Mars Petcare Mexico announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Querétaro, aiming to double its current wet food production capacity.
Given the increasing demand for wet pet food and the relatively small number of manufacturers that supply the local market, the company decided to invest 2,100 million pesos (US$100 million) to expand its second-largest production facility, located in the municipality of El Marqués, in the central state of Queretaro.
With the investment, the company will double its wet pet food capacity at the plant to 70,000 annual tons, or the equivalent of 55 million packages per year. Currently, the facility has a total production capacity of 35,000 tons annually.
Mars investment signals coming boom in local wet food market
Mexico presents an opportunity as a big wet pet food market in Latin America. Most markets in the region focus on dry food while facing poor demand for wet food.
Two factors likely limit further development of wet pet food in the region. The first is relatively low disposable income, and the other is the high cost of production facilities. In this regard, Mars’ investment is an example of the money a local pet food manufacturer would need to pay to build a new wet pet food facility in Mexico.
Other players share Mexican pet food market with Mars
According to a report by Triplethree International, Mars is the second largest pet food company in the country, after Purina. Yet in wet food, Mars is the indisputable leader in Mexico.
Mars owns two sizable production facilities for wet and dry pet food that supply the local market. Furthermore, it has a strong presence in the market with two brands of wet food for dogs, Pedigree and César, as well as Whiskas and Sheba for cats.
Other players in the Mexican wet pet food arena include Purina, with Dog Chow, Proplan and Beneful for dogs and Felix and Fancy Feast for cats. ADM owns Ganador and Minino for dogs and cats, respectively, and Propecsa participates with Dog Mix, among other companies.
