Natural Balance began in 1989 when Van Patten was a guest on John Davidson’s show. Van Patten had lunch with the show’s band drummer[who?] who rescued dogs and cats. Van Patten told him when he was a kid he had snakes, alligators, and other animals. The drummer and Van Patten had an idea of making a health food for dogs. At the time, Van Patten played tennis with a veterinarian and she said the best quality food should have no filler, no wheat, no corn, no soy, and no by-products.
Many of Natural Balance’s dry formulas maintain this initial ingredient list; others, such as the dog food rolls, include wheat flour and sugar. As of 2014, the food rolls have been reformulated to not contain wheat flour and instead utilize brown rice.
Initially Natural Balance lost money, until the brand was picked up by Petco and featured in more than 625 stores.
On May 22, 2013, Natural Balance merged with Del Monte, maker of pet foods such as Kibbles ‘n Bits, Meow Mix and Milo’s Kitchen. In March 2015 The J.M. Smucker Company purchased Natural Balance and the Big Heart Pet Brands from Del Monte.
above is an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Balance_Pet_Foods
