Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Pet Food News

JM Smucker to Purchase Ainsworth Pet Nutrition

Per Reuters “J. M. Smucker Co said on Wednesday it would buy Rachael Ray Dog food maker Ainsworth Pet Nutrition for about $1.9 billion in cash to strengthen its pet food portfolio.”

Per Reuters “J. M. Smucker Co said on Wednesday it would buy Rachael Ray Dog food maker Ainsworth Pet Nutrition for about $1.9 billion in cash to strengthen its pet food portfolio.”

The press release continues

“Ainsworth Pet Nutrition is an excellent strategic fit for our company, as the Rachael Ray Nutrish brand adds another high-growth, on-trend brand to our pet food portfolio,” J. M. Smucker Chief Executive Officer Mark Smucker said.

The deal, which the company will fund with debt, is valued at $1.9 billion, excluding an expected tax benefit of about $200 million.

The deal increases Smucker’s pet food portfolio to 15 brands.

From a Bloomberg.com post on the pet food purchase…

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/smucker-to-buy-rachael-ray-dog-food-brand-in-1-9-billion-deal

More from Bloomberg.com

Under Chief Executive Officer Mark Smucker, who became the fifth generation of his family to run the business when he took over in 2016, the company has tried to take the pet business more upscale. High-end pet food has surged 33 percent industrywide over the past five years and now accounts for more than 50 percent of the market. Consumers are shelling out more money for specialty diets, part of a trend known as “humanization.” Ainsworth generates about two-thirds of its sales from its Rachel Ray Nutrish brand.

“The humanization trend is here to stay,” the CEO said in an interview. “This brand fits exactly where we need it to — it’s very important to continue to gain scale where it’s relevant.”

Not included in any press release about the sale: all of the current Ainsworth pet products are feed grade pet products. 

 

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


Become a member of our pet food consumer Association. Association for Truth in Pet Food is a a stakeholder organization representing the voice of pet food consumers at AAFCO and with FDA. Your membership helps representatives attend meetings and voice consumer concerns with regulatory authorities. Click Here to learn more.

What’s in Your Pet’s Food?
Is your dog or cat eating risk ingredients?  Chinese imports? Petsumer Report tells the ‘rest of the story’ on over 5,000 cat foods, dog foods, and pet treats. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Click Here to preview Petsumer Report. www.PetsumerReport.com

 

The 2018 List
Susan’s List of trusted pet foods. Click Here to learn more.

 

Have you read Buyer Beware?  Click Here

Cooking pet food made easy, Dinner PAWsible

Find Healthy Pet Foods in Your Area Click Here

 

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. S. Roberts

    April 4, 2018 at 9:30 pm

    Must be nice to have so much damn money that you don’t know what to do with it and you just keeping buying up more and more companies or whatever while most people struggle daily and truly struggle to find a good dog food or treat that will not kill their pets !

  2. Pet Owner

    April 4, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    I thought JM Smucker (Big Heart) were the people who screwed up Gravy Train?

  3. radbola

    April 4, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    So SICK of the mega corp model. Nothing quality or good comes from it. Ever.

  4. Lorraine

    April 4, 2018 at 10:26 pm

    Are they looking for more brands of dog food to add the pentobarbital too? Or maybe this is something to calm down the talk about what was found in the brands of food they already own.

  5. Noreen Nugeness

    April 4, 2018 at 11:58 pm

    This is terrible! It’s at the point where we’re afraid to give our babies anything even a treat. I buy Organic Blue Buffalo Treats and want to know if they are safe. Why are we continuing to buy toys from China still when so many animals died from treats and toys that came from there? What is a Pet Parent supposed to do? We’re supposed to protect our “Family Members” but who’s protecting us from giving them food that could kill them? Doesn’t anybody care besides us. I agree with S. Roberts, it must be nice to have so much damn money that they can keep buying out companies while we struggle and most of all live in fear every time we prepare a meal for our best friends, our fur babies. Unfortunately, it’s all about the money!

  6. Chris

    April 5, 2018 at 1:41 am

    Ainsworth has their own brands but also does Walmart’s Pure Balance pet food as well. That’s not disclosed so how many other labels made by Ainsworth are there?

  7. Reader

    April 5, 2018 at 2:52 am

    Too bad RR decided to sell out too. (Yawn). She was actually in a position to do something great with PF if she had truly cared. Kind of like Dick Van Patten (Natural Balance) in the very, very beginning. When he cared about putting his name on a product. Sad, how celebrities see these PF options as just another “investment opportunity!”

  8. Denise

    April 5, 2018 at 7:31 am

    I guess Rachael Ray doesn’t care about what happens to her pet food. I was told it’s not a good idea to buy pet foods that are advertised on TV anyway, so I don’t. I would rather do the research myself and then decide what is best for my pets, I pick from the list I purchased here and go from there.

  9. T Allen

    April 5, 2018 at 8:52 am

    Rachel Ray has been garbage feed from the start. Per Dog Food Advisor, her first food got 2.5 stars. It’s taken years but she finally has a 4.5 star food which is still a plant based, pea chow, that is 47% carbohydrates (sugar). The use of whole dried potatoes that are a byproduct of potato processing is of concern in all dog foods because those rejected potatoes are likely high in solanine. I have never seen any research on long term feeding of solanine although short term acute effects are well documented in humans and livestock. https://wagwalking.com/condition/potato-green-poisoning

  10. Shannon

    April 5, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    So relieved that I don’t have to worry about this for our fur babies anymore. Raw fed, make all of their treats, so much more healthy for them!!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn More

Human Grade & Feed Grade
Do you know what the differences are between Feed Grade and Human Grade pet food? Click Here.

 

The Regulations
Pet Food is regulated by federal and state authorities. Unfortunately, authorities ignore many safety laws. Click Here to learn more about the failures of the U.S. pet food regulatory system.

 

The Many Styles of Pet Food
An overview of the categories, styles, legal requirements and recall data of commercial pet food in the U.S. Click Here.

 

The Ingredients
Did you know that all pet food ingredients have a separate definition than the same ingredient in human food? Click Here.

Click Here for definitions of animal protein ingredients.

Click Here to calculate carbohydrate percentage in your pet’s food.

 

Sick Pet Caused by a Pet Food?

If your pet has become sick or has died you believe is linked to a pet food, it is important to report the issue to FDA and your State Department of Agriculture.

Save all pet food – do not return it for a refund.

If your pet required veterinary care, ask your veterinarian to report to FDA.

Click Here for FDA and State contacts.

The List

The Treat List

Special Pages to Visit

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Click Here

Pet Food Recall History (2007 to present)
Click Here

Find Healthy Pet Foods Stores
Click Here

About TruthaboutPetFood.com
Click Here

Friends of TruthaboutPetFood.com
Click Here

You May Also Like