Perhaps why I do that. Okay, all right, I'm just probably gonna do this at some point because I took one of your bags too. All right, are we good? Make sure you on vibrate mine's of my bad Okay, good, Yeah, we're all good. Okay, ready, ready, Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff with me. I have Adrian and Kim from Nylabone. Yay, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And it's very special today only because and on top of because they're in
the studio with me. So that's usually I just I do phoneers or a zoom. So welcome, say hi, Hi.
Thank you, Hi, thank you. Okay.
So, first of all, before we really get started started, Adrian, tell me what you do at Nylo Bone.
So I am the senior marketing director of Nyla Boone. I've been with the company almost fifteen years now, so me on team are over the brand marketing for both our Nilebone.
Toys and treats. Wow okay, and Kim.
I am senior vice president of Marketing for Central Garden and Pet, which owns nilobone. So I'm over all of our brands at Central for our dog and cat business, which is for Pause Cadet and of course my favorite don't tell anyone else Nylophone.
Yes, of course, and we also have Jane in the studio. Tell us what Jane does.
Jane is amazing. Jane heads up our Nilobone Cares initiatives, which is really all of our philanthropic activities, all of our donations. She also works on all of our sustainability. So Jane is the soul of Nylo Bone and what we do.
Yes, that's very sweet. Well, Jane's alone in the corner. We put her in the corner put because we're in a small studio. But we will get to more about the situation, not the situation, of what Jane does and what Nilobone is doing. Celebrating seventy years so this is really a big thing because Nylo Bone has been around obviously for seventy years from nineteen fifty five. And I just have to say I've been a Nylobone fans. I first like my first dog, which was in the early nineties,
so that's probably like thirty five years. And to prove it, because you're celebrating seventy years, I found and since we're doing video. I'm gonna show and I can tell the listeners I found this dura chew of Nyla bone right and you can tell from the packaging it's like older packaging, and I was looking for and I'm so happy I remembered that I had this on top of my fridge.
And those who were listening know that I haven't had a dog for a year, so they know I still have my dog stuff and I haven't gotten a new one yet. But okay, so I was looking for a year and I didn't see it. And on the top it said the leader in responsible PetCare for over fifty years. So this is this is like twenty five years old right now. I'm sorry, twenty years old, which is amazing. But it's a great product. I, like I said, for
my first dog. When friends of mine get puppies, I always give them a Nyla bhone because I just remember and all my dogs, I've always loved Nyla bone. And I'm not saying that because you're a sponsor, because it's really from the heart. So tell me how how did nylobone start seventy years ago?
Seventy yeah, seventy long years ago. So Nyla Bone was actually one of the founding brands in the pet industry in the United States. So around seventy years ago, a bunch of companies came together and they created what's called the American Pet Products Association, and basically they started the industry to say, we want to make products for pets. Now, we're one of many, many companies in the APPA. It's actually APPMA now, but we were one of the founding companies.
And we started with durable chew toys, high quality durable chew toys and just made here in New Jersey, New York right now, but made in New Jersey right in the USA.
Yeah, it's very important.
Yes, So we made Nyla bones for dogs, durable chews that lasted a long time, in every flavor, shape, color you can possibly imagine. We took it seriously. We wanted to create a product that really entices dogs to chew, that gets that chewing need out of them so they don't become destruct of course, of course, and from there, you know what goes with toys, but treats. So we entered the treat market and we've got some of the
best selling what we call long lasting choose in the market. Why, Because we know how to make a long lasting chew, right and really popular with dogs, highly highly palatable. And now we're one of the bigest chew companies in the country. So it's been seventy years of true happiness, right.
Oh, I do love that, yes, yes.
And we're just delighted that we keep getting to work with dogs and shelters and folks like you.
Of course, no, of course, I mean honestly, when something when a product is good, it's like I remember this
from my grandmother. You know, if you have something that's it's better to have a few things that are good quality than stuff that's not made so well, you know, and that goes with you know, your pet toys and pet chews and pet food just as well, you know, in the fact that you're made in New Jersey and the fact that you know USA, and I just know, like from many many years ago, when like I guess it was, I don't even remember how long ago it was, but a lot of pets were dying because of the
food from China.
Melanine, the melanie issue from China. Yeah, I was in the industry at that time. It was terrible.
