P&G aquires Natura Foods, including Innova evo

[sherrylynne]

http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1422726

A survey was also sent out. Quote from another forum:
on my cat forum people are freaking out about this too. Some of them were e-mailed a survey about Natura foods and one of the questions was:

"Currently, EVO Red Meat contains five different red meat products. Consideration is being given to adjusting the EVO Red Meat formulation to include two types of red meat protein, Lamb Meal and Beef which will result in a more balanced formula. This change may reduce the level of protein in the food from 42% to as much as 31%. The new EVO Red Meat will have a more balanced distribution of calories from protein, carbohydrate and fat. The formula will remain grain-free."

so clearly they are planning on downgrading and using more calories from carbs and less from meat, great. That's three foods in my rotation gone, I'll be really ticked if they change anything in EVO, the 95% meat canned foods are SO good for them (my cats)

[5CatMom]

This is bad news for Natura's retailers and customers.

The folks on many pet forums are very concerned.  On Susan Thixon's site, Amy says that Natura products were spotted at PetSmart in Houston.  LOL, that was fast!

My indie retailer in Kansas had 4 of the 15 lb bags of EVO on Friday, and when I stopped by the store on Saturday, there were NONE 'cause folks are stocking up.

I expect that Natura products will suffer the same fate as so many other pet foods.  Once a public corporation takes over, quality and customer service are low priorities.  All that matters is today's stock price.

      

[sherrylynne]

I've heard they are not starting their own production of it until July 1st, so if that's true, at least we have a bit of a reprieve to stock up and slowly switch them over to something else.

[Bonkers]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I spoke with a local independent retailer this afternoon. According to her current sales rep of Natura products, P&G are normally very slow in incurring changes to any of their products. She was also told that the finalization of the buyout deal will also most likely take longer than was first reported.

Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere but supposedly the current owners of Natura are going to remain active with the company. So I guess time will tell if this information is correct.

[sherrylynne]

Here's hoping, anyway! The fellow who owns the company "Tail Blazers"(where I buy a lot of my raw, as well as the Evo for the kitties) is very concerned with what goes on his store shelves, and is keeping an eye out on where they are going to start sourcing their materials from. A main concern is that they will start sourcing from places like China, which he's watching for, and if they do, will be pulling all product.
On an off note, here is a copy of the letter I got back from Natura when I wrote a concerned letter about the prospective buy out:

Dear Sherry,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We are very pleased to hear of the success that your feline family members are showing with our EVO products.



P&G believes wholeheartedly in Natura’s nutritional philosophy and have absolutely no intention of “compromising” the quality of its brands. In fact, they are fully committed to maintaining the quality of these terrific brands.



Our dedication to quality and our nutritional philosophy has not changed. Natura’s Founders; John & Ann Rademakers and Peter Atkins, started Natura’s business with the purpose to provide the healthiest pet foods in the world. In building Natura’s business they have maintained animal health and wellness as a priority. They have strongly supported their independent retail partners.



Let’s take a moment to reflect and think about the fact that they would not entrust Natura’s legacy to the new owner if they were not convinced that P &G would carry out their product philosophies and quality. P&G is committed to growing the Natura brands and they recognize the critical nature of growing the brands through the independent pet specialty stores.



We will continue to celebrate and advance Natura's legacy and nutritional philosophy and maintain Natura's current high standards for product and ingredient quality, food safety and manufacturing excellence. And, we will continue to support the development of a thriving independent pet specialty channel.



Again, thank you for contacting us and we especially thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your concerns.



Your Friend,



Nicole

Natura Representative