MovieChat Forums > The Profit (2013) Discussion > Animal food

Animal food

posted 9 years ago by michinine
7 replies | jump to latest

I found it hard to swallow, that Marcus used the tired old "lets the customer decide which crappy product they like" route. Nobody is openly selling contaminated food, thats a no starter as an argument. But there is good sourced food and there is the other kinds.

If a store owner doesn't want this kind of customers, its his/her prerogative.

Marcus was in "I want to have 100 stores with any potential *bleep* I can sell" mode and was clearly annoyed by the morals of the owners.

But I give him the argument, that if a company that has previously created mediocre food suddenly produced reasonable products simply to survive in the market, thats ok. Sometimes the result is all thats relevant.

[–] duckyslattery 9 years ago

I agree with him that with retail, it's often good to appeal to the widest audience. If the market is too small and niche, you don't bring in enough customers to cover your costs.

I worked with a company that sold all natural pet food and they only expanded to 5 stores in about 10 years when the goal was to make it huge. The market just isn't there in many places. Plus some supermarkets sell the higher end stuff on their shelves. It's easier to make and more companies are making healthy foods.

But I think custom businesses like drums and gazebos can be high end because the market is small, it's a specialty skill, and people are willing to pay for quality.

[–] Moonlighty 9 years ago

Obviously the owners strategy wasnt bringing in business.

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

[–] StevenSmithNYC 9 years ago

There was no moral problem to start with. Marcus wasn't proposing they sell a terrible and unhealthy product. The owners were being snobs with not considering a company's product which actually met or exceeded their criteria, but were simply refusing to do business with them because they didn't like what their product line was in the past. That's just silly. It would be like refusing to eat at McDonalds if they offered a new menu to be healthy because in the past they weren't doing that. A business doesn't change unless they see there is a market for what they were doing. The other part of it, which was just as silly is they didn't like certain companies because they were so popular. Another stupid reason not supported by real data.

There is also a much bigger issue that people aren't coming to terms with. Where is the independent data from clinical research to support that their "more healthy" pet food is causing the pets to live longer and healthier lives. As a vet told us, you can give vitamin supplements to your dog, but sadly he's going to live the same amount of time. If there were solid clinical data to support the food has a dramatic difference to the pets, then the vets would insistent on what pet food products to give their pets. So given that, pet food is basically a commodity and sold everywhere. So price does matter. Why over pay for the same thing if they can get it cheaper at their local grocery store.

[–] duckyslattery 9 years ago

The niche pet market retailers are for the people who will spend more on their animals than they do on themselves. The dog lover and cat lover who think of their pet as their child. So they go not only for the food but all the other goodies they can buy to spoil their pet. So they're not necessarily looking for the most expensive but moderately priced but of good quality. These stores are more about the experience for the pet lover.

I kind of disagreed with Marcus because people who are pet crazed do look at the manufacturer and are a bit snobby about what food products they will buy. I would have let the business owner pick the suppliers and let them pick the good one but be open to less expensive products from the popular healthy suppliers. I don't think Marcus appreciated the snobbery of the pet lover.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] duckyslattery 9 years ago

You don't know what I've had or haven't had.

It seems everything is a reality show to you including the history of people on the internet that you don't even know.

I don't know why you can't talk about business like everyone else since you're so smart. It seems your business prowess is just another reality show that you play in your mind.

But if you want to keep talking about me it doesn't hurt my feelings. Don't think that it bothers me. I like watching you make a fool of yourself.

[–] arto-helenius 9 years ago

This snobbery is true with most purebred owners. There is no true logic with their thoughts, same is with most customers. Advertising, WOM marketing and mental image affects lots of peoples buying habits. Especially young consumers are susceptible for this kind of "brainwash", because they don't have experience and wan't to belong in the group. Some dog food might be popular in area A, because a vet or a breeders suggest it. In area B other food is more popular, because it has other advantages behind it's marketing. Most people don't understand basics of marketing, price structure formation or economics of scale. I'm trying to understand, but I don't understand everything. Bigger manufacturers get their raw material cheaper, they use their facilities more effectively, they handle business processes better etc. Many of these aspects we have seen in this series.

They based their dog food selection on many irrational things, like many other dog owner.
1. No grain/wheat because dogs are meat eaters or they cause allergies. Dogs are not wolves and are domesticated and separated from them tens of thousands of years ago. So domesticated dogs are accustomed to eat similar food as humans. So they can eat grains and vegetables. Grain is usually replaced with potato, that has been introduced to human consumption much later than grains. Other replacing raw material is rice, which is also newer than wheat. Beef is much more common cause of allergy than grains, but no one mentions it. There is no fact based basis that every dog needs to avoid grains.

2. Recalls. Every company has problems. Some recall their products in every minor instances and some don't even recognize their problems. Several brands that Barkery sells have had recalls, but they are premium brands, so recalls don't apply? Recalls in businesses are different, some recall, because packaging text is wrong or packed product is possibly tainted with allergenic or some other minor incident. Some recalls are major. Also some panic recalls from global companies, which happen in different country or they recall totally different product. So if company X recalls pig ears, because salmonella, why should I boycott their kibble, which has been manufactured in different factory and doesn't contain pig ears or pig at all?

I've seen people to avoid supermarket kibble, because those are bad, but buy same brand from pet store with greater price. They just have decided that supermarket kibble is bad so they don't ever visit that shelf to see that their brand is carried by supermarket. Or they buy brand A, because it is better than brand B or store own label even though all are same. For example global company has bought local manufacturer and keeps their brand, because it is popular, but also uses their own brand.