Why don't quality foods advertise?

ORIGINAL: sooner

ORIGINAL: Firestorm

The majority of dog owners I know can't afford the foods at the prices they are now so they buy the best mainstream brand or one of the better brands at Petsmart or similar store.

Well that argument doesn't really hold weight when you really look at the 'best' mainstream brands compared to some of the others:



I used petfooddirect.com prices for examples since they have everything and their prices seem comparable with the prices in my region, don't know about everywhere else.

I looked up on shop.com where Canidae and Purina Dog Chow were virtually the same price for a large bag of the same weight.

ORIGINAL: paulaedwina

I guess it really depends on where you are. I have no problem finding super premium foods at stores in PA or MD. For example, PetValu carries many of the super premiums like Solid Gold and Natural Balance. And near to where  I work Central Dawgma carries ALL the super premiums, and even Nature's Variety Raw.   BTW at Central Dawgma I can get 33lbs of Innova for $40.00 and 28 pounds of Evo for $39.00. I don't know how that compares to other parts of the country - Maryland is not a cheap place to live.

Paula

 
That's cheap for Evo. I pay $45 for the 28lb bag and I live right outside of Chicago.
 

ORIGINAL: sooner
 
Well that argument doesn't really hold weight when you really look at the 'best' mainstream brands compared to some of the others:



I used petfooddirect.com prices for examples since they have everything and their prices seem comparable with the prices in my region, don't know about everywhere else.

 
I've seen similar comparisons. This is a good one. Another thing too is that I've found that with higher quality feed, you don't have to feed as much so a bag will last longer. 

ORIGINAL: dyan
 
I'll have to check out the price of Canidea where I live now,,, it was very expensive to purchase when we were feeding it to Oliver.

 
I pay $34 for a 40lb bag of Canidae. That's what I feed Shiloh and it lasts well over a month.  []

I pay $34 for a 40lb bag of Canidae. That's what I feed Shiloh and it lasts well over a month.  []

Wow, thats less than what I pay for my Eagle Pack. I have to check out Canidea. When I was buying it for Ollie though, I couldnt' get it anywhere but a little shop a few miles away,,, it specialized in Natural dog food,,,and frozen raw.  She was over charging for her supplements by a whole lot too!

it's very troubling & frusting, when you go to a pet store looking over your shoulder seeing people are buy huge bags of the crappy dog food ever.

I feel like grabbing them & smack them silly LOL BUT ... With some knowlegde & educating those who don't know anything about dog food, ones who has close minds are waste of time. It's better to convince one then none at all....

I have a dream that PetMart changes everything, dumping all of the big brand companies in fire of flame. Stocking the shelves with EP, Innova, CN, NB, TWO, Raw/Barf and more.... Healthy nurtritious food, & holistic medinice all over PetsMart.

Banning Big Companies all over US;
Pedigree
Science Diet
Purina
Kibbles n Bites
Bi Jac
Iams

ORIGINAL: ms_paws

it's very troubling & frusting, when you go to a pet store looking over your shoulder seeing people are buy huge bags of the crappy dog food ever.

 
We have  a huge store here called Pet Goods, and it carries a LOT of brands - Natura, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, Nature's Variety, Nutro and of course Science Diet, Euk, Iams, Purina etc...all of those choices yet every time I'm in that store I see someone wheeling a shopping cart filled with cases of Mighty Dog cans or big bags of Fit 'N Trim up to the register.  So frustrating!
 

Banning Big Companies all over US;
Pedigree
Science Diet
Purina
Kibbles n Bites
Bi Jac

 
I'm not of fan of any of these foods except I think Bil Jac is an ok food, I haven't tried it but I've heard of people having good success with it and ingredients aren't so bad.

I'm glad you posted that chart, Kelly, I was going to say the same thing. Americans spend a LOT of money on dogs and a lot of companies are cashing in big time... I don't think Target would have Mizrahi dog fashion if people were not willing to spend extra bucks on their pets. People don't spend extra money on Eukanuba gravy and all that gross stuff because they don't care what their pets eat. The problem is simply lack of education, and misinformation through heavy advertising by the big boys. Why don't smaller companies advertise more... I don't know, maybe we should write and ask. [] Advertising is expensive but most companies do have an advertising budget no matter what they're selling... unless word of mouth provides sufficient profit, which may be the case here.

