(Food-Beverage-News.Com, November 15, 2012 ) San Francisco, CA- The television chef Rachael Ray, in a novel effort, is striving to woo pet owners to her Nutrish line of high-end dog food. She is turning a food truck, which is usually reserved for human gourmets, into a pet food truck. Ms. Ray will begin handing out samples of the newest product from her pet food line in the “Pup-Up Food Truck for Dogs” in Manhattan this upcoming Thursday.
Depending on the response, Ms. Ray may take the truck to other cities in order to draw more attention to pet adoptions, as well as to current animal shelters that are overcrowded with cats and other animals. She hopes that in addition, the food trucks will help promote her dog food.
Animals have always been important to the Food Network’s chef. Every year, Ms. Ray donates her portion of the proceeds from the brand to animal welfare organizations. It is predicted that her total contributions will reach $4 million by the end of this year. Ms. Ray modeled Nutrish’s charitable giving on that of Yum-o, a nonprofit organization she founded in 2006.
Yum-o teaches children and their families about healthy food and cooking and is financed by sales of her cookbooks, as well as other items. She stated, “We wanted to come up with a dedicated product, like we did for children. . . So there are no galas, no celebrity concerts, but a product that builds awareness of a problem and generates income.”
Although recessions usually mean that more animals land in shelters, people who who can afford it are spending increasing amounts on better quality food for their pets. Ms. Ray’s Nutrish, which debuted in October 2008, is tapping into that trend.
For the 26 weeks ending September 29th, Nutrish was the fastest-growing dry dog food brand in grocery stores. According to Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, a family-owned company that manufactures the dog food, sales totaled a healthy $22.6 million, which was up 45.4% from the same period last year. By January 2013, the line is expected to reach $100 million in retail sales.
All of the dry and wet dog food, as well as treats, in Rachael Ray Nutrish line’s has no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors. Her dog food truck will serve varieties of her newest product, Nutrish Naturally Delish wet dog food, including flavors like “Chicken Paw Pie” and “Chicken Muttballs.” Beth Nigro, a senior vice president at the marketing agency Engauge, stated that samples have been a critical factor in Nutrish’s success. Engauge’s Pittsburgh office has worked with Ainsworth for the last 30 years, and oversaw Ms. Ray’s pet food introduction with a “Switch to Nutrish” campaign. Since January 2009, this campaign has given away 1.5 million six-ounce samples of the dog food. Ms. Nigro commented, “We found that 50% of the people who tried a free sample converted to the brand.” Samples included Nutrish, Just 6 food and treats,which are made from only six ingredients, and Nutrish Healthy Weight.
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