Amid the whir of conveyor belts and machinery comes a loud, rhythmic slap, as one after another, a worker takes a stack of empty dog food bags and smacks each one on a metal surface to make sure the top is open.
Then, a robotic arm takes a single empty bag from the top of the stack and sets it in motion to be filled with kibble.
Filled bags are marked with a “best by” date and tracking information, and then scanned by a metal detector — one of multiple steps to make sure the pet food inside meets quality assurance standards. Eventually the bags will be sent to a machine that stacks them on a pallet for easy loading onto trucks heading out from the plant in Meadville to grocery stores across the country.
Ainsworth Pet Nutrition’s plant in Crawford County — where the company makes TV personality Rachael Ray’s line of dog and cat food — is in the middle of a significant expansion. The Meadville company, which opened administrative offices in Franklin Park in 2010, is spending millions on upgrades to the plant and has hired 92 employees this year alone. The privately held company didn’t disclose the amount it is spending on the expansion.
This nearly 80-year-old company was built on budget pet food, but its growth is being driven by a more upscale trend.
Ainsworth, once known as Dad’s Pet Care, is seizing the market for pet owners who want higher quality food for Fido. The company’s partnership with Rachael Ray is a critical component of that move, according to Jeff Watters, president and CEO. This year, the company is projected to fetch $500 million in revenue.
It’s not just a matter of charging more. A 6-pound bag of Rachael Ray Nutrish tends to run about $10, while a bag of Blue Wilderness brand at a pet store might be priced around $20.
The goal is to offer the quality of food often found in specialty pet stores but instead sell it through traditional supermarkets. “It’s a function of our transformation from what used to be a more value-oriented or open price-point-oriented product to a company that is now all about super-premium,” Mr. Watters said.
Humanizing four-legged friends
In March, the American Pet Products Association reported that pet owners shelled out a record $60.28 billion in 2015, up nearly 4 percent from 2014. That spending includes food, supplies/over-the-counter medications, veterinary care, live animal purchases and other services. This year, the association expects spending to jump to $62.75 billion.
“The pet humanization trend is alive and well and continues to drive growth at the premium end of the market,” Bob Vetere, president and CEO of the Connecticut-based trade group, said in a statement.
In its report, the organization noted that pet owners have begun “to scrutinize the treats they buy even more closely, and interest in natural, locally sourced ingredients has never been higher. Along with quality, value continues to be a driving factor with pet owners looking for more value for their dollar in the form of treats that provide additional health benefits such as dental care or joint care.”
Still, most of the growth is coming from rising prices — rather than from more food being sold, the report noted. That is, owners are willing to pony up more money for their pets.
Overall, pet food makers have a $31.2 billion share of the North American packaged food market in 2016, a number that has climbed steadily from $28.4 billion in 2012, according to Bloomberg data. Of those companies, Pedigree, owed by Mars Inc., had a 5.7 percent slice of that market in 2015, followed by Blue Buffalo at 5.5 percent.
Beyond Western Pennsylvania
Ainsworth Pet Nutrition was founded by George Ainsworth Lang in 1933 as Dad’s Pet Care.
The seeds of the company were first planted during the Great Depression. George Lang took the do-it-yourself approach to feeding the litter of puppies he was caring for after his dog gave birth. That grew into a company specializing in budget dog and cat food, sold mostly within a 10-hour radius of Meadville.
Decades later, in 2001, the company started making private label products for key customers.
About 10 years ago, the company, still known as Dad’s, noticed the market shifting toward more owners — or pet parents, as the company calls them — doting on their four-legged friends, and thus paying more attention to the kinds of ingredients going into their food.
Now about 90 percent of the company’s revenue is tied to sales of the super-premium lines, where six years ago, the number would have been about 25 percent, Mr. Watters said.
In 2007, the company approached Rachael Ray about a partnership, noting her high profile advocacy for animal welfare. A year later, the Nutrish line launched. In 2010, the company changed its name to Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. The family that founded the company are still majority owners. The company’s executive chairman, Sean Lang, is a fifth generation family member.
The big pet food recall
Around that time, the pet food market was reeling from a widespread pet food recall. In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration learned that some pet food ingredients sourced from China were contaminated with melamine. Melamine — used in plastics, inks and fertilizers — had been mixed with wheat gluten to make the pet food appear to have a higher protein level.
While the company, then called Dad’s, was not implicated in the recall, Mr. Watters noted that the problems shook up the industry.
Mr. Watters, whose resume includes positions at Kraft Foods and the H.J. Heinz Co. (before the two merged) and at Del Monte, joined Ainsworth as executive vice president of sales and marketing in 2009. He was named president and CEO three years later.
“If we’re not all experts on quality assurance, then the entire industry sector has real problems. A rising tide will lift the others or bury the others,” he said.
The recall got a lot of pet owners to pay closer attention to ingredients and where they are sourced.
Most of the ingredients used in Ainsworth’s products come from a radius of a couple hundred miles of the Meadville plant. The company also has a co-manufacturing plant in Kansas where it handles pet treats.
There are some exceptions for the regional ingredient sourcing. “Lamb from New Zealand would be one exception,” Mr. Watters said.
And the focus on new recipes means thinking of different protein sources. “Five years ago, we wouldn’t have been thinking of bison supply,” he noted.
The Rachael Ray Nutrish line is now the centerpiece of Ainsworth’s portfolio, with two-thirds to three-fourths of the company’s revenue generated from it. The company also has select private label, or store brand, partnerships, such as Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance brand.
About 90 percent of the company’s portfolio is dedicated to dogs. Feline products make up about 10 percent.
Taste testers near the plant
Back at the Meadville plant, new equipment is being installed to bolster production and is expected to be up and running by the year’s end, according to Jeff Burncheck, operations manager.
The company has about 460 employees. Nearly 300 work at the Meadville plant.
At a nearby kennel are the company’s taste testers — dogs and cats from a rescue organization that let Ainsworth know what recipes make the cut. As a rule, the food must not only meet animal standards but also be safe for human consumption, Mr. Burncheck said.
Why? Think of a toddler exploring a house.
“We used to have a poster hanging up of a baby playing in the dog’s food dish with the caption: ‘This is why we’re food safe,’ ” Mr. Burncheck explained.
Stephanie Ritenbaugh: sritenbaugh@post-gazette.com or 412-263-4910.
Correction, posted Nov. 15, 2016: The story has been changed to note the company is still headquartered in Meadville.
