EFTA01381254.pdf

Form S-I Table of Contents LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDER Love them likefamily. Feed them likefamily. Now you conjoin ourfamily too. Dear Prospective Investors and New Family Members, We've come a long way from our humble beginnings in the back of a barn, but have never forgotten our roots and why we started Blue Buffalo in the first place. We see this initial public offering, or IPO, as an opportunity to welcome new members to our growing family, so just like we tell our story to each new team member who joins the Buff, we think it's only fitting for you to learn about our history and what we stand for. The word "family" is at the center of just about everything related to Blue Buffalo. In fact, the simple act of treating pets, pet parents and employees like family has enabled our BLUE brand to become the #1 natural pet food and the #1 specialty channel brand in only ten years. Looking back, it's clear that the concept of treating pets like family was the driving force behind the establishment of Blue Buffalo. We (the Bishop family) always considered our dog Blue to be a family member, so when he had a bout with cancer, we got a lot more involved in his diet and took a hard look at pet food ingredients. As concerned pet parents, my wife Jackie and I were disturbed to learn that many well-known brands contained things like chicken by- product meal. corn gluten meal and artificial flavors and colors. Not exactly ingredients that we wanted to feed our boy Blue. And since we were pretty certain that many other pet parents would share our feelings, we decided to develop a pet food that would provide a diet of high-quality. natural ingredients. We also decided to take the risk that we could build a business that people would actually care about by educating pet parents on what we believe is a major disconnect between the ingredients they are expecting to be in the dog and cat food they are buying and the ones that arc actually in the bag. So working with animal nutritionists and a great holistic veterinarian. we created a pet food that was made with only high-quality. natural ingredients plus the extra supplementation of our exclusive LifeSoutte Bits - a blend of antioxidants and nutrients that are cold-formed to preserve their potency. We called this two-part food our Life Protection Formula and decided to name our brand "BLUE" in honor of the family member who inspired its creation. And for those of you who might be wondering about the "Buffalo" in our name, think back to when buffalos freely roamed the Great Plains, that was a time when everything was pure, natural and healthy. Some Native American tribes even considered buffalos to be the protectors of animals, so you can see why we thought the buffalo would be a perfect symbol for the brand and the company we wanted to build. Having been in the brand building business for many years, I knew that many great ideas never reach their full potential because the entrepreneurs behind them don't have the financial support to get their story heard and to compete with well-established industry leaders. To get our message through, I knew we had to spend like the big companies and take the lead in educating pet parents about the differences in pet foods, so I was very excited when we met our financial partners, the folks at Inns, in 2006. They shared our vision, were long-term oriented and had the wherewithal to fund our mission. So armed with the right ideas and the resources behind it, we took our message to the public. From day I our whole marketing approach has been built on transparency and has been about education. It's simple, it's straightforward, and it's fact-based. just the way you'd address the subject with a family member. Take a moment to compare the ingredients in your brand with the ingredients in BLUE, and make your own decision on which one you want to feed your furry family members. v bun/Avow.see.gov/Arehi vecledgar/data0 609989/000119312515218883/d734898dsl.htm17/20/2015 10:30:13 AM( CONFIDENTIAL - PURSUANT TO FED. R. CRIM. P. 6(e) DB-SDNY-0080085 CONFIDENTIAL SDNY GM_00228289 EFTA01381254