Breeder's Own Pet Foods, Inc. In January 2011, Breeder's Own Pet Foods, Inc. executives looked forward to their meeting with representatives of Marketing Momentum Unlimited, a market- ing and advertising consulting firm. The purpose of the meeting was to review the introductory program for the company's entry into the retail branded dog food market in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan market area. ket as a growth opportunity for Breeder's Mix, its primary brand, following discussions with food brokers. These brokers had become aware that a prod- uct similar to Breeder's Mix was being sold in the freezer section of selected supermarkets in a few large cities in the southwestern and midwestern United Breeder's Own Pet Foods, Inc. executives viewed the retail dog food mar- States. THE COMPANY AND THE PRODUCT Breeder's Own Pet Foods, Inc. is a major producer of dog food for show-dog ken- nels in the United States. The company has prospered as a supplier of a unique dog food for show dogs called Breeder's Mix. Breeder's Mix was originally for- mulated by a mink rancher as a means of improving the coats of his minks. After several years of research, he perfected the formula for a specially prepared food and began feeding his preparation to his stock on a regular basis. After a short period of time, he noticed that their coats showed a marked improvement. Shortly thereafter, a nearby kennel owner noticed the improvement and asked to use some of the food to feed his dogs. The dogs' coats improved dramatically and a business was born. Breeder's Mix dog food contains federally inspected beef by-products, beef, liver, and chicken. Fresh meat constitutes 85 percent of the product's volume and the highest-quality fortified cereal accounts for the remaining 15 percent. The ingredients, with no additives or preservatives, are packaged frozen to pre- vent spoilage of the fresh uncooked meat. This case was prepared by Professor Roger A. Kerin, of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, as a basis for class discussion and is not designed to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Certain names have been disguised Copyright 0 2011 by Roger A. Kerin. No part of this case may be reproduced without written permission of the copyright holder