My Meet-up with Natura
Jen here. Rumpy’s agreed to let me take over.
So today I am flying home from Omaha, Nebraska, after going out to meet the folks at Natura Pet Company and to tour their plant.
from rescueleague.org
Natura was started in 1992 by John and Ann Rademakers and Peter Atkins. Their desire was to make healthy food for dogs and cats.
In 2010 the company was sold to Proctor and Gamble. The manufacturing process and the product ingredients were not changed, though improvements have been made to the plant.
Also, the Innova brand is introducing some new changes to their line of products. The potatoes and rice are out, and whole grains are in (they don’t use corn, wheat or soy). Sounds pretty good, huh? These new changes in ingredients will begin in July and should begin showing up in stores in August.
Now I’m sure what you REALLY want to know is why I was asked to do this. Well, duh! Isn’t it obvious? It’s because of you!
I was told they have access to data on blog readership, and you guys are in their target demographic. Which is cool, but I don’t think I’m a part of that demographic. The Natura folks are good people and they do have partnerships with animal rescue groups. But I didn’t hear alot of talk about supporting animal welfare issues while I was there. That disappointed me.
Anyway, later I’m going to tell you about the what I saw and learned while there.
But today my priority is to get home and get some rest- and pray June Buggie didn’t pee on my pillow.
May 24, 2012 at 5:23 AM
Good to see your priorities are in order. …on your PILLOW!!? Ugh!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
May 24, 2012 at 5:44 AM
Just kidding…. if he’s gonna pee on my bed, he’ll get right in the middle of it so there’s no way to escape it.
May 24, 2012 at 5:32 AM
Too bad they’re now owned by Proctor & Gamble…the king of animal testing…
May 24, 2012 at 5:42 AM
And we will talk more about that later.
May 24, 2012 at 6:51 AM
I’ll be very interested to hear what you have to say on the topic of testing. We try to avoid products tested on animals.
May 24, 2012 at 7:06 AM
It’s alot easier said that done….. especially for those of us who can’t always afford it
May 24, 2012 at 5:48 AM
Very interested to read more about your meet-up. I was invited, but (obviously) didn’t go. (Would’ve been lovely to meet you in person!)
May 24, 2012 at 5:53 AM
Really? I would have liked to have met you also.
May 28, 2012 at 9:45 AM
First they invited me to be a member of the advisory panel (I declined), then a couple weeks later they invited me to the meet up. (On a personal level, I was tempted because I have family in the Omaha area – lol) I have no interest in becoming any kind of spokesperson for one particular brand or label, plus – at least at present – I do not use their products. In addition, the kind of participation they were talking about was something I could no way commit to in terms of time. So… I didn’t get to meet you in Nebraska!
May 28, 2012 at 10:13 AM
Well if its any consolation, you wouldn’t have had time to visit with your family. They were intent on keeping us focused on them, almost to the point where I felt like I was in a foreign country with Minders.
May 24, 2012 at 6:00 AM
Moms a raw feeder and has a LOT to say about commercial dog food companies , and their effects on the familee pet. Lets just say none of us will ever have another bite of dog food again as long as we live. Even the “natural” stuff leaves a lot to be desired. It is scary what companies think is acceptable to feed us!
May 24, 2012 at 6:19 AM
I am going to talk about the process of making the food on a later post. As for raw, I wish I could afford that for my gang, but I just can’t. And they gotta eat.
May 24, 2012 at 6:01 AM
Sounds like an interesting trip Miss Jen! I hope June Buggie did NOT choose to leave you a sign of his displeasure at your leaving him home while you were on your trip????!!!
Kitty hugs, Sam
May 24, 2012 at 6:18 AM
It was interesting to say the least. But I don’t think I’ll be doing something like this again.
May 24, 2012 at 6:30 AM
Hi Jen!!!! Wow, you seem to have enjoyed to meet those folks at ‘Natura’ which sounds a good company! I’m very interested in hearing more story about them!
P.S. *whispers* Our Shiro did pee on my auntie’s pillow!!! heehee…
May 24, 2012 at 6:36 AM
ROFL- June Buggie will love to hear that!
May 24, 2012 at 7:22 AM
Jen, can’t wait to hear what they have to say!
May 24, 2012 at 8:26 AM
Great!
