Why was Friskies discontinued

Why is There a Shortage Of Friskies Cat Food? [Causes & Solutions]

Friskies is a popular brand of cat food, but it seems as though there has been a shortage on grocery store shelves. This shortage has pet owners wondering what is going on. Some people think there is a recall, but there isnt. This article explores why this may be and what options you have if you are unable to buy Friskies.

Some brands such as the 13-ounce Purina Friskies brand cat food have been discontinued, the entirety of the Friskies cat food is not being discontinued. Instead, the shortage has to do with supply chain issues, severe weather conditions, labor shortage, packaging, and machinery.

Finding cat food can be challenging for pet owners right now, especially, when shopping at the grocery store. The shortage has many people flocking to the Internet spreading rumors about the cat food being discontinued, or recalled.

This cant be further from the truth, the last known recall was in June 2011. Unfortunately, the shortage is due to other reasons every pet owner should be aware of.

Below are the main reasons youre facing the shortage issue in grocery stores. Well also discuss several issues pet owners will face due to the shortage and what to do about it.

Reasons for The Shortage on Friskies Cat Food

Supply Chain Issues

When you turn on the news, you hear stories about how the supply chains are affecting food, cars, and other products. The Friskies cat food is not immune to these issues.

Friskies is made in the United States, but outsource many of the high-quality ingredients as Vitamin Packs, Duck, Lamb, etc, within the United States, depending on the availability.

Unfortunately, many companies (not just Purina) are dealing with shortage issues. This means the companies that provide high-quality ingredients are also having a shortage.

Severe Weather Conditions

In addition to the supply chain issues, severe weather conditions are wreaking havoc on production schedules. For example, 2017 has been one of the wettest years on record in the United States. This means that rivers are overflowing and fields are too wet to harvest crops.

The flooding not only affects the crops but also destroys infrastructure such as bridges and roads. This makes it difficult for ingredients to get to the factories and products to get to grocery stores.

Unfortunately, with global warming, severe weather continues in the form of tornadoes, snowstorms, etc. It will continue disrupting the supply chain for pet food manufacturers.

This has caused a shortage of raw materials needed to produce the food as well as delays in getting the product to store shelves.

The severe weather conditions not only affected the production but also the transportation of goods to grocery stores. This has affected cat treats and wet and dry cat food, as well as other brands such as Fancy Feast.

Labor Shortage

People are quitting their jobs in record numbers, in fact, its been termed a labor shortage. Companies are having a hard time finding people to do the jobs that need to be done.

In Purinas case, they are not only having a hard time finding workers for their plants in the United States but also around the world. But they are struggling to fill their open positions, making it harder to get the Friskies cat food to store shelves.

Packaging and Machinery

In order to keep up with changing trends, companies are always updating their packaging and machinery. Unfortunately, this takes time and money. Its not unusual for machines to break down or require maintenance that also takes workers away from the production line.

When machines are down, it not only affects the production but also the packaging. This means that products may not be packaged in a way that meets customers expectations.

Has Friskies Doubled In Price?

Yes, youll pay more for cat food this year than you did last year. The reason being is the prices for U.S. soybeans, and corn (the key ingredients in pet foods) has reached an all-time high, making it harder for farmers to sell their crops.

The reason the prices have shot up is due to the ingredients being used as a push for biofuels-based renewable energies. In addition, during the pandemic, several people adopted pets increasing the issue of supply and demand.

What to Do About The Shortage of Friskies Cat Food

As you can see, there are several reasons for the shortage of Friskies cat food. Unfortunately, this doesnt mean that the product has been discontinued or recalled.

It does, however, mean that you may have a hard time finding it in your local grocery store. You can also expect to see higher prices for the product.

In addition, some of the other brands of cat food may be in short supply as well.

The best thing you can do is be patient and keep looking for the product. If you cant find it at your local grocery store, try checking online or at pet stores.

Also, make sure you have an adequate supply of cat food so that you dont run out.

When Will Your Favorite Friskies Brands Be Back On Shelves?

Dont expect your cats favorite flavors to be back on the shelves anytime soon. According to Newsweek, the supply shortage could last until 2023. These shortages wont just affect cat food, it affects all pet food products.

