On May 5, Proctor & Gamble announced that it was purchasing Natura Pet Products, an independently run, family owned business with premium pet food brands including Innova, Evo, California Naturals as well as Karma and Mother Nature. 

The reaction was immediate from long time supporter, and NPE co-founder, Lindsay Condefer, owner of premium retailer, Chic Petique when she pulled their product from the shelf.  Animal trainer and animal advocate, Michelle Frumento was equally concerned and proactively responsive posting this on our FB fanpage:  "I just called and spoke to someone at Natura. She said that if we want to make a difference, we need to flood them with emails and phone calls.They are listening.Email is: custserv@naturapet.com, Phone is...: (800) 532-7261". Artist Lois Turpin also voiced her frustration at P&G's history of animal testing and rumors of animal cruelty in the production of other brand affiliates such as Iams and Eukanuba. She is also concerned that mass-marketing the product will reduce the quality of content production;  "Corporations care about the almighty dollar, therefore ingredients degrade after most buyouts as profit is the bottom line, Turpin adds.

What  Lindsay, Michelle and may other pet owners are concerned about is that the formula will change and that changes will not be quickly or honestly communicated to consumers.  Natura brand products have a history of

A Facebook group, Just Say No to Natura Pet Products Selling Out, has been started in response to the news of the buyout. The facilitator of this site posted this response from a Natura representative: Natura... See More’s dedication to quality and 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.

Please take a moment to reflect and think about the fact that they would not entrust their legacy to a 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. We will continue to support the development of a thriving independent pet specialty channel.

I’ll leave you with a parting thought…

Did you know P&G is working with the FDA and respected animal welfare groups, to work on reforming regulations and validating alternative methods to support this?

To learn more about these efforts and other facts, please visit…

http://www.pg.com/animalalternatives/

www.IamsTruth.com

www.aspca.org/iams Viewpoint of an independent animal welfare organization

http://www.biorap.org Biological Research for Animals & People

http://altweb.jhsph.edu/ Alternatives to Animal testing site

http://www.hsus.org Humane Society of the United States

http://www.ampef.org/ Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation

Thank you once again for confiding in us. We sincerely appreciate your history of support and hope that you will continue to trust our brands and our people. We especially thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Your Friend,

Lisa - Natura Pet Products, Technical Services
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In my opinion, P&G's record in animal welfare is only an image boosting gesture and does not reassure me in any way that they will maintain quality control once they take over Natura Pet Products line of premium brand pet foods.  Time will tell and rest assured that attention will be focused on quality, content, continuity and integrity.  Your customers care!