Talking Smack at Grammy Awards

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This article was published 03/02/2024 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg-based, high-end pet food company Smack will get the chance to leverage music industry celebrity pet influencers this weekend in Los Angeles.

Performers and presenters (and the press) attending Sunday night’s Grammy Awards will each receive $250 worth of Smack products.

It is joining what seems to be an annual parade of boutique Manitoba companies whose products are included in the sometimes outrageous swag bags awards show participants receive.

Zoe Richardson, head of marketing for the 17-year-old Winnipeg company, said Smack just started shipping into the U.S. last year, and intends to make a bigger push into that market.

“This will give us brand awareness as we go into the U.S.,” she said Friday. “It’s a tough market to break into and this seem like a fun opportunity to do something a little different.

“Normally, we would focus on pet-specific markets, but celebrity brands drive a lot of traffic, so why not?”

It also gives Smack a chance to show off its new organic supplement, including top-quality superfood ingredients that can be mixed in with a dog’s regular food to enhance nutrition, according to the company.

Richardson is friends with the folks from Flour & Flower bakery, who got products into the Grammys last year.

They told her L.A. marketing firm Distinctive Assets was always looking to support companies with great products that are philanthropic and sensitive to issues, such as inclusivity

“I called them and they liked some of the things we do, like significant donations to the Winnipeg Humane Society and the fact that we source our salmon from an Indigenous co-op on the West Coast,” Richardson said.

Attendees will receive Smack’s Meal Variety Pack for Dogs, which includes five handcrafted recipes (named Caribbean-Salmon Fusion, Prairie Harvest Pork, Very Berry Chicken, Rockin’ Rockfish and Chunky Chicken) in 250-gram bags and its brand-new organic superfood Botanicals, along with a custom “My Dog’s On Smack” heavy-cotton tote bag.

Smack’s products — that include human-grade Manitoba pork and chicken — are in 600 specialty pet food retailers across the country, another 50 store in the U.S. and just started shipping to South Korea.

It recently moved into a 15,000-square-foot production facility, but is growing so fast it has a deposit down on a 65,000-sq.-ft. space to further increase production, the company said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca