An inside source told TruthaboutPetFood.com that reportedly sales of Beneful Dog Food have dropped dramatically since the announcement of the Beneful law suit. What do readers think…can consumers make a significant difference in pet food sales through social media?
Note: The information provided to TruthaboutPetFood.com is from a trusted source; however it could not be completely verified. The conversation was brief and to the point – no other details were provided.
A friend of TruthaboutPetFood.com told us that Purina Pet Food is “restructuring” due to dropping sales with Beneful Dog Food. It was shared that talk of sick and dying pets believed to be linked to Beneful dog food in social media has been “devastating” to the company. I was informed Beneful sales dropped to “$600 million” – down from over “$1 billion”.
How much pet food does Beneful sell? The website Statista.com provides the following market share information for dry dog foods sold in the US in 2015…
Find more statistics at Statista
Beneful is listed twice – totaling 8.9% of the dry dog food sold in the US in 2015. Total market share for all Purina dry dog foods was 27.5% in the US in 2015.
Most of the information provided on Statista.com is for subscribers, but the following was found for total market share information for Purina in 2011. The website stated in 2011 Purina held a 48.2% market share of all pet food sold in the US in 2011.
It is a bit challenging to compare total market share (dry and wet pet foods) with only dry dog food – but that is all that could be found. So…in 2011 Purina held 48.2% of the totals sales of pet food
[one_half]2011 Market Share US (dry and wet pet food)
48.2%[/one_half][one_half_last]2015 Dry Pet Food Market Share US
27.5%[/one_half_last]
Though this is only an assumption based on limited information, it does appear the information provided to TruthaboutPetFood.com is accurate.
So, my questions to readers are…
Can consumers make a significant difference in pet food through social media?
If the information provided to us is accurate, did consumer to consumer warnings of sick pets in social media cause a drop in sales for Purina/Beneful?
I recently received this comment from a pet food consumer: “I’ve shed more than one tear thinking about how I’ve been poisoning my beloved with every meal.” Many of us have shed those tears. I have.
My opinion: I believe we (consumers) ARE making a difference. Words that few of us knew or understood (myself included) ten years ago have become common language to a growing number of pet food consumers (feed grade, human grade, carrageenan, GMO, glyphosate, FDA Compliance Policies, and on and on). We are learning and we are sharing what we learn with others that love their pets as we do. I believe we are changing the future of pet food. Go us!
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
Association for Truth in Pet Food
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Nina Wolf
February 2, 2016 at 12:51 pm
Go us indeed – Susan, we couldn’t have done it without you. And, yes, absolutely, I DO think social media has helped get the word out about these dangers. Those words you listed – nobody but the formulators for the food companies used to know those words. Now, lots of us not only recognise the words, but the dangers associated. We are starting to know what to ask, and that we need to call manufacturers and ask, ask, ask.
Most of us probably think the revolution is coming about too slowly. But progress builds and builds, and then there is a big huge breakthrough. When we look back in another 10 years, what will be different?
Paula
February 2, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Absolutely consumers can make a significant difference in pet food sales through social media. Since the huge death rate back in 2007 from the contaminated dog food, consumers have become more educated in regard to what they are feeding their pets. I know that I have assisted in the education of my friends in regard to what they have been feeding their dogs and cats. I don’t tell them what to feed, just to read the ingredients label and decide for themselves. What dogs need Corn? And all the artificial colors and additives? I had a friend who fed Beneful, until I had her read the ingredients. She switched to a much better brand, and that was long before the lawsuit.
It is also due in large to your website here, that I always stay up to date on what is going on in the pet food industry. Keep up the great work that you are doing and the changes that you are trying to make.
Laurie Raymond
February 2, 2016 at 2:25 pm
Absolutely, consumers pay attention to social media commentary! I would never sell Beneful or any other Purina product in my store, and my customers are (I hope) too educated to buy any grocery store brands. But I used to carry Merrick’s canned foods, and dumped them when Purina bought the company. I didn’t even have to explain why I stopped carrying the Merricks. Customers began asking if I was going to do that as soon as the sale of the company was announced. BTW, one customer whose dog is hooked on one of the Merrick flavors I used to carry bought some from a local Tractor Supply and said the food was unrecognizable — that quickly!
Mollie Morrissette
February 2, 2016 at 2:27 pm
Heck yeah, we make a difference.
Susan, if it weren’t for your reporting all those years ago – I would have never been prompted to look deeper into the food I was feeding my cats. I didn’t have a clue.
Then, when I did – there was no turning back.
Back then, there was only a couple of websites covering the topic in depth (the other one is no longer up). And I thought, this is nuts. Why don’t I add my voice to the fray?
Thanks for being an inspiration.
Now we have a chorus of pet food advocates – who wield incredible power and influence over consumers (and consequently the PFI). And that small chorus is heard by social media and the voices grow and become louder and stronger as consumers join the chorus.
Thanks for doing all that you do. Thanks for being our teacher.
Gitta
February 2, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Social media is probably the most powerful tool consumers have. Look at how many companies ignore customer complaints – until these ignored customers turn to social media. All of a sudden their complaints are resolved rather quickly. Many companies now watch these sites very carefully in order to respond quickly.
Thanks to smart phones we are no longer tethered to our desks to be active on social media.
Big corporations and their lobbyists have a lot of power, get to actually write laws and block laws they don’t like. But they cannot dictate what consumers buy and what and where they share their experiences. They can ignore science, they can pretend to ignore bloggers. Hard to ignore a drain of profits. Harder still to ignore angry shareholders.
laura
February 2, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Good point!! Declining profits only language unconscionable Greedy Big Corp reacts to.
