BEDMINSTER, N.J.- Freshpet has tweaked its advertising, following a challenge brought by a competitor in the fresh pet food market.
The Farmer’s Dog took issue with Freshpet marketing that suggested the latter’s dog food is human grade.
The Farmer’s Dog filed a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), an expedited process for single-issue advertising cases reviewed by the BBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD).
According to the NAD, The Farmer’s Dog argued that three Freshpet video advertisements include “various statements and images that necessarily imply that Freshpet’s dog food is human grade.”
One of those advertisements was a commercial that contained the sentences, “How does Freshpet make healthy food for dogs? The same way you make healthy food for people.”
The NAD said, during its investigation, Freshpet agreed to modify the commercial by removing the second sentence.
The NAD also recommended that Freshpet make changes to a separate social media advertisement; the agency determined that the video did convey a message that Freshpet dog food is human grade.
Freshpet agreed to comply with the recommendation, the NAD said, in a news release.
The agency did not have any issues with the third video in question, determining that it did not convey the message that Freshpet dog food is human grade.
69 News reached out to Freshpet for comment but did not hear back.
Freshpet, based in Bedminster, New Jersey, has a campus in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
Shares of company stock (NASDAQ: FRPT) have fallen sharply over the past month. They were trading at $57.59 Tuesday morning, compared to $84.36 on March 2. That’s a decline of more than 31%, compared to a 6.8% drop for the overall index during that same time period.