Product type Pet food Markets Worldwide | Introduced 1969 | |
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Owner Mars, Incorporated and Spectrum Brands Europe Website | ||
Eukanuba ("You-Ka-Noo-Bah") is a brand name of dog food and cat food, owned and manufactured by Mars, Inc, who also makes Pedigree Petfoods and by Spectrum Brands Europe. Procter and Gamble sold Eukanuba in July, 2014. The company produces 17 different types for dogs, based on age, breed, and performance area, as well as 13 formulas for cats, including kitten, adult maintenance, hairball, sensitive stomach and weight control, indoor and outdoor, and mature.
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History
In 1969, Paul Iams wanted to find a name to differentiate the new formula from other Iams products. Iams chose to name this new formula "Eukanuba", a term originated by jazz era personality Hoagy Carmichael, meaning "the tops" or "something supreme".
Manufacturing
The Eukanuba manufacturing plant at Leipsic, Ohio. When it was owned by P&G, it was P&G's largest dog food plant. Metal detectors are used to detect foreign objects that may have fallen in. Bags are marked by numbers to indicate the day and the hour the food was made by using the DD/MM/YYYY format, so that the bags can be traced in case of a recall.
The ingredients in Eukanuba products contain both animal and animal by-products, a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. Most of the ingredients come from the United States, but a limited amount of nutritional supplements are imported from countries such as China.
Sponsorships
Eukanuba was the primary sponsor of the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship one of the largest dog shows in the United States, through December 2015. The event takes place annually in December and hosts more than 3,000 dogs and handlers, with competitions in agility, obedience, dock-jumping, breed-specific, and best in show.
In 2008, the show began hosting the Eukanuba World Challenge, which draws competitors from more than 50 countries.
Eukanuba is also a sponsor of the Teva Mountain Games.
Eukanuba is the title sponsor for the Eukanuba Stage Stop Race in Jackson, Wyoming announced in July, 2015; formerly the International Pedigree® Stage Stop Sled Dog Race.
The AKC National Championship sponsorship was officially converted in December 2016 to sponsorship by Eukanuba's new sister company, Royal Canin. The show was renamed "AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin." The initial Royal Canin presence included Jerry O'Connell as a celebrity commentator, and a grand prize of $50,000 for the winning dog. The winner of the initial AKC/Royal Canin partnership event was from the Puli dog breed, nicknamed "Preston."