Pedigree Petfoods was a company that manufactured pet food located at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England with another factory in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Pedigree comes from a French phrase meaning birds feet, representing the shape of family trees.
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Mars Inc
It is now a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. The UK division of Mars Inc. has been called Masterfoods since January 2002. Previously it was Pedigree Masterfoods and Mars Confectionery (a division, making the Mars Bar, is based in Slough).
Marketing
The company makes the market leaders Pedigree (dog food) and Whiskas (cat food), as well as Kitekat (cat food) and Pal (dog food). The slogan used for many years for Pedigree dog food is "Top breeders recommend it". For Whiskas' the old slogan was "8 out of 10 owners say their cat prefers it." and for Pal it is "Prolongs Active Life".
Sponsorship
Masterfoods, until recently, sponsored the Burghley Horse Trials, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, now sponsored by another country sport stalwart, Land Rover. Pedigree sponsors the #38 of David Gilliland and #88 of Ricky Rudd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. In the past they have sponsored drivers Ken Schrader, Elliott Sadler, and Ernie Irvan.
Centre for Pet Nutrition
The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, also mentioned in TV advertisements for dog food, is based at Waltham-on-the-Wolds near Melton Mowbray. There are 250 dogs, and 600 cats who get fed there every day. It is publicised as conducting the most advanced research on dog and cat food in Europe, if not the world.
