Science Diet
 | |
| Public | |
| Industry | Pet food |
| Founded | Topeka, Kansas (1960s) |
| Headquarters | Topeka, Kansas, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Dog food |
| Owner | Colgate-Palmolive |
| Website | http://www.hillspet.com |
Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.[1] (a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company). In the United Kingdom, Science Diet is known as Science Plan.
History
Science Diet was developed in the 1960s by Mark L. Morris, Jr. PhD DVM (February 3, 1934 - January 14, 2007). Dr. Morris Jr. was the son of famed veterinarian, Dr. Mark Morris Sr. DVM, who pioneered the field of veterinary clinical nutrition when asked to create a specialized diet for the original seeing-eye dog, Buddy, a female German Shepherd with kidney disease. That success led Dr. Morris Sr. and his son to create additional condition-specific and life-stage pet food formulas under the Prescription Diet and Science Diet brand names.[2]
The Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet brands steadily gained market share, peaking in 2008 at 10.7% of dog food sales, but by 2011 this had dropped to 9.4% with shifts in consumer preferences toward pet foods marketed as "natural" and consumer perceptions of Science Diet as being "artificial".[3]
References
- ↑ Hill's Pet Nutrition
- ↑ "Mark Morris Sr.". Mark Morris Institute. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ↑ Ng, Serena (2013-02-06). "Pet-Food Brand's Image Bites Back Colgate: Sales Decline for Science Diet Line as Dog and Cat Owners Increasingly Value Marketing Pitches Like 'Natural' and 'Wild'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-02-07.