The pet food market is a prime example of the hypocrisy of the large, multinational ‘Big Food’ companies, claims Guy Blaskey, the founder of Pooch & Mutt.
According to Blaskey, yet another multinational is trying to claw back some of the decreasing market shares of its brands with the launch of a new product in the UK.
The brand in question claims to have a 'commitment to clean'. They say that a pet’s food 'energizes them from the inside out' and that the recipes are “simple, purposeful and trustworthy - made of real, recognizable non-GMO ingredients'. This stinks of hypocrisy, says Blaskey.
He goes on to say that it is not an independent company, it is a division of a multi-national. "If the company cared about ingredients being 'real' and 'recognisable', then why not apply it to all pet products that they make?"
He says that an even bigger hypocrisy is about to hit the pet food market.
"One of the most important issues at the moment is the environment and the recyclability of packaging. Pet food pouches are notoriously difficult to recycle.
"The solution would be working with TerraCycle, a company who can recycle this difficult-to-recycle packaging. Pooch & Mutt, along with a few other pet food companies have been in discussions with Terracycle about launching a national recycling scheme for pouches. However, one ‘Big Pet Food’ company have swooped in with their deep pockets and signed a 2-year exclusivity deal to prohibit other companies working with TerraCycle and offering to recycle for their packaging.
"This is not a call out to Big Pet Food to stop their acquisitions or to not use companies like Terracycle to offer to recycle. This is a call out, to be honest, and be ethical.
"If these companies care about the environment, why prohibit other companies from using a recycling scheme? Why not work with all other manufacturers to create a national programme to help customers recycle all brands of pet food pouches, instead of just one?
"If these companies care about high-quality ingredients in food, why not apply it to all brands?
Guy Blaskey's full comments can be read by clicking here