It was awful. It was all terrifying, and you know, and you didn't I get. I think a lot of people sometimes don't realize when oh I'm gonna it's okay because it's a dog toy. Well look where it's made exactly know your dog is chewing it. So and I think there was like glue and all this other stuff in it. It was just you know. So the fact that you're made in the USA is like yay.
Especially for treats right the past are incredibly important. Absolutely, Yeah, we take pride in that.
Yes, no, which I think every pet owner because they are our children. It's very very important. Absolutely so now that it's seventy years, lots of stuff happening because it's a milestone. So what tell us what's going on?
Well, Adrian, I think that you should talk about the wonderful things we're doing.
I can celebrate our seventieth birthday, which is on November fourth, twenty twenty five. We are partnering with Best Friends Animal Society in our shoes for a good campaign. So we're really excited about this campaign. For every Nylo bone toy or treat that's purchased, consumers have an opportunity to upload their receipt to our micro site at nilebonecars dot com and they're entered into a chance to win a weekly gift card and.
Also a grand prize.
But what's even more exciting about the whole campaign is that for every receipt that's uploaded and purchased that's made, we're donating AHw toy to best Friends Animal Society for shelter dogs. And they have over five thousand no kill shelters across the United States. So they were here today, they were here today were beautiful puppies.
I know, I know it's very tempting, but yeah, yeah, nothing changes anyone's mood, right, like like a puppy at work. No, but it's it's excellent and best Friends has been around many many years as well, so it's a great partnership. And I mean, and even if you go because if you go to nylobone dot com and right there it says by give win, it's like it it's right there. So it's very easy. And I know my listeners buy Nyla bones and this is even more reason that they should.
And it's just very easy because they can enter and it's win win all around, and you know, you're helping out shelter dogs because, as we say over and over and over, you know, animals that wind up in shelters aren't damaged. Yes, no, there's so many people are other than the but people are learning. I think it's taking it's still taking time. But you know, I feel like a broken record. But I mean I still talk to people about puppy mills and they don't know what a
puppy mill is. Yeah, and it's like, well it's twenty twenty five, Okay, it's okay, let me, let.
Me teach you, you know.
And it's the same thing like and this is you know, Nylamone is a huge organization. It's a huge company. And the fact that you're saying, you know, shelter pets, sheltered dogs and cats, they are okay, they just happen to find themselves there.
Absolutely, and they're in need of a loving home.
That's all they need.
I have I have cats and I have dogs, but my cats came from the shelter, and there's not two more loving cats in the world. Like they're they're not damaged. They just need a good home. And once they have it, the joy you see in them is just incredibly satisfied.
Yeah, of course, of course. So with the prizes that the person when they buy their nyhlabone product and then they upload their receipt and you know, maybe they can win. Can we talk about some of the things that they could win over there?
So depending on where they make their purchase, whether it's at a retailer online, when they upload their receipt there entered into a chance to win one hundred dollars gift card. Wow, that would be where they purchased the Nihli one product.
So oh that's nice.
And that's one hundred weeks, so one hundred dollar winner every week of the contest through the entire contest. So yeah, if you win that week and you uploaded your receipt from Amazon or Target or Walmart, you get a hundred dollars gift card.
That's a lot and then you can use that to spoil your pet right exactly exactly? And how and is this going on throughout the year until you hit the actual date November or till the end of twenty.
Five runs through the end of the calendar years.
Wow, that's a long time, a long time and the most exciting part of the contest is definitely towards the end. So at the end of the year there will be one grand prize winner and the grand prize is thirty thousand dollars. Wow. So you could spoil your pet, you could spoil some shelter pets, you could spoil everybody.
Wow, spoil yourself.
If you want.
It's amazing thirty thousand bucks for a grand prize because you bought a Nylo bone.
Exactly right, and you helped a shelter dog.
And you helped a shelter dog. So there's really no excuse.
What's better than that?
Nothing is better than that. Nothing is better. So okay, so let's talk a little bit more in detail about the products that Nylo bon because I know we hit on it just a little briefly before, so that we definitely have the Nylo bone choose. But let's talk about the toys. So I actually and I have to and for those who are listening, sorry you're not seeing this, but you'll just have to go look for it in the store. But for the video, I just happened to grab this bag. I wish I could play with this.
How cute is this? It's broccoli. It's like a stalk of broccoli. And it's really funny because I made this dish last night with broccoli, and I'm like, oh my goodness, it looks like when I was chopping up exactly it. This is great And I'm you know, power chew because we all bacon and cheese flavor. I just I love it. I love all the you know, all the different toys, and so tell us more of the different kinds of toys that you have that are similar to this.