May 24, 2012 at 7:49 AM
And I thought having a disgusted cat poop in the bathtub was a problem…interested to hear about your observations. I too feed kibble.
May 24, 2012 at 8:25 AM
I would prefer the poop in the tub!
May 24, 2012 at 8:05 AM
I agree it’s difficult to avoid products tested on animals. It’s something that most companies are not exactly forthcoming about!
May 24, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Yeah, all we can do is the best our circumstances allow.
May 24, 2012 at 8:12 AM
Now that would be somewhere I wouldn’t want to find a sneaky pee!
May 24, 2012 at 8:28 AM
June Buggie likes his voice to be heard.
May 24, 2012 at 10:09 AM
We all eat California Natural grain free chicken kibble – that’s a Natura Product. Mom says we all do well on it and she is very happy with it.
We didn’t know it was made in NE, not that far from us:)
Woos – Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning
May 24, 2012 at 10:28 AM
Yep, and I saw where and how it’s made.
May 24, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Sounds like a very interesting trip. Can’t wait to hear more on it later. I hope you get some rest on a pee-free pillow!
May 24, 2012 at 1:40 PM
That’s pretty cool!
May 24, 2012 at 2:39 PM
I’m very curious!
May 24, 2012 at 3:24 PM
Sounds interesting! Its great you are investigating those dog food companies to see if the proof is in the pudding, or the kibble in this case
urban hounds
May 24, 2012 at 6:00 PM
Well they did ask!
May 24, 2012 at 5:24 PM
Interesting sounding trip. Must have been quite an eye opener. I shall be interested to hear what else you have to report on it. I know of quite a few dog owners who have simply by-passed the whole commercial dog food process and prepared their own feeds from scratch.Trouble is getting the nutrition right for each individual dog, and I have known a few dogs suffer malnutrition and health problems as a result of owners unwittingly missing out vital vitamins/minerals etc. With so many nutritional stages in a dog’s life and unique individual needs it is so difficult to be spot-on with home prep’d. It is very worrying though, the amount of chemicals etc are included in commercial feeds which most people rely on, and in good faith. And as you mentioned there’s the cost issue for home prep’d. Funny thing though…their wild cousins don’t seem to have an issue with such matters…just catch, kill and eat! Lesson there maybe?
May 24, 2012 at 6:00 PM
I think maybe wild game is more nutritionally balanced than store bought meat. Here in the US even raw meat has added salt and chemicals, plus the hormones fed to the animals and the pesticides sprayed on their food source is problematic. At least kibble is cooked and that kid some of the bad stuff.
May 24, 2012 at 6:22 PM
Will look up Natura Pet Products pronto! June Buggie was very nice to your pillow, I am sure! Not so sure about how she treated Rumpy and DearDeDe in your absence, however!
May 24, 2012 at 6:24 PM
Fortunately Rumpy and DeDe were boarding at the vet so they were safe!
May 24, 2012 at 7:04 PM
Lots of happy dog bounces and tail wags await…(and a few “OK, I’, here you may pet me and maybe I’ll forgive you and not cough up a hairball..”)
Hugs for all – and rest up. We’ll be back to visit
May 24, 2012 at 8:22 PM
I toured P&G Pet Care last year and heard a TON about animal welfare…. i wonder if they changed the presentation or something….
Great blog!
May 24, 2012 at 8:49 PM
That will be in another post… feel free to come back and check it out.
May 24, 2012 at 10:42 PM
June Buggie would do that, would she? We hope not. We will be interested to hear more about the FOOD.
May 24, 2012 at 10:53 PM
I guess June Buggie is worse than Scratchy. He doesn’t even get on the pillows.
May 24, 2012 at 11:01 PM
Yikes!! I hope June Buggie didn’t pee on your pillow, either!!
May 25, 2012 at 7:47 AM
We can’t wait to read what you have to say! Very interesting!
May 25, 2012 at 7:20 PM
the biggest disappointment for me is learning that they identified your readership/blog in the animal rescue data…yet failed to mention it hardly at all to you in your visit…hmmmm…is that big corporate America speaking??…just wondering
May 25, 2012 at 8:49 PM
And I’m thinking the same thing.
May 26, 2012 at 8:10 PM
Here’s hoping the focus remains on the animals, their welfare and well-being. Natura is certainly on the right track, and fingers crossed, right direction and pace.