I have people trying to convince me to switch to Natural & Delicious

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Long story short, the store I get Orwell's Orijen dog food from told me I should switch to Natural & Delicious because:

1) it's cheaper

2) it has virtually the same protein to veggie/fruit ratio **** which is false. I found that Natural & Delicious is 70/30 and Orijen is 80/20.

I immediately asked whether or not the serving sizes were the same as Orijen and they reassured me saying, "Oh, yes, of course."

They then went on to say how a lot of dogs have loose stools with Orijen, and I said, "Yeah, but mine doesn't." They said that they understand that I have an Orijen card in progress (I'm on my 10th bag), but I should switch after I get my free bag of Orijen. 

The thing is... I can barely find any information on this food. It comes from a family-owned company in Italy, but their website does not have nearly the amount of information I can find relative to the Orijen website. For example, I cannot find the serving sizes, the weights that classify a small, medium or large dog for Natural & Delicious, etc. They do have the ingredients listed, omegas, calories, and the like. However, this is not enough for me as someone with a dog on the larger side of large. 

So... ultimately, I was wondering if anyone has every dug up some information on this company and their food. 

I'm seriously considering leaving this store after I get my free bag of food. I honestly don't like being pitched new products... probably because I don't like talking to people I don't know. :P I just want to get Orwell's food and get out of there ASAP. There's another store by Orwell's groomer that sells Orijen, so moving wouldn't be a hassle. Also, I used to get Orwell groomed at the place I get his food, but the lady there screwed him up so bad (at least to what I wanted), that I switched groomers. Needless to say, it's a little awkward now when I go in there. I don't know if they think I groom him, or took him to the place that's making them lose business, lol. 

I also want to add that while saving money would be nice, my budget does comfortably allow Orwell to get him Orijen food. Ultimately, I want the absolute best I can provide for him, and if that means sacrificing some luxury goods for me, so be it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Natural & Delicious is made by Farmina. Here's a link to their website. http://www.farmina.com/?q=en/content/product/ecopet-adult

Here's a past discussion about it: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/n-d-pet...

They first started selling in the U.S. two years ago. I took a look at the products back then, and they looked fine to me. In fact, we added them to our recommended brands list.

That doesn't mean I like them better than Champion, (Orijen/Acana), or that I'd switch foods if my dog was doing well with Orijen.

The high pressure sales tactics on the part of the pet supply store staff are unacceptable, and would make me want to switch to another store, too. If you want to continue to shop at the current store, I would politely but firmly tell them that you are very happy with Orijen and that if you ever want their advice on an alternative food you will not hesitate to ask them, but for now, you would appreciate their keeping their opinions to themselves. (Or words of your own choosing, to that effect. LOL) 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Yep... I was on that website and didn't find anything I wanted to know, lol. I'm just going to stick to what I know and change stores. 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I hate to sound suspicious, but if the store sells both Orijen and Natural & Delicious, I have to think that the high pressure sales tactic has something to do with a better profit for them. They might even be planning to discontinue selling the Orijen and are trying to get people switched over before they do. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm always suspicious, Lori, welcome to my world, lol. 

And there is good reason for suspicion in this case, I think. For the salespeople to try to push and persuade a customer to buy one product over another product when they have not been asked for their advice or their opinion would indicate that there is a financial incentive involved. Either the profit margin is higher on the N & D, or there is some sales incentive/commission being offered by the manager or the company. 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Yup- I agree. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I like to believe that the world is full of honest salespeople that have the best interest of their customers in mind. Unfortunately, I know that isn't always the case. I would be a horrible sales person...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Me too. Which is why I always refused when anyone approached me about earning commissions for recommending various supplements to my clients. :)

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I immediately thought of this as well... which is another reason why I'm just going to switch stores. I don't want confrontation, and I don't want to find out that they've stopped carrying Orijen when I'm in the middle of my next rewards card.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think they are going to stop carrying Orijen; it's too popular. But the more customers they have who are buying it, the lower the chance of that. If you do switch stores, I hope you will send them a note or an email telling them why, it might make them re-think their sales tactics. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I might send them a note. The other store is also slightly closer to where I live. I bought a toy there for Orwell once and they were nice... they didn't bother me while I was looking around. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sounds like a winner to me!