By Karin Krisher
If recent headlines are any indication, the pet food supply isn’t that different from our own. From spinach to peanut butter to Diamond, we’ve got issues.
Your customers are probably aware of the clamor for better pet food—advertisers bank on these sad cases of salmonella poisoning to promote their own products, touting them as more safe or more strictly regulated, or promoting one location or food supply chain over another. The reality is that many items are sourced from the same areas and can be affected by the outbreaks in other brands.
The most obvious solution is raw feeding. Not cooking animal food into tiny pellets full of non-existent nutrients is a huge part of ensuring they receive nutrients they need. However, this is not the only solution. Your customers can take a raw diet approach, or they can go another route, obtaining sustenance by feeding on information.
Talking to your customers about available resources is a huge factor in their success as animal feeders. In the digital age, access to information is both a need and a privilege. Your customers might have that access, but not know how to leverage it to fully enjoy its privileges, which can include a healthier animal.
The Pet Food Conversation
Discuss credible resources for pet food comparisons and information, like the National Pet Food Products Safety Alliance , Dog Food Analysis and the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Some pet food companies, like Blue Buffalo, also offer comparisons, but they are based on Blue Buffalo standards (meaning they’re still a part of the biz, and not the oversight).
However you choose to direct your customers, pet food quality and regulation is a necessary topic of conversation for those who want to support overall pet health. Just as we shouldn’t take our diets lightly, nor should pet owners take their animals’. Though the transition into the conversation might be awkward —especially if you aren’t one to regularly bring up diet—by speaking up, you’re giving your customers a chance to learn about and promote options that they might not have otherwise known existed.
We think their pets will be happy about the outcome.
How do you talk to your customers about diet? What types of questions do your customers have about the pet food regulation system? Tell us in a comment!
