Nestlé Purina PetCare
Encyclopedia
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is the pet food
Pet food
Pet food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food...

 division of Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

-based Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

 S.A., following its acquisition of the American Ralston Purina Company on December 12, 2001 and subsequent merger with Nestlé's Friskies PetCare Company
Friskies PetCare Company
Friskies PetCare Company, a division of Nestlé, merged with Ralston Purina and became Nestlé Purina PetCare in 2001 after Nestlé acquired all of the outstanding shares of Ralston Purina....

. As a wholly owned subsidiary, it is headquartered at the General Office in St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States.

History

Purina traces its roots back to 1894, when founder William H. Danforth
William H. Danforth
William H. Danforth founded Nestle Purina in St. Louis, Missouri in 1894. He was a co-founder of the American Youth Foundation and the author of the book, I Dare You!....

 began producing feed for various farm animals under the name Purina Mills. The predominant brand for each animal was generally referred to as "Chow"; hence there was "Purina Horse Chow", "Purina Dog Chow
Dog Chow
Dog Chow is a name brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare. The brand is offered world wide as dry kibbles, in numerous formulas including one for young dogs, called "Puppy Chow", one for elderly dogs, called "Senior 7+", and a weight maintenance formula called "Fit &...

", "Purina Cat Chow", "Purina Rabbit Chow", "Purina Pig Chow" and even "Purina Monkey Chow". Later, in 1902, he merged with university professor Webster Edgerly
Webster Edgerly
Webster Edgerly was a 19th- and 20th-century American social reform activist. He believed in euthanasia programs, a healthy diet, and the power of personal magnetism, and began the Ralstonism movement as a way to live out this lifestyle....

, founder of Ralstonism
Ralstonism
Ralstonism was a minor social movement in 19th century USA. It claimed about 800,000 followers. Ralstonism was the brainchild of Webster Edgerly . In Edgerly's words, "Ralstonism is the grandest movement that man is capable of establishing"....

, who was at the time producing breakfast cereals, to form the "Ralston-Purina Company". In 1994, the Ralston "human food" operations of the Ralston Purina Company were spun off into a new company called Ralcorp Holdings
Ralcorp
Ralcorp Holdings is a manufacturer of various food products, including breakfast cereal, cookies, crackers, chocolate, snack foods, mayonnaise, pasta and peanut butter. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The majority of the items Ralcorp makes are private label, store brand products. It...

.

Merger with Nestlé

The animal feed business became the subject of an acquisition bid by Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

-based Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

, whose Friskies
Friskies
Friskies is a brand of cat food. It is owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé. This brand is offered as a canned soft/wet food, as well as dry food . Flavors include poultry, beef and seafood.-History:...

 brand was the other leading brand of pet food in the U.S. Nestlé S.A. and U.S. Ralston Purina Company announced in January 2001 that they had entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the agreement, Nestlé acquired all of the outstanding shares of Ralston Purina (NYSE: RAL) for US$ 33.50 per share in cash. The offer represented a premium of 36 percent over the closing price on Friday, January 12, 2001. The transaction had an enterprise value
Enterprise value
Enterprise value , Total enterprise value , or Firm value is an economic measure reflecting the market value of a whole business. It is a sum of claims of all the security-holders: debtholders, preferred shareholders, minority shareholders, common equity holders, and others...

 of US$10.3 billion ($10.0 billion equity plus $1.2 billion of net debt, minus $0.9 billion of financial investments). Both corporations saw this major strategic transaction as the ideal way to benefit from their combined know-how, complementary strengths and international presence in the growing pet-care market. Ever since it acquired the Friskies
Friskies
Friskies is a brand of cat food. It is owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé. This brand is offered as a canned soft/wet food, as well as dry food . Flavors include poultry, beef and seafood.-History:...

 business with Carnation in 1985, Nestlé has considered pet-care as a strategic growth area, and it has repeatedly strengthened it through acquisitions (Alpo
Alpo (pet food)
Alpo is an American brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by the Nestlé Purina Petcare subsidiary of Nestlé. The brand is offered as a canned or packaged soft food, as well as in dry kibbles.-History:...

 in 1994, Spillers
Spillers
Spillers Ltd is a defunct British company that owned flour milling operations in the United Kingdom, operated bakeries and also sold pet food.Winalot is a popular brand of dog food sold by Spillers.The name was first used in 1927 for dog biscuits...

 in 1998, and Cargill Argentina
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...

 in 2000). Several brands of pet food (e.g., "Meow Mix
Meow Mix
Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of Del Monte Foods.-Company background:The Meow Mix Company operates from a facility in Decatur, Alabama, and also produces Alley Cat brand cat food products. Originally a product of Ralston Purina,...

") had to be divested separately to meet antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...

 concerns. Purina Mills
Purina Mills
Purina Mills, LLC, is the animal feeds unit of Land O’ Lakes. It was previously part of Ralston Purina, but the animal feeds portion was sold in 1986.- History :...

, Inc., the U.S. animal feed business that was sold by Ralston Purina Company in 1986, was purchased by Koch Industries
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. , is an American private energy conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas, with subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading and investments. Koch also owns Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals and Matador Cattle Company...

 in 1998, but a U.S. bankruptcy court cancelled out all equity held by Koch in order to maintain the company's viability. Purina Mills LLC is now owned by Land O'Lakes
Land O'Lakes
Land O'Lakes is a member-owned agricultural cooperative based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, focusing on the dairy industry. The co-op states that it has about 3200 producer-members, 1000 member-cooperatives, and about 9000 employees who process and distribute products for about 300,000 agricultural...

. Purina brands are now made and marketed by a division of Nestlé (Nestlé Purina PetCare) which is still headquartered in St. Louis.

While primarily a pet food company, Ralston Purina also made some other pet-related products, such as Tidy Cats brand and Yesterday's News which is made from recycled newspaper cat litter, purchased from Edward Lowe Industries in 1990. Also, Purina has honoured several Canadian animals every year since 1968 in their Animal Hall of Fame. The latest inductees included a police service dog who "rushed and subdued an armed robber".

Pet food recall

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company announced on March 30, 2007, a precautionary measure to voluntarily withdraw its 5.3 ounce Mighty Dog brand pouch products that were produced by Menu Foods, Inc. from December 3, 2006, through March 14, 2007. This withdrawal was in response to the recall initiated earlier by Menu Foods, a contract manufacturer that does limited business with Purina, as well as with other pet food manufacturers. At that time, only Mighty Dog 5.3 ounce pouch products are being withdrawn by Nestlé Purina; however, on March 31, 2007, the recall was expanded to "all sizes and varieties of its Alpo Prime Cuts in Gravy wet dog food with specific date codes."

To date, nearly 60 million containers of pet food sold under 100 different brand labels have been recalled.

Acquisitions and diversifications

In 1977, Ralston Purina acquired Missouri Arena Corporation and the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 franchise. The franchise was sold in the 1980s. During the company's ownership of the team, they changed the name of the St. Louis Arena
St. Louis Arena
The St. Louis Arena was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri, that stood from 1929 to 1999...

 to the Checkerdome, reflecting the Ralston Purina logo.

Ralston Purina purchased the Eveready Battery Company
Energizer Holdings
Energizer Holdings is an American manufacturer of batteries and personal care products, headquartered in Town and Country, Missouri. Its most well known brands are Energizer and Eveready batteries, Schick, Wilkinson Sword and Edge shaving products, Playtex feminine hygiene and baby products, and...

 in 1986, owner of the Eveready and Energizer brands. The company was spun off in 2000.

Ralston Purina purchased Continental Baking Company
Continental Baking Company
The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became Hostess Brands.-History:...

, makers of Wonder bread
Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread is the name of three North American brands of white bread: One produced by George Weston Bakeries in Canada, another by Hostess Brands in the United States, and the third by Grupo Bimbo in Mexico.- United States :...

 and Hostess cakes, from ITT
ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company based in the United States. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control...

 in 1984. Ralston did spin off Continental Baking Company which then was bought by Interstate Brands Corporation
Interstate Bakeries Corporation
Hostess Brands, Inc. is the largest wholesale baker and distributor of fresh bakery products in the United States, and is the owner of the Hostess, Wonder Bread, Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison, Butternut Breads, and Drake's brands. For many years it was based at 12 East Armour Boulevard, Kansas...

