PHOENIX, 2018-Jan-29 — /EPR Retail News/ — To address the rapidly evolving area of pet nutrition, PetSmart, Inc. announced today (Jan. 25, 2018) it has formed the Healthy Pet Advisory Council, a community of experts that will support PetSmart’s efforts to lead the pet retail industry in pet nutrition, health and wellness. The council will focus on three key areas: research, innovation and education.
“At PetSmart, we love pets, and we want them to lead happy and healthy lives,” said Paul Hunt, PetSmart’s senior vice president of sourcing and product development. “The goal of the council is to advance the health and wellness of pets across North America through pet nutrition research and innovation. This research will help enhance PetSmart’s proprietary pet food formulations and educate pet parents in line with advances in pet nutritional science.”
“We sought out some of the most innovative thought leaders in this area, including veterinarians, researchers and nutritionists to join our effort, and we look forward to providing new options for pets and pet parents in the future,” Hunt continued.
Initial appointments to the council include:
- Joseph Wakshlag, DVM, Ph.D., associate professor, Section Chief of Clinical Nutrition at Cornell University;
- Kelly Swanson, Ph.D., professor of Comparative Animal Nutrition in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
- Tony Buffington, DVM, Ph.D., DACVN (emeritus), clinical professor, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and emeritus professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University;
- Randy Johnson, Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition;
- And PetSmart consultants and associates who are experts in their fields of veterinary medicine, nutrition, research, regulations and food safety
The council will explore new ingredients and manufacturing technology to improve pet food formulations that provide optimal nutrition for pets. The council’s key findings will be applied to PetSmart’s proprietary pet food brands, including Authority®, Simply Nourish™, Grreat Choice® and Dentley’s®. Education efforts will focus on PetSmart retail associates and pet parents to enhance their knowledge on crucial topics such as nutrition and ingredient functionality. The council will launch an informative public website to aid in its education efforts to help pet parents better understand and navigate the best nutritional choices to meet the needs and lifestyle of their pets.
About PetSmart®
PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they, together, can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 55,000 associates, operate 1,600 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and products, as well as pet-focused services such as dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart™ Doggie Day Camp™ and pet adoption. PetSmart, together with non-profits PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities® of Canada, invite more than 3,500 animal welfare organizations to bring adoptable pets into stores so they have the best chance possible of finding a forever home. Through this in-store adoption program and other signature events, PetSmart has facilitated more than 7.6 million adoptions – more than any other brick-and-mortar organization. The company’s portfolio of digital resources for pet parents includes PetSmart.com, petMD.com, Pawculture.com, AllPaws, an online pet adoption platform that helps potential pet parents find the perfect pet to adopt based on their home, family and lifestyle, as well as BlogPaws, the world’s first pet blogger and influencer network. Through these digital platforms, PetSmart offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. In May 2017, PetSmart acquired Chewy.com, a leading online retailer of pet food and products in the U.S., which operates as an independent subsidiary.
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Contacts:
Virginia Hock
Golin for PetSmart
469-680-2611
vhock@golin.com
Source: PetSmart Inc.