It’s almost never good news when a high quality pet food company decides they want to go mass-market. Champion, maker of Orijen and Acana cat and dog foods, announced a few days ago that their new priority is to partner with Petco.
Why does that matter? We can assume this means a big jump in production volume in order to supply such a massive chain. In fact, the big jump in volume is WHY they are doing it…they want to grow exponentially. There’s nothing wrong with growth…but to grow this fast, it’s likely that either their most popular formulas will run out of stock (those of you who have been with Champion since the beginning will remember their original difficulties keeping up with demand)…or, they will start making substitiutions with lower quality, easier to acquire ingredients.
Independent brick & mortar retailers like us are not happy. It’s quite a reversal of their original commitment to work with independents. But honestly it’s you, our dear customers, who will feel the sting, because on 2/1/19, Champion’s new MAP (minimum pricing) goes into effect. This MAP pricing is enforced…we can’t go around it or risk losing the ability to sell it.
And it’s quite a bit higher than our prices. For example:
ACANA Wild Atlantic Grain-Free Dry Dog Food 25 lb
Our Price: $81.99
New MAP Price: $87.99
ACANA Singles Duck & Pear Dry Dog Food 25 lb.
Our Price: $74.99
New MAP Price: $82.99
ACANA Wild Atlantic Grain-Free Dry Cat & Kitten Food 4 lb.
Our Price: $24.99
New MAP Price: $26.99
ORIJEN USA Original Grain-Free Dry Cat & Kitten Food 12 lb.
Our Price: $60.99
New MAP Price: $65.99
But wait, there is a shiny lining. We love Open Farm, and have a great relationship with this wonderful family-run, ethically-centered manufacturer…and they are offering a special deal to our customers.
Switch from Orijen or Acana to Open Farm, and we’ll make it really easy…get $7 off 4lb/8lb/12lb bags of dog or cat food, or Freeze-dried (even better!)….or $10 off 24lb bags of dog food.
AND, we’ll move all of the Orijen or Acana frequent buyer points you have accumulated over to Open Farm.
Sometimes things just work out after all.