Sportsman's Pride, the sporting-dog nutrition brand owned by Sunshine Mills, Inc., is retiring its 40lb Classic bag format in favor of a new 50lb lineup — a move the Red Bay, Alabama-based manufacturer says is driven by sustained demand from multi-dog households and bulk-buying consumers. The 26/18 Premium Complete & Balanced Dog Food is the first formula to debut in the larger format, accompanied by an updated packaging design.
The Format Shift
The transition from 40lb to 50lb represents a 25% increase in unit size — a meaningful jump in a pet food category where value-per-pound is a primary purchase driver among core buyers such as hunters, breeders, and working-dog trainers. Sunshine Mills markets the change as a direct response to repeated customer and retail-partner requests rather than a broader portfolio restructuring. The 26/18 Premium formula — a protein-to-fat ratio designation common in performance-dog nutrition — anchors the launch, with additional SKUs expected to follow.
The refreshed packaging introduces bolder imagery, clearer life-stage labeling, and prominent formula callouts. The design overhaul is aimed at improving shelf navigation and creating a more cohesive brand block at retail, two priorities that have grown in importance as pet food aisles contend with an expanding field of specialty and private-label competitors.
Retail & Industry Context
The pet food segment has shown resilience across inflationary cycles, with large-bag formats outperforming smaller SKUs as cost-conscious consumers seek lower cost-per-serving options. For independent farm-and-feed retailers and regional chains that anchor the Sportsman's Pride distribution footprint, 50lb bags are a standard expectation in the working-dog category — making the upgrade as much a competitive necessity as a growth initiative.
Scott Merrill, Vice President of Sales for Sunshine Mills, cited "strong interest in larger bag formats" among retail partners and framed the rollout as positioning the brand to capture incremental shelf space. Alan Bostick, Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Mills, added that the change reflects customer feedback the company has accumulated over time. "Dog owners know what they want, and bigger bags are high on that list," Bostick said.
Founded in 1947, Sunshine Mills operates eight manufacturing facilities across seven states and produces both branded and private-label pet food and treats — a dual-channel model that gives it significant scale in contract manufacturing alongside its own consumer brands. The company's ability to adjust bag sizes across its production network without major capital outlay underscores the operational flexibility that large family-owned co-manufacturers maintain in the pet food supply chain.
What's Next
The 50lb format launch arrives as pet food operators across the industry reassess pack-size strategy. Bulk and club-channel pet food sales have grown steadily, tracking broader consumer preferences for warehouse-style value, and brands that lack a large-format SKU increasingly cede that occasion to private label. Sportsman's Pride's move closes that gap within its own line.
Retailers and distributors seeking category context may also note that packaging redesigns in the pet food segment frequently coincide with SKU rationalization — consolidating slower-moving sizes to improve turns and reduce carrying costs for trade partners. Whether Sunshine Mills will phase out the 40lb format entirely or maintain it in select channels has not been announced. Full product information is available at SportsmansPride.com.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
