# Champion sells out !!! BUMMER!!



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

I am still feeding Orijen, but I was shocked to find out that they sold out to Bedford Capital. They are an investment firm out of California. The CEO who I believe runs Elmer's glue is now in charge. I found out the father retired and turned over Champion to his sons. The sons couldn't come to an agreement on how the company was to be run and they sold out to Bedford. The 2 sons are still involved but from what I have found out, are still bickering. Tim Bowman in now the Director of Champion...

http://www.bedfordcapital.ca/investments2.html

Bedford Capital: Investment Situations

Tim Bowman: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek.


----------



## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I'm assuming Bedford Capital is a hedge fund. Are they running day to day operations for Champion or just managing their assets? Big difference between the two.


----------



## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

I hope they don't do what the investment group that bought Jackson-Perkins roses did.....they went bankrupt a couple years ago and now are no more.


----------



## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

investment firms usually care about one thing, profit! They will most likely insist on management changes and process changes to squeeze out every bit of efficiency. What is good for the bottom line, isn't necessarily good for the customer. 

Since I feed Acana, I will be keeping a close eye on the situation.


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Lucy Dog said:


> I'm assuming Bedford Capital is a hedge fund. Are they running day to day operations for Champion or just managing their assets? Big difference between the two.


I really am not sure what is going on other than what I posted. I am really into dog food because my vet told me my last dog "could have" gotten his tumor from the food I fed him. It's amazing how easy it is to educate yourself with the help of the net. Here is one great site if anyone is interested 

The Dog Food Project - Ingredients to avoid

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts


----------



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

IMO, it seems as if Champion is positioning themselves to make a strong push in the pet food industry. A product like Orijen foods may have had to charge higher prices, because they had a weak asset base, and was unable to produce in larger quantities to meet market demand. Small businesses tend to stay small, because they go month to month.
Some additional cash flow is a good thing.

I'm not concerned. It looks like nothing more than their evidence of growth.


----------



## ChampionPetFoods (Jun 4, 2012)

*Clarity on Champion Petfoods & Bedford*

Hi Everyone,

We here at Champion value the trust we have gained from our customers by being completely open and transparent, and appreciate all the concerns and comments about our business practices - we have pets too and everything we do is linked to their health and well-being. So we know you are truly concerned when you ask about Bedford's involvement in our company.

As noted by Peter our VP of Sales and Marketing, and the son of Champion's founder, "Bedford has skillfully facilitated the succession of our family business from one generation to the next. And, with Bedford’s substantial resources, support and *genuine enthusiasm for our products and people*, we’re now firmly positioned to continue our rapid growth within pet specialty markets—both here in Canada and abroad.”
Bedford is a Canadian investment company that helps companies grow into the next level of their business. Find out more on their website. Bedford Capital: Overview

And, rest assured Champion's food development, ingredient procurement and manufacturing and testing practices each maintain the high standards set by Peter and his father Reinhard - and, as they have, we continue to seek ways to improve our products to give your beloved cats and dogs the best nourishment and feeding performance possible.

Our mandate is to make Biologically Appropriate dog and cat foods from Fresh Regional Ingredients; which we make exclusively in our award-winning kitchens here in Alberta, Canada - we Never Outsource, nor do we manufacture foods for other companies. 

I hope this adds some clarity to your questions. Always feel free to contact us through either the ACANA or ORIJEN websites, or by emailing [email protected]

ACANA Pet Foods | Acana Orijen


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Does this mean we won't have any more orijen-is-the-best-food-posts???

:teary:


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

:shocked: 



selzer said:


> Does this mean we won't have any more orijen-is-the-best-food-posts???
> 
> :teary:


----------



## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

ChampionPetFoods said:


> Our mandate is to make Biologically Appropriate dog and cat foods from Fresh Regional Ingredients; which we make exclusively in our award-winning kitchens here in Alberta, Canada - *we Never Outsource*, nor do we manufacture foods for other companies.


I thought your chicken meal (and possibly other meat meals) were outsourced from the US...?

Can you confirm where your chicken meal comes from? Is that processed in house?


----------



## TrickyShepherd (Aug 15, 2011)

.....I'm getting really tired of all this dog food mess. My whole first year with Zira was switching from food to food to food..... then got settled on a mediocre food. Got healthy enough to switch to Taste of the Wild.... then they had their recalls.... switched back to Acana..... And now this..

What a freaking headache! I really hope nothing changes.... I do not feel like switching yet again, and I can't with Z's SIBO. Geez...

Does it ever end? 


...I will be keeping a very close eye on this.