Yeah, So broccoli chew toy is one of our newer designs, and all of our chew toys are designed with how dogs chew in mind. So this line is definitely a lot of fun. There's a lobster in the line. There's a doughnut, there's a s'more. Oh I saw the s'mores too. Yeah,
there are a lot of fun. But they really are designed not only to be fun and colorful and definitely instagram worthy, because it doesn't like to take the pictures of their dogs chewing on these yes, of course looking toys, but they are designed with purpose so sure that we take into consideration how the dog holds the chew toy that they can really kind of chew with their back teeth and really get in there. And they're designed for powerful tours like that one like.
This one, yeah, extreme chewing style.
Yeah, it's of textured on end, so that really kind of engages them and draws them in and gets them chewing.
It's true. It's amazing because I'm not sure if we've all had dogs that were extreme chewers, but I definitely had one. And every time, you know, when he was younger, when he was a puppy. It's a couple of dogs ago. I would come home and like actually hold my breath before I opened the door because like, what did he
you know? And I gave him exercise and left him with, you know, treats inside one of those things that you play with and he has to like fight for the treats and like what would I find whether it's uh, you know, whether it was my rug. The best was one time I came and was potting soil and I didn't realize and I picked He must have moved it, I thought, and I picked it up in the two or three holes, and the potting soil just all like kind of seeped out, and I was like extreme chewer.
And he also chewed on nil of boats too. So I have one of those extreme chewers at home myself. Yes, and she is definitely a nylepone dog. Yes, yeah, I mean, but they're dogs.
You know, it goes critic your dog. She is, but not all dogs are aggressive chewers. So to build off what Adriam was saying is we have our power chewes. We have strong chees which are not quite as hard as a power chew because some dogs aren't as aggressive as as Molly, our test dog. And then we also have flexi chews that are great that are more soothing where you know, they very easy to chew, easy on the teeth. So if you have an older dog or just a dog that likes to kind of nibble a
little bit but is an aggressive chewer. So we really have something for every dog, every weight of dog, every size of dog. We've tried to meet all the needs of dogs across. Yeah.
No, and it's true. I mean dogs are like people. Cats are like people, right, they are there. Everybody's different, it's there, Each breed is different, each one is different, you know, So it makes sense.
And of course we have a full puppy line.
Yes, let's talk about Yes, absolutely, Yes, let's talk about a little bit about the puppy line.
Yeah, we have a very wide assortment of chew toys. They are designed and specifically made for puppies. So really it's important to get puppies chewing unappropriate in the beginning, that's true, talking about the destructive chewing.
Yeah, they've got those little.
Puppy teeth, and they go through the whole teething period just like babies, where they lose their puppy teeth, and they're kind of trying to look for ways to soothe and ease all of that teething pain. So they're looking for things to chew on. But we want them not chewing on our remote controls and our furniture. No, of course, my puppy definitely tried doing so, redirecting them to the
appropriate things to chew on. So that's really what's behind our whole puppy line, and we've got everything from extra small to extra large for all sized puppies and really to get them chewing appropriately from the very early stages.
Sure, I mean, and I think I feel like nylabone is definitely preventing many animals from being dropped off at shelters because I think sometimes I mean not everybody, and it's just it just the way it is, Like if you don't know anything about having a dog, or you never had one, and you get a dog and you
don't realize it's it needs your attention. It's not gonna be you know, like Lassie or whatever dog you see you saw on TV growing up, And I think, you know, if it gets destructive or it has accidents and then it winds up back in the shelter because it why did that happen? Well, it chewed my wall. Okay, but that happens, you know, it happens, and I feel like Nylophone helps avoid that from happening.
That's destructive. Chewing is definitely one of the leading causes why dogs are returned to shelters. So getting them to chew appropriately and exact things is really important, exactly, So, so Nylo Bone to the rescue.
That's right, our reason being.
So okay, So you so now we're getting into May, and well it's May, and we have the rest of the year, you know, until your celebration is done. What's on what's in store for like the next few months for you for the rest of the year. I'm sure there's a big plan and other things going on.
