Gaines-Burgers

Gaines-Burgers is an American brand of dog food owned and marketed by dVour Brands Corporation.^[1] Gaines-Burgers were introduced in 1961 by General Foods,^[2] which ceased their production in the 1990s. The product consists of individually wrapped patties of moisturized dog food that resemble a hamburger patty.

Gaines-Burgers were named after the former Gaines Food Company of Sherburne, New York, a major pet food company acquired by General Foods in 1943.^[3] The Gaines Food Co was founded in 1925^[4] by Clarence F. Gaines, a pioneer in dry dog food, and a breeder of pointer dogs and race horses. He was the first to add vitamins to dog food. In 1928,^[5] he developed his business with a complete dog food.^[6] His product became famous when it was selected to supply food for the sled dogs of the 1939 Byrd Antarctic expedition. ^[7]

In 1961, 'Gaines-burgers' were launched on the market—a type of dog food designed to look like hamburgers that could be eaten straight from a bowl.^[8]

In November 1982, General Foods introduced "Improved Gaines-Burgers Cheese", advertised as made with cheddar cheese.^[9] The "improved" reference relates to an earlier version of the product "with cheese" marketed in the early 1970s.

In 1984, General Foods sold Gaines to Anderson, Clayton and Company.^[10] In 1986, Quaker Oats Company bought Anderson, Clayton to acquire Gaines for its pet food division; Quaker sold the remainder of Anderson, Clayton to Kraft.^[11]

In 2019, dVour Brands Corporation, a company based in Chicago, filed to register rights to the Gaines-Burgers brand.^[12] Limited edition premium brand offerings of small batch fresh, slow cooked USDA-approved meat protein patties form were offered in 2020.^[13][14] The product was made available for consumers in limited batches in February 2020.^[15] dVour has subsequently made small batches available in limited regional scope outside of the Midwest in 2022, 2022 and planned for 2025.