Weak dog food sales hit Smucker results; shares tumble

Smucker has been betting on its pet food business by adding brands such as Milk Bone and celebrity chef Rachel Ray’s Nutrish through the acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition.

However, Nutrish came under pressure as top dog food brands wrestled for market share in a red-hot premium pet food industry by rolling out products at competitive prices.

“We did not fully anticipate how aggressive some of the competition would be on pricing, particularly in trial-sized products,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Smucker told Reuters.

“We do believe that this pricing that we’ve seen in markets is at an unsustainable level. We will respond with pricing, in-store merchandising and advertising.”

Sales in its pet food unit, which also makes Meow Mix cat food, fell 7% in the first quarter from the previous quarter. The business is Smucker’s biggest, accounting for more than a third of its sales.

The CEO said he expects softness in Nutrish’s sales to continue in the second quarter and expects the dog food brand to grow in mid-to-high single digits for the rest of the year.