A pet food manufacturer is moving against waste by offering kibble refills at a nationwide retailer, in a first of its kind move.
Canidae has put the specially-developed stations in 100 Petcos across the country as part of an effort to cut costs and to reduce waste.
Buying from the stations will be as much as 40% cheaper than the brand’s two most popular varieties when they are sold in bags, a boost to buyers after pet food inflation peaked at 10.3% year-on-year in June, outstripping the average of 9.1% for all goods that month.
And it will cut landfill waste from regular kibble bags, with a pilot showing that the total reduction in the number of bags sent to the trash will be as much as 22,000 in the next year.
The move will see the stations in Petcos in California, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Denver, CO, Tampa and Orlando, FL, Boston, MA and Austin, TX.
It was trialed in Los Angeles and San Diego, where five stations sold 7,000lb of dog food, reflecting growing interest in reducing waste as well as bargain-hunting in a time of recession.
Canidae expected to sell 364,000 pounds of the new kibble mix through the stations by September 2023, and is also giving away 24lb reusable bags to help dog-lovers use the stations.
The Stamford, CT, headquartered corporation has committed itself to sustainable practices.
Retailers in recent years have come under pressure over waste from packaging, with plastic bag bans in an increasing number of states and municipalities.
Many chains have committed to greener practices, with Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, committed to 100% recyclable, reusable or industrially compostable packaging for private brand packaging by 2025.
Bret Furio, the CEO of Canidae, told Pet Food Processing: “The pet food industry has long lagged behind… when it comes to sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.
“At Canidae, we’ve set a goal for ourselves to eliminate more than 80% of our plastic packaging in the next eight years, in hopes that the rest of the industry follows suit.”
The appeal of cheaper kibble may be more of a lure than green credentials for some buyers. Pet advocates have warned that inflation is taking a heavy toll on some animal-lovers.
Jessica Petalas, director of Humane Indiana, told NPR in July that the charity had seen a surge in people surrendering their pets and citing the cost of looking after them as their reason for giving them up.
