STORY BY ELIZABETH ELLIOTT
PHOTO BY MINORWHITESTUDIOS.COM
Doc’s Choice
“After meeting with the veterinarian, Dr. Gene Graney, who founded the company and ran it for more than 25 years, we thought there might be something there.” — Tim Healy.
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im Healy’s business has gone to the dogs, in one sense quite literally. He’s a partner in Choice Pet Foods, maker of Doc’s Choice dog food, along with his brother, Mark, and sisterin-law, Stephanie Healy. The Healys - though animal lovers - had not initially planned on going into the dog food business, but when a prize opportunity presented itself, Doc’s Choice seemed the right choice. Under their management, the pet food company has grown from a small-town operation with primary sales to kennels, breeders and hunting clubs in the Midwest, to a large production facility with expanding distribution in retail stores, both here and soon abroad. Healy said his brother and sister-in-law were primary owners of Vente, an internet-based lead generation and marketing business, in which he was a limited partner. They were interested in buying a business that was more traditional in nature, and came across an ad in the Omaha World-Herald for a pet food company that was for sale. “After meeting with the veterinarian, Dr. Gene Graney, who founded the company and ran it for more than 25 years, we thought there might be something there,” Healy said. “We returned home from the visit to Plainview, Neb., and we immediately went to some local Hy-Vee supermarkets to purchase some bags of Doc’s Choice so we could hand out samples to family and friends to feed to their dogs.” The positive response from the dogs that tried the product gave the Healys confidence to complete the transaction and purchase the company in August 2007. Healy explained how Doc’s Choice products – Premium Puppy and Premium Adult formulas - are different from other pet foods on the market: “The biggest difference between Doc’s Choice and just about all other dry dog food is it’s pelleted instead of kibbled. The final pellet form we produce does not have to be baked, which protects the nutrients from another high-temperature process so the availability of the nutrients in our product is very high.”
8 B2B Omaha Summer 2010