Product Safety and Alternative Pet Foods: North American Market Outlook

Packaged Facts released a consumer report today on Product Safety and Alternative Pet Foods in the North American market. Access to the report will cost you $1,495 US for an online download. A little too rich to simply satisfy my curiosity.

The abstract suggests that the findings are significant enough that the big brand pet food manufactures will pony up to see the results.

The report identifies “Alternative Pet Foods” as high-end natural and organic pet foods; fresh pet foods including raw/frozen, refrigerated, and homemade; and 100% U.S. sourced, locally grown, and other smaller-batch pet foods.

Together, these product segments currently account for less than 10% of North American pet food sales, but the growing consumer perception that these products are safer than traditional mass-produced pet foods—on top of numerous other favorable trends covered in the report—virtually guarantees high double-digit growth rates for at least the next two years.

My curiosity is a result of working with Jamie Young on his recent dog food cookbook, Grrrrowlicious Food for Hungry Dogs.

Jamie is an Australian dog food chef who is buying local and making his own pet food. He’s as alarmed by what goes into dog food as I am about what goes into my human food.

The recipes in his book, including Bacon and Cheese Cookies (which you can download as a PDF), look so damn yummy that I’m hoping he’ll do a “Dogs and You” cookbook, which will let dogs and owners nibble off each other’s plate.

If you’re a dog owner, or simply interested in projects we’re working on, have a look at the Grrowlicious website and the press release.

Work Industries was involved with the online marketing of Grrrrowlicious Food for Hungry Dogs by Jamie Young.

How do you Think Salmon?

A client who we’ve been working with extensively lately is Think Salmon. What is Think Salmon?

Think Salmon is a way of life. It’s how we think, learn and act. It’s how we protect and conserve the rivers and places where salmon and humans live.

• Think about salmon. Share your salmon story with others.
• Learn about salmon. Ask questions.
• Act by sharing. Share a story. Share some time. Participate.

Think Salmon is also a place to learn about salmon, to connect with salmon in your community and to make changes in your life to help salmon and salmon habitat.

One of the main focuses of the site is to get people to share their salmon stories. Through those stories, each of us can see that salmon matter to us: culturally, economically, socially and deliciously.

So I invite you to visit Think Salmon and share their salmon story. Comment on a story. Ask a question of Professor Salmon. Drop in to a salmon event.

Don’t think you have a salmon story? I bet you do. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘salmon?’ Do you have a favourite story about catching salmon? Seeing salmon in a river? Eating salmon? How about a story about a friend and salmon? A salmon photo? Some salmon-inspired art?

Those are all salmon stories. Our landscape and our culture here in the Pacific northwest is made of those salmon stories. We need to be proud of it, to foster it and to protect it. In a way, we are all part-salmon. Without salmon we don’t have forest, birds or bears. We don’t have the things we rely on to live. We’re loosed and disconnected from our natural world.

So Think Salmon. And protect salmon. And save the lands and waters they depend on for their survival.

Jobs I know in Vancouver

In the last few days I’ve been sent a number of jobs from folks I know. Since I’m not looking for a job (though I’m always looking for work!), I thought I’d post them to see if anyone else can connect the seekers and the sought.

SXIP Indentity is looking to fill 2 developer positions: Firefox Developer and Web Developer. Here’s the snippet of skills they’re looking for:

• You have a proven track record in developing software.
• You thrive on solving difficult problems and want to have an impact through the delivery of cutting-edge technologies.
• Your extensive programming experience will leave you well-positioned to thrive in our high-velocity, creative and passionate environment.
• For the Firefox Developer: you’ve already got experience in Firefox add-ons, XUL, JavaScript and the usual web technologies.
• For the Web Developer: you’ll need to be experienced and skilled in web technologies (CSS, XHTML, Perl, PHP and JavaScript) and multiple operating systems (FreeBSD, OS X and Windows).
• Full job listings and to take action, check out SXIP careers.

A video game company is looking for a strong Product Manager with a background in mass-market consumer products who also knows software. En plus, that individual will have these responsibilities:

• supervise development of consumer qualitative research (focus groups, product reviews)
• work with development team to define product positioning, feature sets and licensing applications
• work with the Marketing Director to develop and execute the Franchise Marketing Plan, which includes product positioning, target market identification and analysis, volume forecasting, budgeting, category & competitive analysis and pricing analysis
• provide expertise and knowledge to studio producers and developers and influence development of concepts and features
• develop relationships with key licensors and retailers for advertising, promotions and packaging
• present at quarterly sales meetings
• Take action on this one by getting in contact with me and I’ll pass you the right contact information.

Lastly and most loosely, if anyone is involved in software channel management marketing let me know. I have people I know looking to hire in the new year. Same goes for a general accountant and a communications specialist for a non-profit.

Think Salmon at Social Tech Brewing

Just a quick note to thank the folks at Social Tech Brewing for last night’s gathering where I presented our experience developing and launching Think Salmon.

