Beneful is a brand of dog food products by Nestlé Purina PetCare global[1] that includes wet dog food, dry dog food and dog treats.[2] As of 2012, it was the fourth most popular dog food brand,[3] generating more than $1.5 billion in annual revenues.[4] According to a SWOT analysis by Marketline, Beneful is one of Nestle Purina's more significant brands by revenue.[5]The Beneful brand of dog food was introduced to the market in 2001.[6] It was marketed on the basis of nutrition[7][8] and appearance; it resembled stew and contained beef pieces.[9][10] According to a company spokesperson, the term "Beneful" means "full of goodness".[7] A $34-million Beneful television advertising campaign that aired that year was the largest in Nestle Purina's history.[11][12] By the end of 2006, Beneful was generating $300 million in revenues.[13] In the same year the company invested $36 million to upgrade facilities in St. Joseph, Missouri to produce more wet food.[13][14] In 2010, Beneful attempted to "humanize" its dog food and introduced IncrediBites, a food in stay-fresh packaging with a smaller kibble size.[15]Beneful released a series of posters in Germany designed to attract dogs by releasing the smell of dog food.[16] Following the poster promotion, in 2011, Beneful started airing television ads in Austria that included high pitch noises only dogs could hear to elicit a response from pets.[16][17][18] Interactive billboards from Beneful were released in New York in May 2012, allowing people to play virtual fetch in a subway station. The dogs on the billboard can be customized and will follow a passerby to engage them. The billboards have also been installed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and St. Louis.[19][20][21] Beneful hosts an annual competition, the Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest, in which dog park designs are submitted for renovations. In 2013, 1,000 dog park designs were submitted for the $500,000 renovation. The program has produced parks in Johns Creek, Georgia, Alabaster, Alabama, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[22][23][24] [Wikipedia]
