which I've heard a few good reviews on. We sell very limited Instinct and Prairie though. 

What about Nutrisca? I have been hearing even more good reviews on it, another customer raved about it yesterday, and it's pretty affordable (compared to Orijen). 


The prices for Orijen/Acana are pretty crazy. A girl in her 20's came in a few weeks ago and she and her boyfriend bought 3 big bags of Orijen/Acana (I think it was 2 Orijen formulas and 1 Acana...) and it came to $237. The boyfriend's jaw dropped as he handed over his credit card lol.

Also agree with Precise. I had a customer come in yesterday and we are probably gonna be ordering their Sensicare formula for her. Very budget friendly, and a good company/food from what I know. I would skip their Grain Free line, but I think their grain inclusive's are a good budget friendly option.


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

meggels said:


> What about Nature's Variety Instinct? For those that don't want to pay the Orijen prices? They also have the raw boost kibble, which I've heard a few good reviews on. We sell very limited Instinct and Prairie though.
> 
> .


I would probably stay away from NV. I did actually feed it to my dog for a while, until I got a bag that my dog wouldn't touch. I ended up smelling it and it smelled bad. I'm pretty sure it was spoiled. 

My pet food store now no longer carries any of the NV kibble or canned food and I'm pretty sure they were going to pull all their NV raw as well (not sure if they did because I don't feed raw so I don't pay much attention to their raw cases) because of all the issues they've had with the company. 

Just a thought.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Wow really? I know there have been some issues, I just figured it might be a good Orijen sub bc I do hear a lot of positive feedback from the people that do feed it. I don't actually use it myself, and our store actually doesn't sell a lot lol.

Our biggest sellers are Natural Balance, Taste of the Wild, Earthborn, Now, Orijen/Acana have gained some popularity, and oddly the original Blue Buffalo grain inclusive formulas. Not sure what brought on this surge in Blue customers lol.

Pinnacle's grain free line might be another one to consider too.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

> What about Nature's Variety Instinct? For those that don't want to pay the Orijen prices? They also have the raw boost kibble, which I've heard a few good reviews on. We sell very limited Instinct and Prairie though.
> 
> What about Nutrisca? I have been hearing even more good reviews on it, another customer raved about it yesterday, and it's pretty affordable (compared to Orijen).


I'll most likely bring in Earthborn because its not very expensive and people will buy it based on attractive packaging. 

The store used to sell Instinct, but it was pretty expensive and few people bought it. We do stock their LID formulas for couple regular customers. 

I'm debating whether to bring in Nutrisca, it would be nice to a have a low glycemic, grain free food, but with a markup the lamb and fish formulas will be pretty pricy. I'll have to check the cost of Pinnacle. 

Meg- do you know when NB is coming out with their new weight loss formula?


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