Sunday, June 6, 2010

Montego Classic Pet Foods: 10 Years of Passion

Montego Classic Pet Foods: 10 years of superior nutrition, health, love, passion 2000-2010

Montego Classic was born in mid 2000 when Montego Foods tasked a leading animal nutritionist to formulate a top-quality pet food that could compete in the local and international pet food market.

As a startup company we ploughed every cent into ensuring superior product quality, which meant we had no funds for expensive packaging, extravagant marketing or even a complete product range to cater for all stages of a pet’s life.

As a result, Montego Classic Adult and Puppy were first to launch, entering the market in plain, unprinted bags with a marketing strategy that relied solely on word-of-mouth by our growing pool of satisfied customers.

Montego Classic’s combination of affordability and quality quickly saw the brand grow, enabling us to add Montego Classic Senior to our product range in order to provide for the different dietary requirements of a senior dog.

Pet shops were entering the retail pet food market at the time, and their wide distribution and extensive shelf space represented a perfect outlet point for the Montego Classic brand to become more easily available.

By 2005 Montego Classic products were being packaged in brightly branded bags, with over 300 retail outlets stocking our range – which now included Montego Classic Cat.

In addition, the growth in demand meant we had to upgrade and expand our production line. We imported world-class pet food manufacturing equipment from America and Belgium to increase our production volume and raise our product quality yet higher.

In 2008, just three years later, we had doubled our retail outlets, and Montego Classic was available in over 600 pet shops, vet shops, doggie parlours, animal feed shops and co-ops. That year also saw another packaging upgrade, which included attractive new designs and a foil layer to keep our products fresher for longer. We also added Montego Classic Treats to our range – to provide a delicious, nutritious daily reward for all Montego Classic pets.

In 2010 we are delighted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Montego Classic Pet Nutrition, and we will mark the occasion with the release of Montego Classic Kitten and the unveiling of our brand new production machinery at our manufacturing plant in Graaff-Reinet later this year.

Today, just as when we began ten years ago, we are grateful to our clients who support our brand, and passionate about the pets who enjoy it.

Superior Nutrition

Our passion for pets is reflected in the superior quality of our product – prepared according to premium formulations developed by expert animal nutritionists – and in the world-class standards of our manufacturing methods.

Montego Classic is formulated with extra beneficial ingredients and provides high levels of vitamins and trace elements, giving your pet a nutritious, easily digestible food that not only improves performance and appearance but also increases longevity and quality of life.

At Montego Feeds we never compromise on quality. We only source the highest quality ingredients from the best suppliers in South Africa, India, Indonesia, Austria, Italy and Brazil, which we meticulously select and mix to ensure maximum nutritional benefits for your pet.

With Montego Classic, you can be sure your pet receives a complete, balanced nutritional diet specifically geared to its needs and life-stage, ensuring greater vitality and better day-to-day health.

Our top-quality ingredients are specially formulated, pre-cooked and extruded at optimum temperatures to ensure increased palatability and digestibility – resulting in higher nutrient absorption, which means you don’t have to feed as much, and your feeding costs are reduced.

We offer a range of packaging sizes to suit your needs. Montego Classic Puppy, Montego Classic Adult and Montego Classic Senior are available in 2kg, 5kg, 10kg, 20kg (Montego Classic Adult only) and 25kg packaging. Montego Classic Cat is available in 1kg, 3kg and 5kg packaging, and Montego Treats in 1kg packaging.

Health

Quality and safety are of top priority at Montego Feeds. Along with the passion we put into the formulation and manufacturing of our products, our passion for pets drives our quality and safety procedures. We believe pets are an integral part of any family, and as such owners should have complete peace-of-mind when feeding their beloved animals.

Our comprehensive focus on quality control allows us to guarantee that our products fully comply with nutritional specifications and that the integrity of our ingredients is never compromised. We set utmost importance on ensuring that the guaranteed analysis stipulated on the packaging of each Montego Classic product is met by the product itself.

We subject our products to rigorous laboratory tests before, during and after the manufacturing process, using a Near-Infrared Scanner (NIRS) to ensure that the correct percentages of protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture are present in our raw ingredients and our finished products.

The NIRS scan uses diffusely reflected light to detect whether any irregular (foreign) substance is present in the raw materials and to ensure that the chemical composition of our products precisely meets our exacting standards.

In addition, our raw materials and finished products pass through a range of magnets and sieves to ensure optimum product quality.

Only when our finished product has met all our quality and safety standards does it proceed to packaging. We use four-layer environmentally friendly recyclable woven bags which require 33% less material than traditional woven bags and include an inside foil layer to keep your Montego Classic product fresher for longer.

Love

It is sad but true that thousands of animals are abused and neglected each year in South Africa, not to mention the number of abandoned pets and stray animals that never find their way home.

Thankfully, however, many compassionate people dedicate their lives to sheltering, rehabilitating, feeding and finding homes for these unfortunate creatures – but they face a constant struggle for funds and rely on the generosity of the public and business sectors.

At Montego Feeds we recognise the important contribution these animal care-givers make, and we believe it is our duty to care and provide for those who have less – be they animals or humans. For this reason we support a range of charity projects across the country by providing funds or pet food to animal charity organisations, welfare societies, churches and individuals.

As part of our commitment to the Barking Mad programme*, Montego Feeds makes monthly donations of Montego Classic products to these organisations and welfare societies:

Wetnose Animal Rescue Centre; Kitty and Puppy Haven; Friends of Rescued Animals; Community Led Animal Welfare; Save a Pet; Kleinmond Animal Welfare Society.

We also support the following charities and events:

SPCA Mossel Bay; Various individuals caring for stray pets; Various spay-a-thons, educational events, fun days and charity events throughout the year.

In addition, through our involvement in over 60 canine shows each year, Montego Feeds supports the growing world of responsible dog sports, which we believe provides both dog and owner a healthy opportunity to compete at high levels. Whether it’s impressing the judges on an agility field or receiving an award at a breed or obedience show or a field trial, nowhere else will you see a dog (and its owner) having so much fun.

* To find out more about the Barking Mad click-to-feed programme, visit www.barkingmad.co.za

Passion

Over the last 10 years we have learned that the most important quality pet owners look for when choosing a pet food is the peace-of-mind that they are purchasing a product of the highest quality and safety. And since our inception in 2000 it has always been our passion to deliver just that – a pet food of optimum nutrition, health and digestibility.

As a family-owned company, our passion drives us to provide you with:

Superior Nutrition for your Pet – We source the best ingredients from all over the world and use the best formulations to ensure your pet enjoys superb nutritional benefits with every meal.

Optimum Health for your Pet – Because we have the best interests of your pet at heart, our products are rigorously tested before, during and after manufacture to ensure they meet our stringent standards of supplying a safe and healthy diet. We take great care to ensure that our products are free from harmful substances and are packed in high-quality, safe packaging.

Sincere Love for your Pet – Our passion for the welfare of all pets is the driving force behind our support of many animal charities and welfare organisations in their daily struggle to care for lost, unwanted and uncared for animals.

Our passion for providing the best for pets is matched by our passion for delivering superb service to you, our valued customer. As a Montego Classic customer you can:

· Call our 0860 252 774 Customer Service number for more information and advice about our products, or to log complaints and queries.

· Count on our promise that we will replace any product with which you not entirely satisfied.

· Visit the My Montego Pet portal (www.montegoclassic.co.za) where you can post pictures of your pets, blog with other Montego pet owners, get advice about caring for your pets and download screen savers, desktop backgrounds and other fun stuff.

· Have peace-of-mind that your pet is enjoying a premium quality pet food.


(c) 2010