Alpo is an American brand of

dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...

marketed and manufactured by the

Nestlé Purina PetCare Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (), or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1893 by William H. Danforth. It produces and markets pet food, treats, and cat and dog l ...

subsidiary of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

. The brand is offered as a canned or packaged soft food, as well as in dry kibbles.

History

Alpo, an abbreviation of Allen Products, was founded in 1936 by Robert F. Hunsicker in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

. The original factory was located in a small building at the southwest corner of New and Cedar streets. In 1964, the ''Allen Products Company'' was acquired by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. In 1980, the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company was acquired by

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

; and, in 1986, Grand Metropolitan sold the

Liggett Group Liggett Group ( ), now JTI Ligget, formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. As of 2014, Liggett Group was the fourth largest American tobacco company by gross revenue, though ...

, but retained Alpo Petfoods, Inc. In 1995, Nestlé SA acquired Alpo Petfoods, Inc. from Grand Metropolitan. In January 2001, Nestlé SA announced the merger of Nestlé Friskies with

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's ...

to form the

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

Marketing

For many years, the brand's main television commercial spokesman was

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

, who created the concept of eating one's own dog food by claiming that Alpo is so good he feeds it to his own dogs.

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the American Bro ...

also had a long association with the product on television, and

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

was a "spokescat" for the brand in the 1990s. Alpo was the sponsor of the debut broadcast of the long-running

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

,'' on September 24, 1968. Alpo had an advertisement on the left-center field wall at

Connie Mack Stadium Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

, home of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, from the mid-1950s through the park's closure in 1970. Alpo is also known for its marketing campaigns that target the owners of "real dogs", making light of consumers who pamper their dogs.

References

External links

*
Press Release on recall from Purina.comAlpo TV ad with Ed McMahon

Alpo TV ad with Lorne Greene
{{Nestlé Dog food brands Nestlé brands Ralston Purina products Products introduced in 1936