So there's a there's a ton of things going on there. Yes, we've been quite busy at I think so. Yes. Yeah, So the the promotion Choose for Good goes through the rest of the years we talked about, but to celebrate our seventieth birthday, we decided we needed a makeover. So we also refreshed our packaging for all Nylophone products. Okay, so you'll start to see that hit the shelf within
the next few months. And we came up with our new tagline, which is Trusted Choose with Heart and Purpose since nineteen fifty five.
I love that.
It really is who we are. And you know, as we went into our seventieth birthday, we thought about what do we want to do. Do we want to throw a big party for ourselves? Do we want to you know, do a big ad campaign. Of course, we always want to do an ad can he said, you don't want to give back? That's what we want to do this year. So you know, we're partnering with a lot of shelters.
We do donations across a lot of different shelters where we give product for our Nylophone treats into shelter packs that go home with adopted dogs.
Nice yeah, so as ducks.
And it actually has a nylobhone toy coupon as.
Well, so perfect.
We can't give away the toys because you know, size and shape right at our time, but we're sending them home with great information on how to bring this puppy or how to bring this adopted dog into your home, and we're giving that donation. The other thing with our makeover, going back to our packaging, is not only did we make ourselves look better at least we think we did, we remove plastic from our packaging. So we're saving about forty tons of plastic a year. Yeah. Yeah. With our
new packaging, we're part of the Pet Sustainability Coalition. We're accredited as a sustainable company, so we're really focused on, you know, reducing our footprint or our pawprint as well, right to say, and just doing better for the world. So we've had that's amazing.
Yeah, we've that's amazing too. I mean it's proof because my mind from twenty years ago.
It's old packaging, yeah, you know, but pretty still standing and it's i know it's not amazing.
I know it's amazing, but let's talk. Let's I want to show some of the let's talk about what's in here. Sure, you know in your bag of trick, we have a bag of tricks, so well, I have a couple here, so oh, and I've given these as gifts. So this is a natural nubs which you can see and you b z edible dog chews with real chicken. We have these here so and these I guess come in different flavors as well, so for those so for those who are listening, and of course I took a bag that
just a couple of days. That's okay because I'm still stuck on the broccoli.
You know. I'm so glad you have the broccoli.
Me too. It's so cute, but so okay. So that's what's happening for the rest of the year. And you probably cannot think of what's going to happen next year because it's too soon.
A little bit it's a little bit more exciting things. I'm not sure next year, you know. Of course, our philanthropic activity will continue. We actually are partnering with Walmart and Best Friends Animal Society in May for Pet Months So Pet Month at Walmart is this May, and we're doing about seven different events across the country, so it's on site adoptions out Walmart's across the country and we'll
be participating in that as well. So we're really focused on getting continuing our give back to these pets, and we really just want to get dogs out of shelters.
And of course, I mean we want them to be.
Nil bhone dogs for life of course, yes, of course, but also we want them in good forever homes of course.
I mean. And that's what's so cool about nilobone because it's, yes, it's a company that's a business, but it's really kind of directed by what's in all of your hearts. And it's obvious to me, you know, at the heart, we're pet people exactly. Just yes, it's like people who are vets because they love pets absolutely, and that's what I
feel like. Nylabone is a company that loves pets, and you know, and for me as a consumer, you really want to spend your money where it's appreciated and where you know the company that you're giving your money to has the pets best interests. And I've always even before knowing you. I've always felt that way about Nylobone, So no, it's really true. It's definitely true. So let's see.
Uh, well, just jumping on vets for a moment. Veterinarians, you know, they're so important to our industry and of course to our pet families. One of the things we do at Nylobone is a veterinary outreach where we're communicating and educating veterinarians about our products, about the role they play, adopted dogs or new dogs in the home, and our
favorite things. So Adrian and I and Jane all we go to these vet conferences every year, and our favorite thing is these veterinarians will come down the aisle and they'll be like, Nihla bone and they start screaming. I'm like, oh my god, what did we do? And they're just like and every single veterinarian is like, I use this for my dog. And of course ps they all have seven dogs.
Yes, of course it's too many dogs.
Get give dogs. They're like, no, seven, I'm like, okay, but they're just so excited. They're like, my dog, I can give them a Nyla bone and they calm down and their behaviors better than they're happy. That is one of the most fulfilling things for us to see that core that these veterinarians who ps work so hard and are are underpaid, in my humble opinion, just see the
value of what we do. It's just so satisfying. We actually went as a team to a local shelter near our office in Neptune City and we kind of donated our time for the day and they've got some trainers on site that, you know, again help the dogs get ready to be adopted, and they this one trainer comes over to it and she was like this ball of energy and like she made me look lazy. I was like, girl,
you go okay. She's like, I sent every dog home with a Nilo bone and we're like, okay, okay, and she's like, nothing helps a dog get adopted better than having a nylophone before that family comes in because it calms them down. Of course, they're their best version of themselves. And she's like, and then I send them home with one because I know that's going to help that dog.
