Assignment Sample of BBA Case Study

Introduction

There has been a significant fall in the quality of pet food products in the market. This has led to a disparity among pet owners. Most of the company's selling pet food products fail to provide relevant information regarding the ingredients and nutritional values of their products available in the market. There is an inconsistency in the labeling of the products. The Suppliers of the raw materials for these food items are often untraceable and do not have any reliable information regarding the raw materials used. This has also led to a continuous fall in the caregivers to suggest proper food for their pets. This paper focuses on the research and literature currently relevant and available on this issue. The paper aims to shed some light on the topic as there is a visible absence of literature in this sphere though it is a very relevant crisis. The paper will analyze the various research available and draw a conclusion on how the problem manifests and affects pet owners. Then it will analyze the outcomes of how the findings will affect the market structure of pet foods and how the customer base might react after knowing all the information that is currently not available to them. The paper will take into account the example of the brand Royal Canin, a UK-based company that has taken many necessary steps in the right direction to help eradicate this problem. The company’s policies will be analyzed thoroughly in order to achieve an understanding of how the problem can be handled on a larger scale. Finally, the paper will draw recommendations based on available facts thus bringing into light solutions to this imminent crisis.

Literature Review

The issue at hand is the existence of health priority gaps in pet food. Existing literature states that there is an inconsistency among pet food companies and pet stores big and small when it comes to labelling standards and general misinformation.  There have been regular instances of foreign material showing up in canned pet foods. There have been multiple instances of recalls of batches of both dog and cat food because of the potential of metal bits showing up in the cans. Though these really are the product of corporate greed, they have adversely affected small to medium-sized pet food providers (Ichihashi, Yosuke, and Kentarou, 2018, 167). there is another larger issue that these recalls point out to. There is a prominent disparity in the quality control standards and health priority in the pet food industry.

The pet food industry has become a prominent one in recent times with a significant increase in the number of pet owners. The rise has pointed out that there has become a steady need for pet foods that provide the right amount of nutrition to the pets. Since there is a disparity in the labelling standards of such pet food it has become extremely difficult for the caregivers to identify the proper food choice. Literature states that there are a certain number of questions that one can ask before making these choices. While most of these answers can be found by perusing the pet food label, provided that they have the correct information, most of the time it would require a call or email to the company (De, et al. 2020, 131-139). That would also not be an assured way of getting the correct answers.

Growing animals should be given a diet that would support growth and nutrition while adult pets need a continuous diet that provides them with proper maintenance. The diets should provide all the essential building blocks that will help them have a healthy future and a long and happy life. But this has become a challenge since their inconsistencies among the products that are available in the market (Usui, Yosuke, and Yasunori, 2020, 290). There is a considerable amount of gap in research and literature when it comes to understanding the value of pet food nutrition. The priorities remain for most powers, the quantity and not the quality of the product. This has led to pet companies using this trend to continuously deteriorate the quality of the products in order to increase their quantity and profits. Secondly, there is inconsistency even in the products that do have a good reputation. The labels that are on the product do not provide the exact information which leads to misinformation.

Whatever literature exists states that large manufacturing companies don't conduct any post-production testing and smaller companies that do conduct some form of quality checks often outsource most of their ingredients to other companies that do not conduct any. The company Royal Canin has taken multiple steps in order to address this issue. Firstly they have a fully functioning website platform that provides all the essential information when it comes to the products that they have available. Secondly, they prioritize the health and nutrition value of their products (Sheng 2020, 30). Their websites have full statements regarding the ingredients that are put into their products. They help customers understand the different ingredients that are used in their products and their specific role in the nutritional needs of the customer’s beloved pets.

The company Royal Canin has been in operation for the last decades and has been providing quality food for pets all over the country. The company has been known for its consistent quality and follows the same strict process of quality control all over its production facility. They maintain proper standards when it comes to the quality of their Raw materials and chooses their ingredients on the basis of high nutritional content and health benefits. They only use meat and fish that arrive from the human food chain. They do not source raw materials unless it is accredited and have maintained suppliers that are known to be quality consistent. The suppliers they use are all from local areas near their production centers. This supports the local economy and ensures that there is a reduction in the carbon footprint.

They have a rigorous process of supplier selection that helps them in maintaining their best in class quality and safety standards. As part of maintaining this quality, they undertake regular death audits to determine the nutritional value and product quality, traceability, and sustainability. Their ingredients are fully traceable to their sources and the full duration of the shelf life is maintained (Sakoda, Ayumu, and Kinichiro, 2018, 226). Having a trackable source maintains accountability and supports a continuous product appreciation that leads to consistency in the arrival of raw materials that will be of the best quality. The nutritional values and the production quality can also be put into continuous checks and balances to understand if there are any new requirements in the products.

