• Brandweek, Friday, March 17, 2006 11:46 AM

Del Monte Foods has decided the future lies with pets, not kids. The food marketer this week said it would acquire Kraft's pet foods lines, including the Milk-Bone brand, for $508 million. Earlier this month the company made a similar purchase when it bought Meow Mix cat food brands for $705 million. To pay for the purchases, Del Monte said it is selling its private-label soups and baby food brands. The company already owns a slew of pet products, including 9 Lives, Snausages and Kibbles 'n Bits. "We believe the integration (Milk-Bone and Meow Mix) will take time but may eventually provide the company the marketing scale it needs to be a meaningful player in pet [foods]," said analyst David Nelson, of Credit Suisse. The Milk-Bone brand alone posted about $180 million in net revenue last year, said Kraft, which is also selling off non-core brands to focus more on brands like Oreos and Kraft cheese. Del Monte plans to pump up Milk-Bone with marketing and new products.

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