Choosy brand5/30/2023 In the 1980s and 1990s, Beta Petfoods (later BP Nutrition (UK) Ltd) produced Beta Purr Complete dry food and Beta Purr Chunks in Gravy. In 2006, Meow Mix in the USA was sold to Del Monte. The advertising was a version of a karaoke video with a ball bouncing over the words "meow meow meow" (later on, the cats' meows were given English language subtitles). MeowMix (the food "cats ask for by name") was bought from Nestle in 2001 by Richard C Thompson in partnership with JW Childs Associates they relaunched it in the USA. In 2002 Nestle took over Ralston-Purina and its pet foods were branded as Purina however anti-trust laws (equivalent of the UK's Monopolies and Mergers Commission) meant it first had to sell off its MeowMix brand. In 1997, Dalgety sold the Felix brand to Nestle in 1997. Spillers also produced the now-vanished Purrfect (renamed Purrfect Selection in 1992) brand in the UK this top-of-the-range product competed with Sheba.ĭuring the 1990s, the Swiss company Nestle expanded to rival Mars in the pet food market. Spillers also owned the vanished Choosy brand cat food Choosy was relaunched in 1993, but has since vanished. Then in 1997, Nestle acquired the brand from Dalgety. In 1995, Dalgety plc acquired the Felix brand from Quaker and the Arthurs brand was dropped. Quaker petfoods started off in 1966 with Chunky dog food, then acquired Felix Cat Foods in 1970. There were rumours (possibly by those supporting competitor brands) that Arthur's teeth had been removed to make him eat by dipping a paw, but paw-dipping is a natural cat behaviour and Arthur had simply been encouraged to use his paw to get a treat straight from the can. Kattomeat's Arthur, a white cat that ate by dipping his paw into the tin of food, became so well known that the food was rebranded as Arthur's before it vanished altogether. In 1992, Kattomeat was renamed and relaunched as Arthurs. In 1979, Spillers became part of Dalgety plc. In 1972, Spillers bought out Hovis's "Stamina Foods" which made the "Paws" brand of cat food. In 1964, Spillers Ltd took over the brand names. Kattomeat was the sister brand to Kennomeat canned cat and dog foods launched by Robert Wilson &Sons in the 1950s. In the UK, Omega is the Purina budget brand analogous to Purina Cat Chow or Purina Cat Mix in the US. The MeowMix name once existed separately, alongside GoCat, as a brand in the UK. The bright yellow Go Cat packaging suggests that it is equivalent to the US MeowMix and Friskies brands (indeed, in the early 1990s it was called Friskies Go Cat). Readers outside of the UK will see some familiar names here, but only where the companies are linked to brands in the UK or where manufacturers in different countries coincidentally used the same name, trademarking it nationally rather than internationally. Some brands I could only find in adverts and seem to have sunk without trace, unable to gain a toehold in the market. Anti-monopoly/anti-trust laws meant that companies sometimes had to sell off some brands before they could buy out a rival. I’ve tried to untangle the intertwined histories of familiar brands in the UK and detail how they’ve changed hands, often several times, over the years. This was compiled mainly for my own interest and isn’t an authoritative history of British cat foods. Over the decades, these two companies seem to have swallowed up most of Britain’s pet food companies, retaining some brands and dropping others to streamline their range of products. Even one of Europe’s biggest brands, Affinity, features these major players in its history. Two names dominate the market: Mars (as Pedigree Petfoods) and Nestle (as Purina). It's difficult for other companies, even the big pet food companies from continental Europe, to break into the market unless they can find a niche. The pet food market in the UK has become an oligopoly - a few companies each producing several brands that give the impression of a more competitive market. All in all, it is estimated that £20,000,000 will be spent on feeding Britain's cat population this year!” Fishmongers, too, say that cat owners are paying up to £1 a week for fish for their pets, although one London branch reports that while this is not general, cats are certainly getting more choosy, and owners are no longer buying cuttings for their pets. One firm alone is spending £8,000 on research into problems of animal nutrition. Manufacturers report that never before have prepared foods been in such demand. This small item appeared in several newspapers on 1st September 1950” “I hear that a new wave of interest in cats is sweeping the country.
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