Nestlé Purina PetCare facts for kids
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Nestlé Purina Petcare's Headquarters
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Pet food |
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| Founded | December 12, 2001 St. Louis, Missouri, US |
| Headquarters | 800 Chouteau Ave,
St. Louis, Missouri
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US
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Brands |
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| Revenue | $11.2 billion (2013) |
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Number of employees
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| Parent | Nestlé S.A. |
Nestlé Purina PetCare (/pjʊˈriːnə/), often called Purina, is an American company that makes food, treats, and litter for pets. It is part of a larger Swiss company called Nestlé. Purina's main office is in St. Louis, Missouri.
Some of its well-known pet food brands include Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow, Friskies, Beneful, and Purina One. The company was created in 2001. This happened when Nestlé bought another company called Ralston Purina for $10.3 billion and combined it with Nestlé's own pet food business, Friskies PetCare Company. As of 2012[update], Purina was the second-largest pet food company in the world. It was also the biggest in the United States.
Contents
Purina's History
How Purina Started
In 1894, a person named William H. Danforth and his partners, George Robinson and William Andrews, started a business. They founded Purina Mills in St. Louis, Missouri, to feed farm animals. The company's name changed to Ralston Purina in 1902. That same year, Ralston Purina built its first building at its current headquarters.
Nestlé Purina PetCare officially began in December 2001. This was after Nestlé bought Ralston Purina and joined it with its Friskies PetCare Company. Ralston Purina made popular pet food brands like Dog Chow, Cat Chow, and Pro Plan. Nestlé already made Friskies and Alpo pet foods.
Some groups were worried about this merger. They thought it would make the new company too big. The two companies together would have a very large share of the pet food market. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the merger. This happened after Ralston sold its Meow Mix and Alley Cat brands. These brands then became a separate company. Ralston's location in St. Louis, Missouri, was chosen as the new company's main office for North America.
Early Years of Nestlé Purina
Nestlé Purina PetCare continued to bring the two companies together in 2002. They moved some dry dog food making from older Friskies factories to Ralston's factories. They also planned to make more food in other locations. In Asia, the company changed how it delivered products to stores. In 2004, Nestlé Purina combined its North American and Latin American businesses.
In 2003, Nestlé Purina PetCare started working with the Canine Health Foundation. This partnership aimed to help with animal health research. The next year, the company gave 80 tons of pet food to animals affected by Hurricane Charley in Florida. They also gave $100,000 to animal shelters. By 2005, Nestlé Purina PetCare made up a big part of Nestlé's total sales. By 2006, it was the biggest pet food company in the market.
Recent Company Updates
By 2009, Purina was one of Nestlé's fastest-growing parts. This was because people were willing to spend more money on their pets. In 2008, Purina started a separate company called PurinaCare. This company sold pet insurance. Purina also started making pet litter products. They built new factories in Russia and Thailand. Their factory in Colorado built the largest privately owned solar panel system in that state. In 2010, Nestlé agreed to buy Waggin' Train, a company that makes pet treats.
In 2013, Nestlé Purina PetCare bought the pet adoption website Petfinder. The next year, they bought Zuke's, which makes cat and dog treats. Between 2010 and 2012, Nestlé made its factories bigger in Australia, Hungary, and Germany. They also put in the company's largest solar panel farm at their offices in Atlanta, Georgia. In April 2014, Nestlé Purina PetCare opened the first cat café in the US.
In February 2019, the company said it would spend $115 million to make its factory in Bloomfield, Missouri, bigger. This was to meet the demand for Tidy Cats litter. In November, they invested $320 million in an old factory in Hartwell, Georgia.
In April 2020, Nestlé Purina PetCare bought Lily's Kitchen. This is a natural pet food brand from the UK.
In November 2020, Purina announced Nina Leigh Krueger as the new CEO. She is the first female CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare for the Americas. In 2023, she was also named Chair of the Pet Food Institute.
In October 2022, Purina opened a new factory in Rayong, Thailand. Also in October, Purina finished making its factory in Clinton, Iowa, bigger. This created 96 new jobs.
