Science Diet

Some pet owners no longer trust science when it comes to feeding their cats and dogs, reports Serena Ng in The Wall Street Journal (2/6/13). For many years, Science Diet was a trusted brand that “justified its boutique prices by using research to back up claims that its concoctions of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and other ingredients derived from corn, grains and meat products were particularly good for pets.” However, consumer trends are now toward “dog and cat foods with ingredients and flavors that mimic their own meals.”

As Brian Saunders, proud owner of Tyson, a brindle pitbull, explains: “If I can’t eat the ingredients, I won’t feed them to my dog.” His brand-of-choice features ingredients including “venison, bison and berries.” Javier Escalante, an analyst, says that consumers today experience a disconnect between the Science Diet brand and their growing interest in all-natural ingredients. “People now think of Science Diet as something artificial and not natural.”

Science Diet is a brand of Hill’s, the pet-food division of Colgate-Palmolive, and had been “a source of consistent growth and a star performer in Colgate’s portfolio.” However, “over the past few years, pet food has been the dog” of the Colgate array. The brand has tried to respond with a line extension featuring “lamb, brewer’s rice and apples,” to little effect. Hill’s will soon launch a new product minus the Science Diet name — its first new product since 1968 — featuring “chicken, salmon, fruits and vegetables, and no corn, wheat or soy.”