French pet food producer Elmut specializes in fresh, home-cooked-style products made with the use of human-grade ingredients and a significant share of meat. A rapidly rising demand for the company’s products in its domestic market has encouraged Elmut to invest in expanding its production, according to senior company representatives.
“We are growing very fast, and we are planning to keep doing so for the coming months. We are currently partnering with a co-packer and we are making sure we can ramp up production capacities,” said Maxime Cadin, the company’s co-founder.
Elmut’s pet food products are manufactured “with human-grade ingredients and a very high percentage of meat of over 65% for dog recipes and 90% for cat recipes,” she said. “They are minimally processed as they are gently steamed at a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius [194 °F] with no added preservatives or artificial additives.”
Customized to each pet’s needs
In addition to not having those preservatives or artificial additives, Cadin said Elmut has a competitive advantage because its products come with plans tailored to the needs of its customers' pets.
“The customers fill in a questionnaire about their dog or cat, and a formula gives them the exact amount of pet food they need to feed them. The products are then delivered accordingly on a regular basis,” she explained. “They are also convenient to store: They can be easily stored for three months in a fridge or six months in a freezer.”
Export expansion possibly on long-term horizon
Cadin said the pet food company plans to focus its efforts on bolstering its position in the French market in the coming year. However, Elmut is considering expansion beyond France to other prospective European pet food markets in the long-term, she added.
“Although we currently only deliver to France and Monaco, we are by essence a European company. The European market is huge, and pet parents are asking for a different kind of pet food offering. We therefore see opportunities across the continent,” she said.
“We have, however, a lot of requests from our customer base for additional products such as treats or nutritional supplements, and we are looking at them,” Cadin said.