While its still possible to find Purina products on store shelves. Youll likely have trouble finding your cats favorite flavors.

Transitioning Your Cat to A New Food

If youre having trouble finding your cats favorite food, it may be time to transition them to another brand. Talk to your veterinarian about the best way to do this. They will be able to recommend a product that meets your cats health needs.

When transitioning your cat to different food, the important thing to remember is to do it slowly, over a seven-day period. Mix a small portion of the new food with the old food and gradually increase the amount of new food while decreasing the amount of old food.

Your cats diet is important and should not be taken lightly. If youre having trouble finding your favorite Friskies brand, dont panic. There are other brands available that will meet your cats nutritional needs.

Final Word

If its getting harder to find your cats favorite Friskie flavors, rest assured, youre not alone. The supply shortage is affecting stores nationwide.

While the company is doing its best to meet the demand, its going to take some time before your favorite flavors are back on store shelves. In the meantime, consider talking with your veterinarian to find a suitable alternative that will meet your pets needs.

At some point, the continuing problems caused by the pandemic will pass, and the company will be back up to full production. Until then, well just have to bear with the shortage.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is There A Friskies Wet Food Shortage?

Yes, both Friskies dry and wet cat food products are in short supply, due to the global supply chain woes. All pet products are hard to find, which can make it challenging for pet owners to feed their pets their favorite foods.

When Will Friskies Cat Food Be Available?

No one knows the exact date when store shelves will be fully stocked again with pet products. That said, Nestle Purina PetCare Company understands the hardships this issue is having on pet parents. They are doing everything they can to get their pet products on store shelves as quickly as possible.

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Why Is Fancy Feast Being Discontinued? [Causes For The Shortage]

One thing about the Internet that is one of the most inescapable aspects and an unfortunate detriment to the entire experience of browsing the web is that you simply cannot believe everything that you hear.

While there are aspects of Fancy Feast that are being discontinued, the entirety of the Fancy Feast lineup is not being discontinued. There are supply chain issues that are known at this time. However, Nestle has not announced any blanket discontinuation of the production and distribution of Fancy Feast.

Nestle is Purina, and Purina is Fancy Feast and Fancy Feast Friskies and Friskies is Nestle. The truth is, Nestle acquired Fancy Feast way back in 1985, and, since that time, Fancy Feast and Nestles merger have gone under the name of Friskies PetCare Company.

This essentially means that any announcement about discontinuing a popular and long-term product would come from Nestle.

Despite wild gesticulating on the part of the anonymous users of the Internet, there has been no such announcement.

But some things are going on that could have sparked the idea that the whole Fancy Feast deal was going away.

What is Going on with Fancy Feast?

Several things are going on in the cat food industry, so, understandably, some would assume it is just affecting their brand, which in this case, is Fancy Feast.

There is currently a cat food shortage on top of some segments of discontinued brands within Fancy Feast.

• Cat food shortages
• Discontinued Fancy Feast appetizers
• Specific shortages of Fancy Feast
• Friskies discontinues treats

Cat food shortages are on the rise, just as human food shortages rise.

The COVID pandemic affected the supply chain in certain areas and across the entire board.

The problem is that what affects one quadrant of the country may not affect the other. Certain places within the U.S. may be directly affecting cat food supplies, while the southeast may not have seen such a shortage as of yet.

This explains why some people who are in an uproar about cat food shortages are so puzzling to other people around the country. Unfortunately, such confusion could easily sow the seeds of discontinuation rumors despite the fact that Fancy Feast is fully stocked on the shelves in other states.

Fancy Feast did discontinue its appetizers and replaced them with Purely. Several online petitions were launched to bring back Fancy Feast appetizers to no avail.

However, this all happened years ago now and shouldnt be driving any insinuations of a discontinued product.

Another problem is that Fancy Feast is experiencing shortages in very specific flavors like many other cats and dog foods. Chicken and Turkey are tough to find, and it goes well beyond Fancy Feast. Turkey and chicken shortages are happening in other brands as well.

Whats Causing the Shortages?