 (IBC), with headquarters in Kansas City, MO.

Brands

Well-known brands include:
  • Also
    Alpo (pet food)
    Alpo is an American brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by the Nestlé Purina Petcare subsidiary of Nestlé. The brand is offered as a canned or packaged soft food, as well as in dry kibbles.-History:...

     - dog food
  • Arthurs - cat food. UK only
  • Bakers Complete- dry dog food
  • Benefice
    Benefice
    A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...

     - dog food
  • Bonio
    Bonio
    Bonio is the most popular brand of dog biscuit sold in the United Kingdom. It was originally sold by Spratts Patent Ltd. of London some 75 years ago, but through various acquisitions it is nowadays marketed by Nestlé Purina PetCare, until recently under their Winalot brand....

     - dog biscuits sold in the UK
  • Bonnie - dog food. Australia only (with kangaroo meat)
  • Chef's Blend - dry cat food
  • Chuck Wagon
  • Dog Chow
    Dog Chow
    Dog Chow is a name brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare. The brand is offered world wide as dry kibbles, in numerous formulas including one for young dogs, called "Puppy Chow", one for elderly dogs, called "Senior 7+", and a weight maintenance formula called "Fit &...

     along with sister products Puppy Chow, Cat Chow and Kitten Chow
  • Felix
    Felix (pet food)
    Felix is a European brand of cat food. It is owned by Purina, and sold in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Slovenia, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, as well as France, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Denmark , and Finland .The Felix brand was acquired from Quaker by Dalgety plc...

     - cat food. Known in Sweden as Pussi and in Finland as Latz
  • Friskies
    Friskies
    Friskies is a brand of cat food. It is owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé. This brand is offered as a canned soft/wet food, as well as dry food . Flavors include poultry, beef and seafood.-History:...

     - cat food, but in Finland also used as a dog food brand. Known as Go-Cat in the UK and as Gati
    Gati
    Gati is a village in Sindhupalchok District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3857....

     in South America
  • Go-Cat- dry cat food
  • Gourmet - cat food. Known as Fancy Feast in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Known as Mon Petit in Japan and Hong Kong
  • Kit-n-Kaboodle - dry cat food
  • Mighty Dog - dog food
  • ONE
    ONE (Purina)
    Purina ONE is a trademark of Nestlé Purina PetCare for a line of premium dog and cat food products. Purina ONE foods typically contain some type of meat as their first named ingredient, while still containing by-products, grain fragments , and whole corn.-History:The brand was introduced in 1986 as...

     - both dog and cat food
  • Purina Pro Plan - both dog and cat food
  • SnackAttack - dog treats. Known as Beggin' Strips
    Beggin' Strips
    Beggin' Strips is a brand of dog treats manufactured and sold in North America by Nestlé's Nestlé Purina PetCare division. Beggin' Strips are designed to resemble strips of bacon....

     in the US and Canada
  • Tender Vittles
    Tender Vittles
    Tender Vittles is a brand of cat food manufactured by Nestlé under the Purina name. The cat food was previously made by Ralston Purina Company, which was purchased by Nestlé....

     - cat food. Now only sold in Canada
  • Winalot
    Winalot
    Winalot is a popular brand of dog food sold in the United Kingdom.The name was first used in 1927 for dog biscuits by Spillers Ltd; they were initially marketed as a food for racing greyhounds, but soon gained popularity with domestic canines and became a brand leader in the 1930s.The Spillers...

     - canned dog food sold in the UK

Logo

Ralston Purina was famed for its "checkerboard" trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

. The inspiration for the Ralston Purina logo came from a family from founder William Danforth's childhood who dressed in checkerboard cloth.
The checkerboard trademark was introduced in 1904. Ralston Purina's headquarters was called Checkerboard Square. The checkerboard logo then evolved into personal development concept Danforth put forth in his book I Dare You, in which he proposed the four key components in life ("Physical", "Mental", "Social" and "Religious") need to be in balance, and one area was not to develop at expense of the other. The concept became intertwined with the company in 1921, when it began selling feed that was pressed in cubes called "checkers".

External links

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