Wellness... Changed Ownership?

[DougG]

I read on another pet forum that Wellness changed ownership sometime during the Summer.

Is anyone aware of this?

I've not Googled around for info on it.

All three of my Himalayan cats eat Wellness grain-free canned food almost exclusively - I'll give them other canned foods as a treat once in a while, but they do not get any kibble whatsoever.

I haven't noticed any changes in the food itself, the cats still eat it with gusto. But assuming that Wellness has indeed changed hands, I have to admit it's somewhat alarming news...

[Perseus]

Hi, I had heard about the purchase of the Wellness division from Old Mother Hubbard a couple of months ago.  I have used Wellness canned grain free for both adults and kittens in my house and never had a problem.  I've used it for about a year and a half now and my cats have always thrived on it.  I think the ingredients are well sourced and top grade, and I have confidence in the company.  I know many others that feed Wellness and also report very good results with their kitties.

Wellness as a company was purchased by another company (Berwind Industries) in the past few months, and I was concerned about quality or other changes in ingredients that sometimes occur after an acquisition.  I haven't seen anything that would make me question the food or the company however.  In fact, after the acquisition was announced I wrote to the Marketing Communications Manager and the Director of Quality Assurance at Wellness, and had a lengthy phone call with them about their current processes and what changes would occur.  They both assured me that no changes were planned and that 100% high quality ingredients would be continued.  They were both forthcoming in their answers and seemed very sincere.  I've never experienced such quality customer service with a pet food company before.

If you have any questions you'd like to direct at them, here's the info on the Marketing Communications Manager that I corresponded and spoke with:

Chanda Leary-Coutu
Wellness - Natural Food for Pets
Marketing Communications Manager
200 Ames Pond Drive
Tewksbury , MA 01876
cleary@wellnesspetfood.com
t: 978-289-5510
f: 978.863.0347
www.wellnesspetfood.com

Hope this helps, and if you find out anything to the contrary please let us know!

[Bonkers]

  I was told today by the owner of my local feed/pet food store that Wellness/Old Mother Hubbard and Eagle Pack are now owned by the same company. I did a quick search and found that they are both owned by WellPet.    http://wellpet.com/ 

[DougG]

Thanks much for the info. So... is this good, bad, or neutral? I've never heard of Wellpet before.

[Bonkers]

  As Perseus had reported earlier, Wellness/Old Mother Hubbard was purchased by Berwind Industries last year. They had previously purchased Eagle Pack in 2007 and have seemingly combined the two under the name WellPet.                                                                         
http://www.berwind.com/CRC.htm