Pedigree pet food
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Pedigree Pet Foods is a company that manufactures pet food, and is based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and has another factory in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. It is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. The UK division of Mars Inc has been called Masterfoods since January 2002. Previously it was Pedigree Masterfoods and Mars Confectionery (a division, making the Mars Bar, is based in Slough, home of The Office TV series). The company makes the market leaders Pedigree Chum and Whiskas, as well as Kitekat and Pal. Whiskas' old slogan was "8 out of 10 owners say their cat prefers it." Masterfoods, until recently, sponsored the Burghley Horse Trials, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, now sponsored by another country sport stalwart, Land-Rover. Pedigree comes from a French phrase meaning birds feet, representing the shape of family trees.
Masterfoods confectionery products in the UK, such as Mars Bar, Twix or Snickers list Waltham-on-the-Wolds as their headquarters, not Slough, even though only pet food is made at Waltham.
The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, also mentioned in TV advertisements for dog food, is based here as well. There are 250 dogs and 600 cats who get fed here every day, and are very well looked after. This is publicised as conducting the most advanced research on dog and cat food in Europe, if not the world. This may be marketing overkill.
Nestlé Purina make the dog food 'Winalot' and 'Go Cat', after buying out the original manufacturer, Spillers Petfoods, in 1998. The two biggest pet food manufacturers in Europe are Masterfoods and Nestlé Purina, having factories in many European countries.
Waltham is also known for the 290 metre high Waltham TV Mast nearby, built in 1967, which is the transmitter for the whole of the BBC East Midlands region.
External links
- Pedigree Petfoods (http://www.uk.pedigree.com)
- BBC East Midlands Today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/eastmidlandstoday)
- Waltham Centre (http://www.waltham.com/waltham)
- Masterfoods (http://www.masterfoods.com)
- Whiskas Cat Food (http://www.whiskas.co.uk)
- KiteKat Cat Food (http://www.kitekat.co.uk)
- List of reports for pet food sales in different countries (http://www.euromonitor.com/Petfoodandpetcareproducts)