Indie Pet Stores Remain Stocked Despite Empty Shelves at Large Retailers

Have you noticed empty shelves in your grocer’s pet food aisle? Are you having a hard time finding your pet’s food, even from online retailers?Some pet food brands – including Nestle Purina, Royal Canin, FreshPet, and even some prescription diets – continue to see delays and shortages amidst the pandemic. These shortages have been seen everywhere from big box stores to vet offices. Inclement weather, ingredient sourcing delays, labor shortages, and importation delays due to COVID safety measures have all contributed to empty shelves and fridges for these brands. Some other formulas have been modified or discontinued altogether due to sourcing challenges.  Add in the sky-rocketing adoption rates – resulting in higher demand for pet food – to complete this equation for out-of-stock products.   Fortunately, unlike supermarkets and big box stores, independent pet stores have been able to weather the COVID storm with fully stocked shelves and a greater selection throughout. Because small retailers have closer relationships with a variety of distributors, they have greater access to more products if one distributor runs out. Plus, indie pet staff can provide up-to-date information – meaning they’re more likely to have the answers to your questions and solutions for your concerns regarding your pet’s diet.  If you’re concerned about your pet’s food supply, stop in to your local small pet retailer for honest, appropriate recommendations and accurate information. 

To read more about this ongoing dilemma, click here. 

About the Author:

Jenna Harrison

Jenna enthusiastically joined our team in early 2021 bringing nearly a decade of pet industry knowledge and experience along with her. She is a proud mom to cats Aerie and Spook who are both credited with her interest in pet nutrition. Quickly Jenna realized that there was a lot to be desired for honest, unbiased and accurate information within the industry and she knew she wanted to help change that. Much like the team at NPP, she believes in the value individualized diet, fresh food and tailored advice can provide for overall health, regardless of age. She also is the mom to 4 sugar gliders, Crumb, Crosby, Bindi and Gatsby which helps bring additional small animal knowledge to our robust team. When she’s not helping pet parents at NPP Jenna can be found hiking with her husband Adam, horseback riding and painting pet portraits.

References:

https://www.petproductnews.com/news/purina-and-freshpet-pet-food-shortages-are-impacting-stores-in-pennsylvania/article_d5aba6b6-778a-11eb-a16e-ebee87dc56ec.html

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/02/panic-buying-for-pandemic-puppies-is-just-part-of-the-reason-for-petfood-shortage.html