Lawsuits Spread Regarding Allegedly Using Fish Caught by Slave Labourers

Right on the heels of the lawsuit against Nestlé for allegedly using fish caught by slave labourers is a lawsiut against Big Heart Pet Brands (owned by Smuckers) for allegedly importing pet food from suppliers that use slave labour.

One of the suppliers that Nestlé uses, Thai Union Frozen Products, has exported almost 30 million pounds of pet food into the United States. Thai Union has been linked with slave labour. Hagens Berman alleges that Big Heart Pet Brands also imports products from Thai Union and is therefore using products that were caught by slave labourers. Bergman said Big Heart Pet Brands does not disclose that they use fish caught by slave labourers and that violates California law.

The law firm that is representing Bergman states, “Based on our investigation and media reports, Hagens Berman attorneys believe that Thai Union relies on forced or slave labor to catch the fish used in fish-based Meow Mix-brand wet cat foods. These men and boys are victims of many human rights violations: they are trafficked from countries neighboring Thailand, sold to fishing boats by brokers and smugglers, and forced to work under physical violence, emotional abuse, and verbal threats. Reports by the New York Times and The Guardian have recently shed light on these inhumane working conditions.”

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J.M. Smucker Co. Sees Sales Increase After Acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands

The J.M. Smucker Company experienced a 47% increase in sales after their acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands. Sales increased by $628.2 million USD for a total of $1.95 billion USD in sales. Diluted net income per common share remained at $1.14 USD and stock increased by $8 USD per share.

The purchase enabled Smuckers to enter the pet-food market. Brands included in the acquisition were Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Kibbles 'n Bits, 9Lives, Natural Balance, Pup-Peroni, Gravy Train, Nature's Recipe, Canine Carry Outs and Milo's Kitchen.

Smucker’s Chief Executive, Richard Smucker said, “We are off to a solid start this fiscal year. Contributions from the Big Heart acquisition and new products were key drivers of this performance. Overall, we are on track to achieve our full year expectations for net sales and earnings, and are confident about the initiatives we have in place to support future growth.”

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Large Pet Food Companies and Sustainable Practices

Mars Petcare is open about their dedication to sustainable practices. In 2010, Mars said they would only purchase fish from fisheries/fish farms that were certified as sustainable by a third party. Mars also said it would no longer use wild caught fish and would rely on fish byproducts or farmed fish. This prevents pet food sources from competing with human food sources. In the United States, Mars receives its fish products from sources approved by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.

Nestlé Purina produced a report documenting a reduction in energy and water use at several plants. Purina also reports “a traceability program addresses sustainability risk and opportunities and focuses on issues such as deforestation, overfishing, human rights, child labor, water scarcity and animal welfare.”

J.M. Smucker (Big Heart Pet Brands) is reported to regularly review its sustainability initiatives. Vice President of Corporate Communications, Maribeth Burns said, “While we continually review our sustainability initiatives throughout the Company, we have not yet formalized our focus on the pet food industry at this time.”

One challenge in the pet industry is that owners are seeking food for their pets that more closely resembles what humans eat. Global Sustainability Director for Mars Petcare, Isabelle Alvoet said, “We are going to have to educate our consumers. It’s not easy.”

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Big Heart Pet Brands Closing Pittsburgh Plant

The pet food company Big Heart Pet Brands is closing it’s plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All work done at the Pittsburgh plant will be consolidated into their headquarters in Orrville, Ohio. The consolidation will be effective April 30th, 2016.

255 employees will be affected by the closure. Many of the employees work in accounting, finance, information technology, and other service jobs. Relocation opportunities will be available to approximately 100 employees.

J.M. Smucker, parent company of Big Heart Pet Brands said, “We are committed to being fair to our employees including offering severance packages and company paid programs to those not relocating to assist in finding new employment. While difficult, this decision to consolidate our teams will allow us to leverage our existing systems infrastructure at our headquarters while promoting consistency and efficiency in our service to our consumers and customers.”

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Smucker enters pet food business with acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands

Big Heart Pet Brands announced earlier this month that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by The J.M. Smucker Company in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $5.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the Big Heart Pet Brands' current fiscal year, which ends on May 3, 2015. 

"We are pleased to join the Smucker Company and their family of iconic brands," said Dave West, president and CEO of Big Heart Pet Brands. "Given the strong alignment between Big Heart Pet Brands' and Smucker's purposes and values, I'm confident that Smuckers is a great fit for our brand portfolio. Our sponsor owners have been great partners as we invested in growing our business and capabilities to drive value creation, and our iconic pet food and snack brands have significant growth potential. Smucker will provide these resources and scale to help our brands continue to grow and flourish." 

Under the terms of agreement, Big Heart Pet Brands' shareholders will receive 17.9 million shares of Smucker common stock and $1.3 billion in cash. Smucker will also refinance $2.6 billion of Big Heart Pet Brands' debt. Upon close of the transaction, Dave West will serve as president of Smucker's new pet food business. 

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Big Heart Pet Brands reports fiscal 2014 third quarter results

Last month, Big Heart Pet Brands (formerly known as Del Monte Corporation) completed the sale of its Consumer Products business and is now one of the largest standalone pet products companies in the U.S. 

Last week, the company announced its third quarter results for fiscal 2014. Highlights from the report include a net sales increase of 9% to $576 million in pet products, an increase in operating income by 27% to $82 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 15% to $131 million. 

"As a standalone pet products company, Big Hearts Pet Brands will be singularly focused on capturing growth opportunities in the expanding $21 billion U.S. pet products category," said Dave West, president and CEO of Big Heart Pet Brands. "We are uniquely positioned with a powerful and broad portfolio of iconic pet brands, strong position in key pet food categories, robust business fundamentals and a commitment to creating a better future for pets by nurturing the bond between pets and the people who love them." 

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Del Monte Pet Products relaunches as Big Heart Pet Products

Del Monte Foods Pet Products is rebranding as Big Heart Pet Products. The creation of Big Heart Pet Brands follows the company's sale of its Consumer Products division to Del Monte Pacific Limited. 

The new name reflects the company's singular focus on the pet products market and underscores the company's purpose: nurturing the bond between pets and the people who love them. Big Heart Pet Brands will continue to deliver iconic and well-known brands: Milk-Bone®, Meow Mix®, Natural Balance®, Kibbles 'n Bits®, 9Lives®, Milo's Kitchen®, Pup-Peroni®, Nature's Recipe®, Canine Carry Outs®, Gravy Train®, as well as other brand names.

“As a standalone pet products company, Big Heart Pet Brands will be singularly focused on capturing growth opportunities in the expanding $21 billion pet products category,” said Dave West, president and chief executive officer of Big Heart Pet Brands.

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Big Heart Pet Brands will host a conference call/webcast and slide presentation to discus its fiscal 2014 third quarter results. The company invites interested parties to listen to its presentation, which will be webcast live on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 8 a.m. Pacific. For more information, CLICK HERE.