There are many reasons behind the shortages, but the pandemic is the driving factor. Its like a domino effect, and its further exacerbated by incidental issues that would generally be easy for a company to absorb.

• Labor shortages
• Incidental factors
• Machinery and packaging
• Additional pets
• Shipping

Labor shortages are prevalent precisely because of the pandemic. Much of it is political, and well leave that where it is since its beyond the purview of this article. However, COVID has unleashed a chain of events that affect things such as Fancy Feast and other cat and dog foods brands.

Incidental factors that would generally be easily overcome by large and even small companies are no longer easy to handle. For instance, winter storms are blamed for manufacturing shutdowns at Freshpet facilities.

Under normal circumstances, Freshpet probably could have shrugged it off. However, as we move into 2022, things are hardly considered normal circumstances.

Machinery and packaging are also a problem. As you have probably read, there are massive shortages in long-haul trucking, and goods and services are not arriving in grocery and pet store retailers across the country.

Thats not to mention the shipping issues, ports, and spoiled transport sitting out in the ocean or never having arrived in the first place.

Another effect of the pandemic was to drive people into their homes for much longer periods of time than ever before. When people get lonely, they buy or acquire more pets. More pets mean an increased demand for food and increased demand when the supply chain is broken is a recipe for disaster.

Has Fancy Feast Been Recalled?

As of this writing, there is no active recall on Fancy Feast cat food. Also, throughout the entire existence of Fancy Feast. There has never been a recall of any sort or on any available brand then or now.

As of right now, the following brand lines are still available:

• Fancy Feast Gourmet Cat Food
• Fancy Feast Wet Cat Food
• Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food
• Fancy Feast Delights with Cheddar
• Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers
• Fancy Feast Gourmet Kitten Food
• Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys
• Fancy Feast Broths

According to Fancy Feast, their cat food is recommended by over 90% of all cat owners, and the brand continues to command a very high customer review rating.

Has Fancy Feast Doubled in Price?

Fancy Feast has doubled in price in certain places and climbed to a higher pricebut not quite doubled in othersfor many of the reasons listed above.

• More pet owners as a result of the pandemic
• Increases in pets owned by millennials
• Premiumization
• Supply chain shortages

As explained above, more pet owners mean that demand is way up.

When supply is low, and demand is up, prices rise. Outside of all of the other potential and real influences driving up prices, basic economics still operates in the same way.

Outside of the pandemic, there is a separate and growing percentage change since not everything exists within that bubble. For example, millennials are far more likely to own pets than previous generations.

This also increases demand and also price surges.

There is also a willingness, within the general public, for premium foods. As pet owners become more informed about the benefits of premium food over the cheap stuff, demand for such food has increased.

Because of that demand, more premium food is being manufactured and purchased, driving up the averages from everything else.

Also, as aforementioned, supply chain shortages are driving up prices.

When you put all of the current problems togetherwith the exception of owning more pets since thats never a problem when you can take care of themyou get a price bubble.

At the end of the day, so many factors have seemingly come together at a distinct and specific point in human history, driving up prices, creating mass shortages, and driving rumors of products being discontinued when they certainly are not.

Final Word

Rest assured that Fancy Feast has not been continued, and Nestle isnt making any strange or concise movements in that direction. But, unfortunately, a lot of different factors have come together to drive Fancy Feast and a lot of other cat foods off the shelves.

At some point, the continuing problems caused by the pandemic will have to pass. When it does, and the supply chain reconstitutes itself, Fancy Feast should return to the shelves.

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References

Kelly, D. (November 12, 2021). Food Shortages We Could See In 2022 Retrieved from: https://www.mashed.com/659327/food-shortages-we-could-see-in-2022/

Lank, B. (October 20, 2021). Wheres the Fancy Feast? Some Eastside cats are facing a shortage of their favorite food. Retrieved from: https://www.theeastsiderla.com/lifestyle/pets_and_wildlife/wheres-the-fancy-feast-some-eastside-cats-are-facing-a-shortage-of-their-favorite-food/article_2e30f852-2e49-11ec-bb52-c3b1853abc82.html