Deborah Ellinger, president of Old Mother Hubbard pet food company in Chemlsford, with Dazzle, the company's CTO (chief tasting officer).
CHELMSFORD -- Deborah Ellinger, president of pet food maker Old Mother Hubbard, is nearly as finicky about the quality of her products as her dog and cat consumers. So finicky, in fact, that she samples all the food herself.
"I personally have eaten everything that we make," said Ellinger. "Because I know what's in it."
Since joining the 80-year-old Chelmsford-based company in 2004, Ellinger has played a pivotal role in positioning the company for its next stage of growth. In the past two years the company has outsourced all of its manufacturing, ramped up marketing and placed an increased emphasis on quality and product development.
This year, the 110-person company's revenue will top $80 million -- and is expected to grow by 20 percent next year. It also introduced six new products in 2006, mainly dog treats.
Old Mother Hubbard got its start in 1926 when it was spun out of Gloucester-based Hubbard & Sons, a bakery that made hardtack biscuits popular among sailors and their dogs. The Scott family purchased the company in 1961 and set to work expanding its offerings beyond treats into kibbles and canned foods for dogs and cats. CEO and animal nutritionist Jim Scott Jr. continues to spend much of his time developing new, holistic pet food.
Today the company houses two brands: Wellness and the eponymous Old Mother Hubbard. But it is the company's niche Wellness line -- which uses "human-quality" ingredients and includes no meat byproducts, fillers, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives -- that is the larger revenue driver, outselling Old Mother Hubbard by 5-to-1.
One of the main reasons, according to Ellinger, is that the human trend of eating healthy, natural food has trickled down to man's best friend.
In 2004, Old Mother Hubbard had just received an undisclosed capital investment from Catterton Partners in Greenwich, Conn., to help it get to the next level of growth. Ellinger restructured the company by closing its manufacturing plants to focus on product development. She personally visited 15 manufacturing plants around the country; today the food is made at 11 plants scattered across the country.
Once manufacturing was outsourced, Ellinger's team began to focus on expanding its Wellness line, and the company is gearing up to release a new line of cat treats in 2007.
Ellinger places credence in the company's philosophy of only distributing its food to independent pet food companies where there is likely to be thoughtful dialogue between consumers and store managers, and about 6,300 retailers in the United States sell Old Mother Hubbard products.
"It's helpful for us, because we know they understand nutrition and will have conversations in the aisles," said Ellinger. "We know if we put Wellness in those channels it will be properly explained to the consumer."
One such store is Pet World of Natick, which sells both lines of Old Mother Hubbard. The Wellness line sells particularly well, according to manager Doug Alton Sr., who notes that today many customers are so interested in purchasing health food for their dogs or cats they know about new products before he does.
"They're a very good company in the way they are run and their product development," said Alton. "They've brought out good products, as opposed to products that just fill the shelves."
Keeping the company's products out of chain stores also helps keep growth in check, according to Ellinger. "For us it's about how do you get big while still staying small? Because it's still a family company," said Ellinger.
The rise in popularity of pet nutrition can be observed firsthand in the large senior population of animals, according to Dr. Edward Moser a veterinary nutritionist who consults for Old Mother Hubbard.
"I think anyone who can take a message to the pet owner and say here's how you can do something better, it resonates with that owner," said Moser. "People want to do what's right for their dog and cat."