The company develops all its new products in consultation with veterinary professionals to understand the modernization of the pets. With the change in time and environment, the needs of pets are also changing. New requirements of nutritional values are rising. For this fact the common stay in continuous consultation with veterinary doctors in order to stay in the loop and provide the best possible product efficiency to its customers. Royal Canin is committed to providing and ridding the nutritional gap that is currently present in the pet food market by assuring quality products that fulfill the essential needs of every pet.

Findings and Discussion

By reviewing the relevant literature, it can be observed that the current pet food industry has a gap in health priority when it comes to their product. The most relevant in this issue is the lack of availability of proper labeling of the products. Companies are seen to be peddling misinformation and showing continuous deterioration in labeling their products with the proper ingredients that are used and the nutritional values of the products. This has led to confusion among the pet owners and caregivers who are finding it hard to recommend products that will be good for the pets (Chapagain, et al. 2017, 100). Though this trend is mainly absorbed in large corporations, the effect has been widespread and is challenging the small pet supply business that works as outsourcing firms for these corporations.

The company Royal Canin is handling this situation by taking steps in the right direction. They have a fully functional website that provides all relevant details regarding their products. they also maintain a consistent labeling policy regarding the ingredients used and the nutritional value of their products. They are in continuous consultation with veterinary professionals in order to provide the utmost nutritional value to their customers. Their attention to detail helps them in providing the most precise and effective health nutrition for pets. Their main focus is product safety and they have a steady customer base as a result of maintaining their values for the last 5 decades.

The current pet market also observes the problem of a trend among pet owners to go for quantity and not quality, when it comes to pet food. Taking advantage of this situation companies are deteriorating the quality of the ingredients used to maximize profit and reduce the nutritional standards of products. Larger quantities of products though available in the market have often been called as a result of risks that might harm pets. Foreign materials, main bits of metal are being found in canned pet foods as a result of organizations' non-performing proper quality checks. There is also a latency in supplier selection and inferior quality of ingredients that these companies are opting for at a lower price. This ultimately affects the quality of the product.

Royal Canin in order to address this issue performs rigorous quality tests of their products. They use strict selection criteria in order to maintain best in class quality and safety standards the take in death audits determine the nutritional value, production quality, and sustainability of their products.

The ingredients that they use are fully traceable. 100% of their incoming raw materials are analyzed and sampled. These samples are kept in storage for two years to trace any inconsistency that might arise in the future. They are able to trace every raw material all the way back to its origin, for the full duration of the shelf life of the product. The company chooses its raw materials based on their nutritional values and not based on its financial aspect. They are committed to providing the best possible health benefits to pets. This has ensured that they have a loyal customer base who are fully dependent on Royal Canin products for their pets.

Reference

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Chapagain, Durga, Zsófia Virányi, Lisa J. Wallis, Ludwig Huber, Jessica Serra, and Friederike Range. "Aging of attentiveness in border collies and other pet dog breeds: the protective benefits of lifelong training." Frontiers in aging neuroscience 9 (2017): 100

De Mello, Julia Eisenhardt, Diogo La Rosa Novo, Gilberto Silva Coelho Junior, Priscila Tessmer Scaglioni, and Marcia Foster Mesko. "A Green Analytical Method for the Multi Elemental Determination of Halogens and Sulfur in Pet Food." Food Analytical Methods 13, no. 1 (2020): 131-139.

Hernán, Manuel. "Paroxysmal Dyskinesia in the dog." (2019).

Ichihashi, Masaki, Yosuke Kobayashi, and K. I. Y. A. Kentarou. "Pet food." U.S. Patent Application 15/557,167, filed February 15, 2018.

Sakoda, Junya, Ayumu Tagami, and Kinichiro Koyama. "Pet food." U.S. Patent Application 15/764,226, filed September 27, 2018.

Sheng, Yajun. "Analysis and Reflection on the Status of Pet Dog Food in Marketing and Brand Loyalty Management." Revista Cientifica-Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias 30, no. 2 (2020).

Usui, Takahiro, Yosuke Kobayashi, and Yasunori Kurokawa. "Pet food and producing methods, therefore." U.S. Patent Application 15/754,290, filed August 30, 2018.