Pennington Ultra Birdseed Commercial
It started with what appeared to be an innovative product promoted with the coolest commercial I’ve seen in a while. Check out the Pennington Ultra Birdseed commercial below.
I saw this commercial and it cracked me up. Curious, I checked at my local Walmart and they just started carrying it. They decked out a big part of their birding shelf space with custom shelf tags supplied by Pennington and I was able to get my first bag of Pennington Ultra Nut and Fruit Blend at a great price. My birds loved it and all was good in my backyard.
Then, it all seemed to fall apart.
Hey, Where Did My Birdseed Go?
Within two months, Walmart completely replaced the Pennington seed with Scott’s and other seeds while leaving the Pennington shelf dressing up. Thinking it was just another in a series of Walmart’s “here today, gone tomorrow” shelving practices, I held out hope that it would come back. Not to be. It was gone for good.
Pennington Customer Service
I emailed the company to ask what was up and where else I could find the product. After about 3 days I got a response with a list of at least 10 stores I should be able to find it in. I checked most of them and it was not there and in some cases had never been. I wrote them back to tell them this and was told I should ask the garden center person at these places to stock it. I may still do this but first I want to talk a little about what I think went wrong.
Courting A Retail Giant
Anybody who knows anything about Walmart knows they are a market leader. They can dictate the terms of almost any product they sell to the manufacturer. If you don’t like their terms you can try to sell 200 million units of your product by yourself. It’s that simple. So, I can understand why Pennington targeted them first when they decided to find a retailer for their product.
The problem I have is that it is irresponsible and wrong to put so many eggs in one basket when trying to bring a new product to market. When I think of paying the money to launch a commercial like they did with no backup plan whatsoever it just amazes me. It’s like they put all that money into getting Walmart to carry their product that they didn’t even care about any other outlet.
Where Does That Leave Me/Us?
I can watch the Pennington Ultra commercial on YouTube for a product I can’t find anywhere. Not even online. Shame on you Pennington. You should have put your customers first when you decided to create and market a new birding product. I can only conclude that birdseed does not comprise a sizable part of their business. With what I’ve seen from Penningto so far, it doesn’t look like it ever will.
What Do You Think?
Were you sucked in by their commercial only to find you couldn’t buy the product at all or only once? The Nashville area I live in is not the sticks. We have every major retailer and our people spend money at them. So do tell me if you’ve had success and that I’m just experiencing a regional problem.
Leave me a comment to tell me your experience with Pennington Ultra birdseed.
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I, too, have been experiencing the same problem! I found your post by searching endlessly for “where to buy Pennington Ultra Fruit & Nut Wild Bird Seed.” I called the company and they could not give me a specific retailer for my area (Central IL), but suggested I try calling PetSmart, Petco, Costco, True Value, Ace Hardware….I have called all of them and NONE carry Pennington! I assumed it was a typical Wal-Mart move to discontinue a brand and replace it with some cheaper option or a Great Value brand! Now I think Pennington may be to blame for this problem. I am trying to find a way to buy online and not really seeing a good option. I’m disappointed – this was high quality seed at an excellent price point.
I was really disappointed at this. Like you, I first assumed it was just mega marketing moves by Walmart but I’ve changed my mind. I think the company’s production and marketing departments live on different planets. I too am sad for the same reasons you are. Great product but what good is it if you can’t buy it?
Hey BirdDude!!! I’m so glad to see you saw my post and responded so timely….because I didn’t stop searching after I posted. And I found it! Pennington’s is available at Lowe’s Home Improvement store. I would think you have one in the Nashville area. Let me know if you have any luck! http://www.lowes.com
I’m glad you had success at Lowe’s. They are one of the ones the customer service guy suggested from Pennington. The store I looked at here did not have it. With your success maybe I’ll try another Lowe’s here but they tend to stock the same things around here.
I can’t even remember where I bought a 14 pound bag. I sure can’t find it again. I did find the 7 pound bags at Lowe’s. If anyone knows who carries the 14 pound bags in Nashville, Tn, please post. Thanks
Not since Walmart decked out a complete shelf with their products and yanked them 3 months later have I seen much of anything from Pennington in that size. Sorry I can’t be of more help. I just gave up on it.
Pennington Ultra is back at our Walmart (Kansas City area) but NOT in the 14 lb bags that they used to carry (I even asked the clerk) only in the 7 lb bags so a little more expensive. You might check the pricing, Lowe’s is more reliable in consistently offering products, I think Wal Mart goes with whoever gives them the best deal. But you are right, a really nice product with no waste so worth the extra money to me.