To the organizers, thanks for letting me present and running a fun event. To the attendees, thanks for letting me present and contributing some great questions to the discussion.

If anyone’s interested in seeing the photos from the salmon story I told, Darren has the slideshow.

Job Opportunity: Program Coordinator with the Pacific Salmon Foundation

A stellar Work Industries client, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, is looking for a full-time program coordinator to join their team. The job will entail lots of document and proposal review, salmon program administration and coordination and basic desk work at a computer.

If you know anyone with a strong background in watershed and salmon advocacy and rehabilitation who is good with detailed tasks (and this could be you), please read on for the full job description.

Program Coordinator - Pacific Salmon Foundation

The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF.ca) is accepting resumes for a full-time Program Coordinator.

Position closes: September 11, 2006
Position type: salary
Position location: Vancouver

Responsibilities:

• Project Coordination, program support and administration to Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) priority salmon activity areas.
• Review project proposal documents and plans to assess benefit to salmon resource, identify deficiencies, ensure sound science and traditional ecological knowledge and alignment with Federal, Provincial and local legislation and policies. Ensure best use of PSF resources.
• Provide communication and technical assistance to PSF project applicants and proponents, recovery plan teams, committees, and partners involved in salmon related initiatives.
• Oversee and maintain PSF program’s project cycle, draft letters, contracts and other documents and correspondence, assist in reviewing and editing internal and external communications.
• Assist in the preparation and calculation of budgets

Education and Experience Required:

Demonstrated personal suitability, experience and competencies equivalent to:

• Bachelors Degree and 3 years experience in natural resource management (salmon) and stewardship support initiatives or
• Diploma in Natural Resource Management plus 5 years of fisheries/stewardship/project management experience

How to apply:

Please send your cover letter and resume (as an attachment) to Dianne Ramage by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by fax 604-664-7665.

Deadline: 5:00 pm Monday, September 11, 2006.

Social Tech Brewing Vancouver in July

Rob Cottingham writes to remind me of a great event coming up next week here in Vancouver: Social Tech Brewing. I attended the last Social Tech Brewing at The Whip back in May and met some great folks. I also ran into some folks I hadn’t seen for awhile and renewed relationships.

Last week I recommended to my clients at the Pacific Salmon Foundation that they attend, so now I’m making the call open to everyone. Details below.

Social Tech Brewing Vancouver
Border-Busting: a conversation with Katrin Verclas
July 17th, Radha Eatery

If you work at the intersection of technology and community-building, we hope you’ll join us for a July 17th gathering of Social Tech Brewing’s Vancouver chapter. Social Tech Brewing brings together folks from nonprofit organizations, community service, social activism, social ventures and technology to share ideas—and beer!

Our July 17th event will feature a conversation with Katrin Verclas, the incoming director of The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN), an American group that works to support the diverse people and organizations who help nonprofits employ technology effectively. We’ve booked a great quiet space in which to have this conversation, conveniently located above a great spot to drink beer.

Katrin will lead an informal discussion about whether/how US npos can work more effectively here in Canada. She’ll also introduce us to a new project from the N-TEN Technobabes Community: “BraCamp,” which we’re hoping will lead to a broader conversation about gender issues in nonprofit technology.

Katrin’s presentation and Q&A will start at 7:15 and wrap by 8, so please plan to arrive on time. If you’re early, folks will gather underneath Radha at the Brickhouse for a brew or two. And if you’re still hot to talk after we wrap, we’ll be moving back down to the Brickhouse again for another hour of libations, gossip exchange, and general consipracy-hatching.

Please RSVP on Upcoming.org’s dedicated Social Tech Brewing page.

We hope to see you there!

Details:
Date: July 17 2006, 7:00-9:00pm
Venue: Radha Eatery, 730 Main Street, Vancouver, BC. (Map to Radha)
Cost: Free!

If you’re thinking of hitting the event and want to share a ride, let me know. Carpooling is a service we offer less than seasonally.

Welcome to First Weekend Club

I’m proud to announce that First Weekend Club has become a Work Industries client. First Weekend Club describes itself like this:

First Weekend Club is a cross-Canada film club that celebrates Canadian film and talent.  Our goal is to build audiences and appreciation for Canadian cinema and to get more people to make a domestic choice when selecting a film at the theatre or off the video shelf.  First Weekend Club is helping more Canadians discover Canadian cinema and talent and become part of a growing community of film enthusiasts.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be developing and refining web strategies with them. If all goes according to plan, soon they’ll be web marketing geniuses.

If you’re interested in Canadian films, be sure to sign up for the free First Weekend Club emails, which feature only the best Canadian films showing in your town.

I’m also on the lookout for passionate people with strong opinions of film, and Canadian film in particular. If you fit the bill, or you know someone who fits the bill, contact me, James Sherrett. We may well be able to help each other out.