So she gets it.
She gets it, and we were that's what really inspired us. That was like two years ago and we were like, Wow, this is powerful. This is important.
Yeah, No, for sure, for sure, and it's true, you know, starting with vets, and I mean it's just I feel like you all of you know, obviously it's seventy years but you know sometimes people are seventy years old and they still don't have any common sense. So the fact that you guys know what you're doing, you know the direction, and it's just it's just win win, you know, and so like, thank you for doing what you do.
No, because it's very important.
You know, we would love to get all the shelters cleared out, and you're on the path to helping that happen.
I really feel that way. Yeah, well, thank you, and it is it's incredibly important to all of us, you know, just watching people today here at iHeartMedia and watching them see these puppies and like the smile that comes across our face and like you can just watch the stress just melt away. Yes, that's what it's about. It's true. It's not only well we can give these these dogs and cats if you will, but it's what they give back to us.
Absolutely, No, it's true. I just you know, I just thought of something and it went right out of my head. Oh you said seeing people's faces, and they say, when you have a pet, it helps your blood pressure, it helps your anxiety absolutely. You know when you get anxious about something, just like pet your cat, pet your dog, and you can physically feel everything in your body change. So it's really true.
Yeah, it's true. They I almost feel like they give us more than we give them sometimes.
Oh, I definitely, I definitely think so. So for the adoption events around the country, can listeners go to your website and see where they're going to be at some point when they happen.
Point, Yeah, okay, we'll probably be posting about it on social media also, so on nylophone on our Instagram. But yeah, we'll get some information out there. So cool.
And let's talk about your social media because I know that's really big, the whole part of it. So yeah, So it's hashtag nylo bone. Is that correct?
I believe?
So that's okay, you can say out loud, well, well, ny the Bone.
Cares is our website, but for nylobone, it's just nilphone.
Yeah, okay, hashtag and people can find and they can find you.
Yes, yes, choose for good, choose for the hashtag.
Yeah, okay, cool.
Yeah, So we have a great community on our social media. So we're on you know, we're on TikTok, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook and again there and you'll see when you come visit us. We really just share just fun images of all of the dogs that engage with our products. We get things from again, we get pictures from shelters, we get them from pet parents, like it's just so exciting to see them engaging with our product in a way that makes them so happy. So we try to
share as much as we can about that. Of course, we share about new products coming out and.
Yeah, but of course we could do both and that's okay, and you know you should show your new products too. You should be proud.
We're very proud. You work very hard for those them.
Yes, exactly, it doesn't happen overnight.
Absolutely well. In fact, and Adrian, maybe you could speak about this. One of the other things we're doing for our birthday is we launch some nylobone birthday bones.
Yes, oh, yes, let's talk about birthday bone. Yeah.
We've got five new chew toys that we were launching to celebrate our birthday. So there's an orange and white swirled bone in three different sizes with roasted chicken flavor and the Nylobone iconic orange white color, so we're really excited about that. And then we have an orange doughnut, which is also part of that novelty line we were talking about earlier, and then also a rubber chew toy
as well. So it's really kind of a nice little assortment, limited edition to celebrate our seventieth birthday, and it really covers all sized dogs and even different shoe strength.
Well those are perfect too because if you have a dog and it's birthday is coming, there's the birthday present because we have to buy presents for our pets, so it's perfect. So it's yeah, birthday presence. You got us through that birthday party too, absolutely absolutely, well, I think it's wonderful. Well, I just thank you for being here, Thanks for talking about everything and doing so much for
dogs and cats and the animals and shelters. And I feel like so many more will get homes because of Nylo Bone and all the hard work that you do, so I really do appreciate you. So Jane and Kim and Adrian and JP behind the camera, thank you and I hope to talk to you again.
We hope so too. Thank you so much, thank you, thank you.
Was that okay? Do we get everything at Hope dot com? I did say that, right, you did? Yes, that was great. It was good.
Can we come back next week? Of course.
I told you we were comfortable. I know, no, I love it and you were fine.
Arvis, you were us