Later in November, Nestlé Purina PetCare announced a partnership with Riceland Foods. They will work to encourage farmers to grow rice using sustainable methods starting in 2023. That same year, Purina partnered with pet-care startups in Europe and North Africa. This was to find more sustainable ways to help pets. Also in 2022, Purina started using new recyclable pouch packages for its pet food. The company wants all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable worldwide.
In 2023, Purina's products included dry dog food (30%), wet dog food (4%), dry cat food (19%), wet cat food (32%), and other pet nutrition products (15%). In February 2023, Purina planned to buy a pet treats factory in Miami. In late February 2023, Purina PetCare said it would invest almost $3.2 billion between 2022 and 2025. This money will help improve pet nutrition. Later in April, Purina PetCare partnered with Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Laboratory. This partnership aims to improve the health of pets' gut bacteria.
Purina works with several non-profit groups. One example is the Urban Resource Institute. This group runs pet-friendly shelters for people experiencing domestic violence in New York City. In 2023, it was announced that Purina has given over $150 million to groups that help pets, people, and the environment.
In May 2023, Purina PetCare gave $20,000 to the city of Bloomfield. This money helped replace broken playground equipment.
In June 2023, Purina PetCare created a new supplement. It helps dogs and puppies of all sizes with their joints and cartilage.
In August 2023, Purina gave $25,000 to Greater Good Charities. This helped the group's efforts to assist people and animals in Hawaii after a crisis.
In October 2023, Purina opened two new production units at its factory in Hungary. Also in October 2023, Purina launched its first cat food designed to have less carbon. This new line, Purina ONE DualNature, helps Nestlé reach its goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2030.
In November 2023, Purina started a campaign. It encourages customers to recycle their aluminum and steel cans after use.
In December 2023, Purina PetCare announced $120,000 in grants. These grants will fund four science projects in the USA, Canada, and Austria. The projects will study the bond between humans and animals. They will look at how dogs and cats affect the lives of their owners and families.
Product Recalls
Sometimes, companies have to recall products if there's a problem. In 2005, Nestlé Purina Petcare recalled some of its dry pet food. This was because an internal check found things that were making pets sick.
In 2007, the pet food market faced problems because of contaminated ingredients. During this time, Nestlé Purina recalled some of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy products in the US. These products had wheat gluten from China that contained a substance called melamine.
In August 2013, Purina recalled some of its Purina ONE Beyond dog food. This happened because one bag was found to have salmonella. In 2012, a customer sued Nestlé Purina PetCare. His pet died after eating Waggin' Train treats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received many reports from pet owners. They said the treats caused illness or death in their pets. The FDA had warned about these ingredients, but tests did not find any contaminants. Later, a petition asked stores to stop selling the product. It got 60,000 signatures. The next year, Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek dog treats were temporarily taken off the market. This was because small amounts of antibiotic residue were found. This is allowed in Europe and China, but not in the US. In early 2014, a settlement was reached. The company later brought the brands back after changing how they made and supplied the products.
Purina's Products and Services
Nestlé Purina PetCare makes many different pet food brands. Some brands, like Friskies, are more affordable. Others, like Purina One and Beneful, cost more. These are for owners who care about health or specific ingredients. Purina One has been one of its fastest-growing brands.
In 2009, the company launched a new cat food called Fancy Feast Appetizers. A Purina Pro Plan line for older dogs came out in 2010. It has special ingredients for brain function and digestion. A grain-free product, Purina ONE Beyond, was introduced in 2011. Purina Pro Plan Sport, which has extra fat and protein for active dogs, came out in 2013. In 2014, Purina launched a product for the Brazilian market called Ravena. It used local fruits like acerola and jabuticaba. Purina also started selling accessories like training pads, beds, and leashes in 2011. These are sold under the Purina PetGear name.
Here are some of Purina's important brands and product lines:
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Marketing and Advertising
In the mid-1970s, the Purina Cat Chow brand started a famous advertising campaign called "Chow-Chow-Chow." These TV commercials showed cats that looked like they were dancing the cha-cha-cha. This was done by playing the film forward and backward quickly. It made the cats look like they were dancing to the music.
