Doggie Desserts: Ben & Jerry's Enters the Pet Food Business

 

The ice cream company Ben & Jerry's is entering the pet food business for the first time with frozen treats for dogs. The treats, called Doggie Desserts, will be available for sale at U.S. food and pet stores later this month.

The treats will be sold in small containers and come in two tastes, or flavors: pumpkin¹ with cookies and peanut butter with pretzels. The treats are made from the same products Ben & Jerry's uses in milk-free desserts.

Ben & Jerry's is the latest food company to start making products for pets. The number of American households with pets rose 6.5 percent between 2015 and 2020. That information comes from the trade group American Pet Products Association.

General Mills, maker² of Cheerios and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, bought the Blue Buffalo³ pet food company in 2018. In 2015, Jelly maker J.M. Smucker Co. bought Big Heart Pet Brands, which makes Meow Mix cat food and Milk Bone dog products. Smucker later bought Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, which makes Nutrish brand pet food. And in 2020, Nestle bought British natural pet food brand Lily's Kitchen. Nestle has owned the Purina pet brand since 2001.

Spending on dog treats has increased 44 percent to $5.5 billion between 2015 and 2020, the data company Euromonitor reports.

Ben & Jerry's says people 40 years of age and younger spend more money on their pets and look for pet products made with materials that even humans can eat.

Lindsay Bumps is a marketing⁴ specialist with Ben & Jerry's. She said the company had seen the growth in pet spending and started developing its dog treats early last year. Bumps added that the company checked with experts in animal nutrition and other advisors⁵ to make sure the treats are safe and easy to eat.

Bumps noted⁶ that as with any treat, owners should introduce the treats to their dogs in small amounts.

The move to pet products does not mean Ben & Jerry's is seeing any sales decrease on the human side. Unilever, which owns Ben & Jerry's, said in October that its ice cream sales for home use grew more than 10 percent in the most recent quarter. Bumps noted that buyers wanted tasty treats during the pandemic and bought several containers at a time so they could make fewer food store trips.

She said, "This is an opportunity for people to treat their dogs as they're treating themselves when they grab a pint⁷ off the shelf."

Words in This Story

flavors – n. particular types of taste

household - n. the people in a family or other group that are living together in one house

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

pets – n. tame animals kept as companions rather than for work

pint – n. a unit for measuring liquids that is equal to 0.473 liters

shelf – n. a flat board which is attached to a wall, frame, etc., and on which objects can be placed

1 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。