ohmidog!

Meatpacking giant Tyson Foods Inc. is reportedly buying a piece of a New Jersey company that is introducing refrigerated dog food to the American marketplace.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Tyson was expected to announce that it has bought a minority stake in Freshpet Co., a Secaucus, N.J., company that will be selling its dog food at Kroger, Supervalu, PetSmart and other stores.

Freshpet was formed by a group of former Meow Mix managers whose goal is to make dog food look, smell and taste as much like human food as possible. The line, the first national brand of refrigerated pet food, is aimed at consumers who — however much they may be cutting down on what they consume — are continuing to buy the finest for their pets.

A Tyson group vice president said he expects refrigerated pet food to grow into a $500 million sales category within five years.

Tyson will begin to make Freshpet products this year and will use the Tyson truck fleet to haul Freshpet products to stores alongside Tyson’s microwavable dinners, chicken breasts and hamburger, the Journal reported. Tyson, which also is opening its research kitchens to Freshpet, is stopping short of using the Tyson brand on dog food.

Tyson won’t be the first food company to diversify into pet products. Nestlé owns Purina Puppy Chow and Dog Chow, while Mars Inc. owns Whiskas, Pedigree and Sheba. Del Monte Foods owns Kibbles ‘n Bits, Meow Mix and 9 Lives.