In 2006, Nestlé Purina Petcare launched Doggie-Mail. This was an email app that could send messages online through a talking dog. In 2009, Purina sponsored PawNation.com, a website by AOL. It had pet videos, tips, and other content. Purina also sponsored Martha Stewart's pet tips website. The company started an ad campaign for the Alpo brand with the slogan "Real dogs eat meat." These ads showed spoiled pets being "rescued" and fed Alpo.
In 2009, Purina released a free iPhone app called "petcentric places." It helps users find pet-friendly spots like dog parks or hotels. In 2010, Purina released a Facebook game called Purina Pet Resort. Players could manage a virtual pet resort in the game.
In 2011, Nestlé Purina PetCare became an official sponsor of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The company also started a competition. Pet owners could win a part-time job earning $50,000 a year. This job involved traveling with their cat, interviewing other pet owners, and writing for the Purina website. Nestlé Purina also made TV ads for Austria that had sounds only pets could hear. These were the first ads made to target pets directly.
In 2012, Purina and another Nestlé business, Jenny Craig, created "Project: Pet Slim Down." This online program helped pets and their owners lose weight together. Grumpy Cat became a "spokescat" for the Friskies brand in late 2013. In 2013, Purina showed ads during the Westminster Show. These ads featured videos sent in by people answering the question, "How is Your Dog Great?"
How Purina Works
Headquarters and Operations
Nestlé Purina PetCare is a part of Nestlé. Its main office is in St. Louis, Missouri. It has operations in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. The headquarters has sixteen buildings on 50 acres. This includes a 15-story main tower and a research facility built in 2010.
In 2010, Purina built the $10 million Purina Event Center for dog shows and competitions. Nestlé Purina Petcare supports many charity activities. One is the Pet Care Pride Day. On this day, employees volunteer their time. Employees are allowed to bring their pets to work. The company also has gyms, trainers, and medical care for its employees. Purina's St. Louis headquarters has between 2,500 and 3,000 employees.
Company Facts
As of 2005, Purina PetCare was Nestlé's second most profitable division. It was the biggest pet food maker in the US. It was also the second biggest in Europe. As of 2012, Purina had a 23.1% share of the global pet food market. Its biggest competitor, Mars, had a 23.4% share.
In 2010, Nestlé Purina PetCare won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This award is given for excellent company performance. Its factories have been reducing the amount of materials used in packaging. They have also increased recycling and reduced water use. They have installed solar panels to make electricity for their offices and factories. In 2011, Nestlé Purina PetCare was named one of the most sustainable companies. As of 2014, it has 19 manufacturing plants.
In 2021, Purina PetCare helped Nestlé reach its highest sales in five years. During the pandemic, people bought more pet care products.
In 2021, Purina PetCare's yearly sales reached $16.903 billion. By early 2022, Purina PetCare's sales grew by almost 14%. Purina's sales grew every quarter in 2022. In that year, Purina helped Nestlé grow worldwide. Also, Purina PetCare made up 90% of Nestlé's online pet sales in 2022. For example, Purina's sales in China grew a lot because of online sales. In 2022, Purina's sales reached $19.385 billion.
In January 2023, Purina was seen as the "No. 1 petcare company in the U.S." It feeds 65 million dogs and 51 million cats each year. In March 2023, it was announced that Purina PetCare was the second largest category for Nestlé, after coffee. It also had the largest market share in the U.S. In the first three months of 2023, Purina PetCare sales reached $5,267 million. Purina continued to be the "largest contributor" to Nestlé's growth. Dry dog food, dry cat food, and wet cat food make up 80% of Purina's sales. Purina PetCare's performance in the first half of 2023 contributed the most to Nestlé. Its sales from January to June reached $10,799 million. Purina PetCare became the largest contributor in both Europe and North America. Later in October, Purina saw good growth in its sales.
See also
In Spanish: Nestlé Purina PetCare para niños
- W. Patrick McGinnis, former president and CEO (2001–2015)
