Purina Mills, LLC is the farm
animal feeds unit of
Land O' Lakes. It was previously part of
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 Fri ...
, until the U.S. animal feeds portion was first sold in 1986.
History
Purina traces its roots back to 1894, when founder
William H. Danforth
William H. Danforth (September 10, 1870 – December 24, 1955) was an American businessman known for founding Ralston Purina in St. Louis, Missouri in 1894. He was a co-founder of the American Youth Foundation (AYF) and the author of the book, ...
began producing feed for various
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
animals under the name Purina Mills. The predominant brand for each animal was generally referred to as "Chow"; hence there was "Purina Horse Chow", "Purina
Dog Chow
Dog Chow is a name brand of dog food marketed and manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare. The brand's dry dog food is offered worldwide, in numerous formulas. Introduced in 1957, It has since expanded its brand offerings to include products for p ...
", "Purina Cat Chow", "Purina Rabbit Chow", "Purina Pig Chow", and even "Purina Monkey Chow". Later, in 1902, he merged with university professor
Webster Edgerly Albert Webster Edgerly (1852 – 1926) was a 19th and 20th century American social reform activist. He believed in euthanasia programs, a healthy diet, and the power of personal magnetism, and began the Ralstonism movement as a way to live out thi ...
, founder of
Ralstonism
Ralstonism was a social movement in the United States in the 19th century. It claimed about 800,000 followers. Ralstonism was the brainchild of Webster Edgerly (1852–1926). In Edgerly's words, "Ralstonism is the grandest movement that man is ca ...
, who was at the time producing breakfast cereals, to form the "Ralston Purina Company".
Ralston Purina sold Purina Mills, the U.S. animal feed business, to
British Petroleum in 1986, while retaining the
pet food
Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food indu ...
and international animal feed businesses. In 1993, the Sterling Group of Houston led a leveraged buyout of Purina Mills. In 1998, it was purchased by
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in th ...
, but a U.S.
bankruptcy court
United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...
cancelled out all equity held by Koch to maintain the company's viability. Purina Mills was purchased by Land O'Lakes in 2001.
Licensing rights
Purina Mills licenses the Purina and Chow brands for the United States and its territories (including Puerto Rico) from the successor of the Ralston Purina Company and owner of the trademarks,
Nestlé Purina PetCare
Nestlé Purina Petcare (), or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces and markets pet food, treats, cat and dog litter. Some of its pet food brands include Purina Pro P ...
.
Outside of the U.S., the rights to the Purina and Chow brands for animal feeds are licensed to
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...
by Nestle Purina PetCare.
Logo
![Bonded warehouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Bonded_warehouse.JPG)
Ralston Purina was famed for its "checkerboard"
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
. The inspiration for the Ralston Purina logo came from a family from founder William Danforth's childhood who dressed in checkerboard cloth.
The checkerboard trademark, intended to make their burlap bags of feed stand out from competitors, was introduced in 1904.
Ralston Purina’s headquarters was called ''Checkerboard Square''. At one point, Ralston Purina owned an interest in the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
team; during this period, the arena they then used was referred to as the "
Checkerdome
St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...
".
The checkerboard logo then evolved into a personal development concept Danforth put forth in his book ''I Dare You'', in which he proposed that four key components in life ("Physical," "Mental," "Social," and "Religious") need to be in balance, and one area was not to develop at expense of the other.
The concept became intertwined with the company in 1921, when it began selling feed that was pressed in cubes called "checkers".
References
External links
Official Purina Mills website
{{Authority control
1894 establishments in Missouri
American companies established in 1894
Animal food manufacturers
Food and drink companies established in 1894
Ralston Purina