Breeder's Own

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc.

Heshan Abeywickrema

Bellevue University

MBA 652: Marketing Strategy

Prof. Adrianne Agulla

03/23/2014

1. Case recap

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. is a dog food producer that specializes in producing food for show-dog kennels. They have a successful product for show dogs called the Breeder’s Mix. Breeder’s Mix consists of the highest quality materials that include federally inspected beef by-products, beef, liver, and chicken. Fresh meat accounts to 85% of the product, while the remaining 15% consist of the highest quality fortified cereals. Breeder’s Mix has no additives or preservatives, and it is packaged frozen to keep the product fresh and prevent spoilage of the uncooked meat. The company wanted to diversify and expand by entering into the retail branded dog food market in the metropolitan market area of Boston, Massachusetts. Entering the retail dog food market was a natural progression since it provides Breeder’s Mix with ample growth opportunities.

2. Problem Identification

As previously mentioned Breeder’s Mix is a very successful product among show dog owners. That is also their biggest problem, being limited to show dog owners. This is a very small percentage of the total dog population in the United States, which is 78 million strong and increasing at a steady rate. Breeder’s Mix is an unknown product when compared to the national brands of dog food.

There are three main categories of dog food in the market. The choices are between dry dog food, canned dog food, and dog treats. Dry dog food accounts to about 60% of total dog food. The national brands in the dry dog food category consist of Beneful, Kibbles N Bits, Dog Chow, and Iams. Canned dog food accounts for 20% of total dog food. The main canned food brands consist of Alpo, Cesar Select, Mighty Dog, Pedigree, and Iams. The remaining 20% constitutes the dog treats category with national brands such as Milk Bone, Beggin’ Strips, and Busy Bone....