Heartbreaking how many pets suffer from horrible & dangerous pet food. This is such a complicated
corrupt industry the only way to fight back is educate as many pet owners as possible through social media etc. Vets, need to take more responsibility for educating owners & themselves on safer & better nutrition. (My personal experience with most vets, regarding nutrition, has been dangerously ignorant…
peddling Science Diet & dry kibble for felines!!!)
Profound Gratitude to Susan Thixton our EXTRAORDINARY advocate! We shall continue to do battle.
(How do we get someone like Michael Moore on board to do a mass exposure of Pet Food Corruption!)
T Allen
February 3, 2016 at 9:09 am
“(How do we get someone like Michael Moore on board to do a mass exposure of Pet Food Corruption!)” Awesome idea! If we can get people to contact him about it I’m sure we can get him thinking…!
Judi
February 2, 2016 at 10:53 pm
I know a friend of mine sent an advertisement for Beneful and I made a few comments on FB about how bad it was. Someone from Purina jumped in and denied any wrongdoing. I then stated that feeding Beneful to her little dog would be his death sentence and shortly thereafter, their whole advertisement and our conversation was gone from my page. I have tried to find it but apparently I’m blocked from their website. Fine with me. It’s amazing how many things are altered by social media these days – we can only hope that this will continue to grow and as more people become aware, the pressure on big dog/cat food producers and FDA will finally get some justice for those of us who lost our best friends to their greed.
Pacific Sun
February 3, 2016 at 3:20 am
How can the same company (Purina) market both Beneful and Beyond: Simply 9 (https://www.beyondpetfood.com/compare/dry-dog-food)?
Do you think they sell a cheap product with the highest profit margin in order to subsidize a higher quality product that (if the marketing is true) would cost them more to manufacture?
Peter
February 5, 2016 at 8:04 am
Purina realizes that grain free foods are not a fad. They need a foothold for that growing market segment. There are many consumers (perhaps most) who will not buy better foods, ever, for a variety of reasons. Beneful and the myriad of terrible “grocery store” brands will always thrive. Just as there are consumer products (example: laundry detergents and household cleaners) that are owned and made in the same factories (and are identical to) as high priced ones… because research indicates that a percentage of consumers simply will not pay more than a certain amount for a product class. The problem for Nestle Purina is that the growing number of informed consumers will never buy their lousy pet foods. But now… perhaps they might consider otherwise? It is odd though, to see the Purina Beyond commercial which seems to denigrate the primary ingredients in their main product, Beneful.
Anthony Hepton
April 3, 2016 at 6:41 pm
Purina knows very well that they have problems with Beneful, I have told them so many times and they have refused to discuss any of the technical issues I have raised with them regarding Beneful’s ingredients. I would expect that they will gradually move away from the current Beneful formulation even though they may retain the Beneful name as a marketing resource. They may transition to a new lead product if they find it to resonate better with customers than the compromised Beneful product line.
Sophie
February 3, 2016 at 8:05 am
I was watching my neighbor’s dog for a weekend. 1st thing I did was take Dixie for a walk. I knew exactly what her family was feeding her the moment I saw her green poop. Sure enough, once I got her home I saw Dixie was being fed Beneful. The owners did not realize this was happening as their Dixie runs outside and into the woods to do her business. When the owners returned we had a talk about Beneful. I am happy to say Dixie no longer eats Beneful, but is enjoying a better food with no coloring & garbage in the ingredients. She is also losing weight and not “grazing” as much when she eats.
Kathryn
February 3, 2016 at 3:38 pm
well, I certainly hope ‘we’ can change things via Social Media – especially for the ‘good’ — there is so much ugly, false, hateful stuff out there that it’s encouraging to think that maybe ‘we’ are making a difference!
Teresa JOhnson
February 3, 2016 at 4:13 pm
I strongly believe whether through social media or word of mouth we, consumers, make all the difference in sales of any kind. Why else would so many companies ask for feedback in surveys and such?! I don’t use social media, don’t own a smart phone and currently do not have internet access at home. BUT I do speak out to others, unashamedly, when opportunities arise. I am always amazed at how many folks simply do not know or pay attention to news about their pet foods, and sometimes even their foods. I am very excited when I meet like minded folks who really work hard to find good choices and keep atop news. Word is spreading and more folks are getting on board with keeping healthy choices in our foods, human and pets alike. We, the people, are slowly taking back control from big manufacturers who would sell us anything for their profits.
Marsha
February 6, 2016 at 7:15 pm
I talk to everyone I know and some I only know a little about the Poor quality of store bought pet FEED. I explain they need to be more informed on what is in their dog food, just like they do for their children. I work at an Elementary school.
they ask me what I feed my dogs and I let them know I make our own dog food and add Orijen to it. I have to explain that we have a dog with Congestive Heart Failure and he needs food with no salt in it.
You just have to keep taking, talking and talking.
Terri Janson
February 8, 2016 at 12:27 pm
Susan, you have opened my eyes a long time ago. I have learned so much. I have also joined a few other groups such as “Is Beneful by Purina Killing and Sickening dogs”. I spread the word as completely as I can to others. Yes, we the consumers ARE MAKING a difference by spreading the word! 🙂
With the sales of Benekill (no pun intended) going down could not make my day any BETTER!
Deep Search
February 21, 2016 at 3:16 am
Well it is good to see that some people are paying attention, at least. My family dog-sits for someone who feeds their dogs Beneful– they’ve both eaten it their entire lives… Except, for a short while this past summer the dogs were fed something else, I believe due to news concerning Beneful’s ill effects. Now the dogs are back on the “Playful Life formula.” Maybe because this person believes problems with the food have been “fixed.”I don’t know.
I’ve spoken with the dogs’ guardian about the dangers of feeding poor quality food more than once. Some people just never learn. I don’t understand how anyone could buy this food, simply based on the ingredients listed on the product, or how a company can claim this is a “healthy” diet for dogs.