Champion Petfood (Orijen/Acana) Buyout Concerns

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OntarioSheltie

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In a recent thread someone brought up concerns regarding recent formula changes to Acana's Regional flavors and also mentioned a buyout by a company called Bedford Capital.

I don't know anything about the formula changes and haven't personally noticed any digestive upset in my shelties (yet?), but I did find the following information regarding the 'buyout' of Champion Petfoods, who manufacture's Orijen and Acana. This news is definitely of some concern, but I'm personally not panicking yet.

My understanding is that Champion was not taken over by Bedford in the way that California Natural, Innova and Evo were bought by Proctor and Gamble. Bedford Capital is an investment firm that is helping to manage Champion, but does not appear to own.

I lifted this post left by a rep at Champion on a german shepard forum a few months ago.

Hi Everyone,

We here at Champion value the trust we have gained from our customers by being completely open and transparent, and appreciate all the concerns and comments about our business practices - we have pets too and everything we do is linked to their health and well-being. So we know you are truly concerned when you ask about Bedford's involvement in our company.

As noted by Peter our VP of Sales and Marketing, and the son of Champion's founder, "Bedford has skillfully facilitated the succession of our family business from one generation to the next. And, with Bedford’s substantial resources, support and genuine enthusiasm for our products and people, we’re now firmly positioned to continue our rapid growth within pet specialty markets—both here in Canada and abroad.”
Bedford is a Canadian investment company that helps companies grow into the next level of their business. Find out more on their website. Bedford Capital: Overview

And, rest assured Champion's food development, ingredient procurement and manufacturing and testing practices each maintain the high standards set by Peter and his father Reinhard - and, as they have, we continue to seek ways to improve our products to give your beloved cats and dogs the best nourishment and feeding performance possible.

Our mandate is to make Biologically Appropriate dog and cat foods from Fresh Regional Ingredients; which we make exclusively in our award-winning kitchens here in Alberta, Canada - we Never Outsource, nor do we manufacture foods for other companies.

I hope this adds some clarity to your questions. Always feel free to contact us through either the ACANA or ORIJEN websites, or by emailing social@championpetfoods.com

This is the link to the forum, see post # 7.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...ut-bummer.html
 
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Interesting. I admit, I didn't even know TOTW was bought out by P&G (that sucks).

I'm hoping that's all this is with Orijen. That Bedford is just investing to help them grow, and not taking over their plants, etc.
 
total bummer- my local pet store has just brought in Orijen and should have Acana by the end of the month. I had gotten a small bag of Acana a little while ago and the pups loved it. was hoping to make the permanent switch once it became available locally.

but Proctor and Gamble did not acquire TOTW- they bought the company that makes California Natural, Innova and Evo..................
 
Here's a link to a forum that has listed the changes in formulation to the Regional flavors.

Assuming the info posted is correct, I can't say I'm exactly thrilled that they appear to have increased the amount of fillers in some of their regional formulas, but its really not that bad.

From what I can see, it looks as though all the meat protein sources have stayed the same.

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163575
 
k9kreationz said:
Interesting. I admit, I didn't even know TOTW was bought out by P&G (that sucks).

I'm hoping that's all this is with Orijen. That Bedford is just investing to help them grow, and not taking over their plants, etc.
Click to expand...

far as I can tell TOTW is still Diamond- thanks to Google (Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. is the name under which Schell and Kampeter, Inc. does business as a U.S.-based commercial pet food manufacturer )......

Diamond introduced Diamond Naturals in 2006. These products contain no by-products, corn, or wheat. They also manufacture Bright Bites brand dental treats, Taste of the Wild brand pet food, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul brand dog and cat food.

They also manufacture under contract, for other companies, at least some of the pet foods sold under these brands or business names.

Canidae Pet Food - (canidae is no longer produced at Diamond)
Costco's Kirkland Signature
Solid Gold Health Products for Pets
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods
Kirkland Signature Nature's Domain (Available only at Costco)
Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
4Health (Available only at Tractor Supply Company)
NutraGold Super Premium Holistic Formulas
 
Calliesmom said:
far as I can tell TOTW is still Diamond- thanks to Google (Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. is the name under which Schell and Kampeter, Inc. does business as a U.S.-based commercial pet food manufacturer )......

Diamond introduced Diamond Naturals in 2006. These products contain no by-products, corn, or wheat. They also manufacture Bright Bites brand dental treats, Taste of the Wild brand pet food, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul brand dog and cat food.

They also manufacture under contract, for other companies, at least some of the pet foods sold under these brands or business names.

Canidae Pet Food - (canidae is no longer produced at Diamond)
Costco's Kirkland Signature
Solid Gold Health Products for Pets
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods
Kirkland Signature Nature's Domain (Available only at Costco)
Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
4Health (Available only at Tractor Supply Company)
NutraGold Super Premium Holistic Formulas
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I made the correction to my previous posts above.
 
The change to Acana was pretty significant, and happened in June. I don't think anyone would be able to see the results yet, from what I can tell most bags on the shelves and sold on the web are still the old formula (I just bought a bag of Acana Ranchlands to mix it up, and it was).

What's especially concerning to me is this letter from http://www.freshwaterfish.com/system/files/L2PNewsletter Winter 2011.pdf (last page), which I stumbled onto on several other forums. Champion Petfoods does not declare use of byproducts in any of its products... and one of the biggest changes in the Acana formula was Herring meal -> "Whitefish Meal" which also dropped quite a few places. Whitefish being the primary export of FreshWaterFish...

If anyone's familiar with the regulations regarding pet food ingredient labels, it would be greatly appreciated. According to the Pet Food Association of Canada, pet food is not regulated whatsoever there, and manufacturers are not even required to include an ingredients section. I don't know if Canadian manufacturers exporting to the US are subject to the same regulations. As much as I hate being the suspicious UFO-sighting sod, I'm getting pretty antsy over this because I've always fed Orijen.
 
Faveokatro said:
The change to Acana was pretty significant, and happened in June. I don't think anyone would be able to see the results yet, from what I can tell most bags on the shelves and sold on the web are still the old formula (I just bought a bag of Acana Ranchlands to mix it up, and it was).

What's especially concerning to me is this letter from http://www.freshwaterfish.com/system/files/L2PNewsletter%20Winter%202011.pdf, which I stumbled onto on several other forums. Champion Petfoods does not declare use of byproducts in any of its products... and one of the biggest changes in the Acana formula was Herring meal -> "Whitefish Meal" which also dropped quite a few places. Whitefish being the primary export of FreshWaterFish...

If anyone's familiar with the regulations regarding pet food ingredient labels, it would be greatly appreciated. According to the Pet Food Association of Canada, pet food is not regulated whatsoever there, and manufacturers are not even required to include an ingredients section. I don't know if Canadian manufacturers exporting to the US are subject to the same regulations. As much as I hate being the suspicious UFO-sighting sod, I'm getting pretty antsy over this because I've always fed Orijen.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but I saw that changes and they're not all that significant, IMOH, although I will definitely be looking into the Whitefish issue more closely. Still locally sourced like they claim but it would depend on what part of the fish I guess.

And I also don't know where you're getting your information regarding the regulations of pet food in Canada but as far as I know our gov't has been pretty strict about its rules and regulations regarding labels. They're required to include an ingredient section on all food related labels, as well as the guaranteed analysis.
 
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