Organic pet food finds growing niche

Mainstream stores are now getting into the market.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Look for the bumper stickers soon: "My dog eats better than I do."
With a laugh, Julie Dye said that she's thinking about making them. Only for many pet owners, the message is not a joke.
The market in Boulder, Colo., for natural and organic pet food is booming alongside residents' interest in organic products. Organic products do not have pesticides, artificial ingredients or preservatives.
Take the Boulder-based Only Natural Pet store, a leading online natural pet-care company. In its second year, it reported a 132 percent sales increase in the first six months of 2006 over last year. The numbers reflect a growing concern for animal welfare -- and health overall, said Dye, who is the director of marketing for Only Natural.
Sales of organic pet foods grew from 20.8 million in 1999 to 29.4 million in 2001, according to Petfood Industry magazine.
Only Natural sells a variety of food, vitamins, supplements and other pet products. Most customers get turned on to pet health food as an attempt to address their pets' health problem, such as allergies and dry skin -- "To treat them right from the inside," Dye said.
This has led to a demand for different protein sources than in the past. More shoppers now want to feed their pets rabbit, beaver, duck, venison, buffalo and tripe, Dye said.
Buzz word
Andi Brown, author of "The Whole Pet Diet," said organic food is the "hottest buzz word in the pet industry."
"More people are bringing it into their stores and finally giving their customers options outside of the old mainstay grocery-store foods people came to trust," she said. "Let's face it. The quality of our food sources has become so depleted, and so have the animals."
She said she thinks most animal health problems can be solved by improving the diet. She urges people to cook for their pets, and provides recipes in her book.
She wrote the book after her cat, who was so sick he'd been deemed "incurable," immediately got healthy after she cooked him an all-natural stew of chicken and vegetables.
This was 17 years ago, she said. Back then, she said people laughed at her.
"Everyone said, 'No one will ever buy into natural products for pets,'" Brown said. "But that perspective changed as people looked into their own diet and nutrition."
Widening reach
The interest in more healthful alternatives stretches beyond people like Brown who cook "cat stew" at home and all-natural companies, such as Newman's Own. Mainstream big names sold at grocery or chain stores, such as Purina and Iams, are putting out natural versions. Although some warn that a label that says "natural" doesn't mean it's high-end or organic.
Sometimes the focus on pets goes to far, Dye said, such as people who dress up their dogs in expensive clothing and collars -- not for the animal but for the owner's ego. Or one customer who complained that her dog was a messy eater and asked if Only Natural sold pet napkins.
"Yeah, it's called a paper towel," Dye said. "For us, we're focused on 'Is that for the health of the pet? Is it natural?'"