----------



## kam214 (Mar 3, 2012)

It will be interesting to see if Champion responds to the questions in this thread, because they sure as heck don't answer emails...


----------



## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

kam214 said:


> It will be interesting to see if Champion responds to the questions in this thread, because they sure as heck don't answer emails...


That's not the experience I have had. Granted, I have only messages them once via the 'Contact Us' form on their website. However when I did, I got an automated response saying they would be in touch in 3 to 5 business days immediately and got an actual written response in 2 business days. 

Unless there is a bad recall, or a noticeable change in their ingredients or quality I will be sticking with Orijen for the foreseeable future. Jasmine loves the 6 Fish formula and has been doing great on it.


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Sheeze! :headbang:
And I thought feeding raw was a headache!


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

I contacted Orijen for the second time about Bedford and the role they play in day-day operations and as of right now I feel comfortable about the response I got.


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Sunflowers said:


> Sheeze! :headbang:
> And I thought feeding raw was a headache!


I got a chuckle out of that. I would home feed my dog if it were a little more practical for me. But thanks, you reminded me to take some beef heart out of the freezer.


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

3ToesTonyismydog said:


> I got a chuckle out of that. I would home feed my dog if it were a little more practical for me. But thanks, you reminded me to take some beef heart out of the freezer.


Really...this is not acceptable. People who feed kibble should be able to do so without this kind of BS going on, being afraid that what you give your dog could cause harm or worse.

I fed kibble for 18 years to my previous dog with no issue. I did not know anything about raw in the 80s, and it never would have occurred to me to even feed that way. 
I found out about raw on this board while researching what would be the best food for Hans and was sold because of the testimonials of less odor, smaller poos and cleaner teeth. 

But if I wanted to switch I would like to be able to do it without fear!


----------



## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> Really...this is not acceptable. People who feed kibble should be able to do so without this kind of BS going on, being afraid that what you give your dog could cause harm or worse.
> 
> I fed kibble for 18 years to my previous dog with no issue. I did not know anything about raw in the 80s, and it never would have occurred to me to even feed that way.
> I found out about raw on this board while researching what would be the best food for Hans and was sold because of the testimonials of less odor, smaller poos and cleaner teeth.
> ...


No offense, but I'm confused. What is not acceptable? What is there to be afraid of? There is no recall or anything of that sort going on here, and nothing of the sort mentioned in this thread whatsoever. As far as I can tell this is a thread, started months ago, about an investment firm taking a controlling interest in Champion Pet Foods. I don't understand what is so scary about that.

The whole Diamond debacle this year is another story, but that wasn't the first pet food recall and it certainly won't be the last. There are just as many recalls, more in fact, in the human food industry every year. No industry is perfect, unfortunately. At least the pet food industry has food safety checks in place and is more controlled and regulated than it ever has been in the past.

In all the years you fed kibble back when the industry was far less regulated and monitored there could have been (and probably was) horrible things going into the food that pets were being fed. How many recalls would there have been back then if the checks and inspections that are in place now existed, yet our pets seemed to survive just fine.

Again, I really mean no offense, but I am confused as to what you find so scary.


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Hey Sunflowers, whats really "scary" is the amount of BABY food that is recalled every year. I mean this stuff can kill your children, pet food recalls are just making dogs sick and heck Pedigree used to make my dogs sick. Like Ken says we did get off topic.

Search Results: Baby food recalls


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> There are just as many recalls, more in fact, in the human food industry every year. No industry is perfect, unfortunately. At least the pet food industry has food safety checks in place and is more controlled and regulated than it ever has been in the past.


This. 
And the fact raw feeding carries with it many of it's own dangers, I think people just need to do what's comfortable for them.
I'm not ever going to feed raw to my dogs unless all the sudden over half of them perish (not cost effective), so kibble's what we feed. 

Last year there was a very deadly outbreak of listeriosis in our state. I just didn't eat cantaloupe for a while. Nobody did!
Want to know what's scary - it doesn't even affect you until a _month_ after eating it!

CDC: 13 dead in listeria cantaloupe outbreak - Health - Food safety - msnbc.com


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Ken Clean-Air System said:


> No offense, but I'm confused. What is not acceptable? What is there to be afraid of? There is no recall or anything of that sort going on here, and nothing of the sort mentioned in this thread whatsoever. As far as I can tell this is a thread, started months ago, about an investment firm taking a controlling interest in Champion Pet Foods. I don't understand what is so scary about that.
> 
> 
> Again, I really mean no offense, but I am confused as to what you find so scary.


You are absolutely right.

My apologies for throwing the thread off topic.

I was talking about all the problems, recently, with dog food in general, including the deaths of dogs from treats made in China.


----------