Hi Cheryl, Thanks for the tip. I noticed the same thing recently with our Walmart. They suddenly started stocking this stuff but the smaller bags and different varieties. I haven’t had as much luck here with Lowe’s or Home Depot. You are also correct that Walmart goes with whomever they can browbeat down the most in price. They do, after all, set the price they’re going to pay. They don’t pay what a manufacturer says they need to. Thanks for stopping by and helping out. Jeff
Thanks y’all. Lowe’s still carries it here, but in the 7 pound bag only. I’ll recheck Wal-Mart. I’ve switched from putting it in the big feeder and putting it in a small window feeder.
Hi Betsi, I was so excited about this bird food when it first hit the market with the cool video and everything. This company has completely dropped the ball on this one. That’s a great idea to put it in a feeder with maybe not so much traffic. I’m just amazed they would spend all that money marketing it and then just go away. Thanks for dropping by and talking to us. Jeff
Ordering through Walmart.com is the easiest way for me to find the 14-lb size. I do the site-to-store pickup option. Also Lowes.com, where they offer to have it ready within 20 minutes of the online order. I try to get the Ultra with the violet-colored lower label; that blend offers whole almonds, cashews, raisins, pistachios, and other delectables.
Hello and thanks for dropping by. I am not able to find the 14 lb size on either site and the Walmart site is telling me (for my region and store) that it’s only available in stores. This usually means I will not find it when I go there. There is almost no agreement between their online and in-store inventory listings. I found out the hard way that Walmart actually depends on a human to look for an item to say if they have it or not. Seems like a good approach until you take into account that not all associates know they stock seeds both in the store and in the garden center (even in off season). If the associate looks quickly where they think it is and doesn’t find it, the order gets canceled. I’ve gone twice and had to physically go to the shelf myself to see they actually did have an item that just got canceled from my order. I’m glad you’ve had success with both of these and I know your suggestions WILL help others. Hope your New Years is off to a great start. Jeff
Hey Jeff, Happy belated New Year to you & yours, and to everyone here 🙂
During this winter our Walmart was very inconsistent with actually having the 14-lb size in stock, even if I ordered it online using a credit card for the site-to-store option. Then on their website the large size site-to-store option finally disappeared entirely. Very confusing… fortunately several times the 14-lb size was available when we just walked in and happened to check for it, so at least our visiting birds have gotten tasty food on a regular basis. This last bag should get them through March, as I gradually taper off their portion during warmer weather. I noticed the blend changes slightly from time to time, and this bag is heavy on the pistachios and peanuts with very few almonds. Happy birding to everyone!
I’ve noticed the same thing: I have a lot more luck just looking for it when I’m already at Walmart. The online thing was WAY to unreliable. It has been a real hit around here as well. I’ll be scaling way back when warmer weather comes. Plus, I’ve got a few house finches with the eye disease and I’m watching that very closely. If if gets worse, I’ll have to pull everything down they might eat. Enjoy your backyard friends! Jeff
After seaching all over the place We found the 7 pound bags at Lowes. Then we went online and was able to order it and have it delivered to closest store free for pickup. I was hoping to find it on an online site where I didn’t have to pay sales tax or shipping but so far have not been fortunate to find it on one. This free shipping to a local store is the best I have come up with even though I still have to pay the sales tax. The item number at Lowes if you are interested is 349342 and at the time of this post it was selling for $14.97 per 7′ bag. Expensive ompared to most other bird seed but the birds here love it.
Hi James,
Did your transaction go smoothly? I’ve found it where you said it was at Lowes online. I’ve also found it in the store at Walmart but I don’t remember what it cost. I’ll have to check it again. However, I think you have found the best deal with the least amount of nonsense. The problem I’ve found with Walmart is they’ll have it and then not have it. Very undependable. I’m naturally inclined to check Walmart while I’m shopping there to see how it compares price wise. Otherwise, way to go and thanks for sharing your find with us.
Jeff
It is sporadic here in South Carolina and now the “birder” shelves are being encroached upon by “hunting bait”. .. I will try the ship to store myself ..as we only see the 2.5 and 6 lb bags here on Pennington Ultra F&N Wate Free, although, I did see a shelf sticker for the 7 lb.
Walmart hopefully will recognize that 14lb bags are preferable. Yes, they do dictate vendor terms. ..Sometimes they have a wonderful selection and at others it’s sparse.
That is one of the things I find so surprising: for a chain that prides itself on standardization of consumer experience, there is way too much variance between stores as far as what they carry. I’d like to think it’s data driven but I think it’s just holes in their data. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know what’s going on in SC. Jeff
I just picked up the one remaining 14 pound bag of Ultra at Wal-Mart in New Haven, CT. It has been hard to find but worth the hunt! Birds love it.