Chicken Soup for the Soul Announces Exciting New Developments For The Happiness And Wellness Of Pets Everywhere

COS COB, Conn., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Soup for the Soul®, the iconic bestselling book publisher and one of the nation's most recognized and trusted brands, announced a new look and even better formulation for its pet food line, as well as a new Small Bites dog food that offers complete and balanced nutrition for smaller adult dog breeds.

"After years of reading our fans' and readers' stories about their pets, we recognize the unique relationship between pets and people. Our new tagline, 'because Food is more than just Nutrition; it's also about Comfort, Love and Appreciation™', is inspired by this relationship. We are committed to making an extremely high quality pet food that our customers can confidently serve to their pets so that they can focus on the other aspects of nourishment: love and appreciation, as we do," said Chris Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul's pet division. 

Refreshed Product Line
"There's been an industry wide shift in package sizes over the last few years.  We finally decided it was time to make our products the same size as the rest of our industry and we took advantage of this opportunity to respond to our loyal customers' requests that we increase our protein levels, make modest improvements to our formulas, and improve the shelf life and durability of our dry food packaging. We now have an even better product with an exciting new look all at a price per pound that is still over 20% less than our key competitors.  We think we're the best value in the independent pet specialty channel and that is right in line with the positioning of all Chicken Soup for the Soul products – premium quality at or lower than national brand prices," said Mitchell.

New Small Bites Offering, New Dynamic Packaging Design and New Names
Small Bites is the first of several new pet products that Chicken Soup for the Soul will be introducing in the coming year. It features the same great formula as the Adult Dog product, with smaller kibble for smaller breeds.

The new pet food line packaging includes color separation by formula and a refreshed logo and wave design that ties to the bestselling, well-recognized and trusted book series, for easy identification on store shelves. True to its roots, there is a Chicken Soup for the Soul story from a bestselling book on every package.

The pet food line now includes the following offerings, some of which have changed names (to be more consistent with current industry practice) but with the same great or modestly improved formulas:

For wet product offerings, the labels and some of the names were changed to be consistent with the rest of the pet food line but no formulas were changed:

"Holistic for Health"
The entire Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food line includes only the finest ingredients with four fresh proteins (chicken, turkey, duck and salmon), fruits and vegetables like peas, spinach, carrots, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, rosemary extract and parsley flakes. While the dry pet food formulas were improved slightly, the changes were relatively minor and there is typically no need to transition from the old formulas to the new formulas.  Since the wet formulas did not change, there is no need to transition.

Giving Back and Promoting Happiness and Wellness for All
Every animal on the new dog and cat food packaging is a former shelter animal that has found his or her "forever home." Their stories are featured on the back of each package. Chicken Soup for the Soul donated to and worked with OPIN (Outreach to Pets in Need, http://opinpets.org/), a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization that promotes the adoption of homeless animals.  OPIN helped to identify the perfect "models" for the new packaging.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is also the main corporate sponsor for the nonprofit, Humpty Dumpty Institute, which supports, among other things, initiatives related to literacy, hunger and animal well-being. Chicken Soup for the Soul donates a portion of all of its pet food sales to Humpty Dumpty. "Our pet food is proudly made in the USA and through the Humpty Dumpty Institute, we are able to help improve the lives of people and animals in the U.S. and around the world," said Mitchell.

Availability, New Website and Support
Chicken Soup for the Soul pet products are available in independent pet specialty stores nationwide and online (to find a store or online merchant that carries these products, please visit www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com). A new updated Chicken Soup for the Soul website for our consumers and retailers is launching on March 20^th at www.chickensoup.com.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL
Chicken Soup for the Soul publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. In 2007, USA Today named Chicken Soup for the Soul one of the five most memorable books in the last quarter-century. With over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, "chicken soup for the soul" is one of the world's best-known phrases. Today, 20 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and wellness through its books, Chicken Soup for the Soul continues to delight its readers with new titles, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore. Its high quality products include wholesome and balanced pet food that recognizes the unique relationship between pets and people, a new line of delicious, nutritious comfort food inspired by the connection between food and feelings, as well as movies, television programming, music and a host of digital products. Chicken Soup for the Soul is "always there for you™." For more information visit www.chickensoup.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140311/NY80590

SOURCE Chicken Soup for the Soul