Innova doesn't advertise because the guy who started the company doesn't believe in advertising... he doesn't really believe in marketing in general, but the company has now started marketing to vets... so we'll see how things continue to change in the future.

As for the rest of the companies... I guess its because if they advertised, they might not be able to keep up with demand, and quality control would go down. There's a lot more to producing and distributing food than just baking and shipping.

I started this topic. Interesting to read the posts. I know there are people that just want cheap food and think it doesn't matter what they feed, but I really think there are MANY people that care and spoil doggies with everything they need. Doggie boutiques, online shops etc. I buy SO many things for Trudy. I know there are people who just need to be informed and will then get good food. Many people just give the vet's choice of food.

It's money, pure and simple.  The better foods cost the company more to make because the ingredients are more expensive to buy.  Advertising costs a company like Purina millions of dollars, which they can afford because 1) they are using cheaper ingredients, 2) manufacturing and overhead costs are less per unit because of the volume produced and 3) have a much larger market share and thus make a tremendously larger rofit to begin with. If the better quality foods started advertising like that, their products would become unaffordable to the consumer, and considering many consumers view them as too expensive to begin with, that would really hurt both the consumer and the company.
 
I think it's a great idea that Natura is marketing their products to vets.  The average vet really could use some education as to the different options that are out there.  I'm so tired of listening to vets tell me they've never heard of the brands of food I'm feeding, when one of the foods I feed is right there out in the open at Petco and the others are availabe in about 10 different stores within a 15 square mile radius of where I live. [&o] 

Well, this question has me curious. When I get a moment I may actually write to some companies and ask them. As a small business owner I can tell you that it's just standard practice for a business allot a percentage of their budget to advertising... so Company X may not be able to afford a TV commercial airing during CSI but they can avoid a half-page ad in Dog Fancy - or whatever. "Not believing in" advertising seems silly to me. Advertising in and of itself is not evil. I would like to hear that reasoning from the horse's mouth!

When I was buying Canidae it was $29.99 for a 40 pound bag, and I bought it in Sacramento. It was cheaper then Nutro

ORIGINAL: sooner

I forgot some:

Science Diet - $42.99 - 35 - $1.23
Eukanuba - $43.79 - 40 - $1.09
Iams - $38.49 - 40 - $.96

I looked up on shop.com where Canidae and Purina Dog Chow were virtually the same price for a large bag of the same weight.

 
I didn't check the dog chow, but i did check purina One Senior and if folks are buying it there, they are getting ripped off.  I said i paid $15.95 for a 20 pound bag, but found my recepit in my purse and it was $15.75 for a 20 pound bag.  The same thing at that site was an 8 pound bag priced at $12.99 and a 37 pound bag priced at $36.49.  I only paid  $2.76 more for a 20 bag than i would have an 8 pound bag there.  it is the same food. 

ORIGINAL: jones

Well, this question has me curious. When I get a moment I may actually write to some companies and ask them. As a small business owner I can tell you that it's just standard practice for a business allot a percentage of their budget to advertising... so Company X may not be able to afford a TV commercial airing during CSI but they can avoid a half-page ad in Dog Fancy - or whatever. "Not believing in" advertising seems silly to me. Advertising in and of itself is not evil. I would like to hear that reasoning from the horse's mouth!

We were told that by the Natura Representative that came and spoke to us at the vet school prior to starting the free food program... I kindof got the idea that the guy who started the company is getting old and his board of advisors is taking over and doing things their way... but that was never said, I just assumed that from what I was getting from the speaker.

You SHOULD write the companies, find out what their policies are... you can learn a lot about a company that way.

You SHOULD write the companies, find out what their policies are... you can learn a lot about a company that way.

I found it interesting that they are the only company that I have contacted, that would not send me a free sample, when I asked them for one, they sent me a $3.00 coupon and said to really appreciate the quality of there food I need to buy a large bag because a free sample just does not do there food justice. ON the other hand Evanger's sent me 15lbs.