In mid-2021, BRF acquired pet food company Hercosul, followed by Mogiana Alimentos. In Hercosul acquisition documents, BRF executives wrote that the purchase was "an effective step to becoming one of the largest and most relevant players in the Brazilian pet food market by 2025.”
After entering the pet food market less than two years ago, Brazil-based BRF plans to sell its dog, cat and other pet food business wing. On February 28, BRF announced that it had engaged Banco Santander to be its financial advisor for the sale of its pet food operations. BRF is one of the world’s top poultry and feed producers and processors.
“The transaction will be carried out through a competitive process, with the objective of obtaining the most advantageous proposal for the company, including the highest price for the assets to be sold; and this process is in its initial stage, with preliminary talks with potential interested parties,” BRF executives said in a press release.
History of BRF in pet food industry
In mid-2021, BRF acquired pet food company Hercosul, followed by Mogiana Alimentos. In Hercosul acquisition documents, BRF executives wrote that the purchase was "an effective step to becoming one of the largest and most relevant players in the Brazilian pet food market by 2025.”
Hercosul produces and distributes dry and wet dog and cat foods, with brands such as Biofresh, Three Dogs, Three Cats, Primocão, Primogato, Apolo and Átila.
Mogiana’s product portfolio includes superpremium Guabi Natural, Gran Plus in the high premium segment, Faro in the premium segment, in addition to the Herói and Cat Meal brands in the standard segment. The company operates with a strong presence in the southeast region, in addition to exporting products to countries in the Caribbean, Europe and South America. For this purpose, the company has two production units in Campinas and Bastos, Brazil.
BRF ranks as the second largest feed producer in Brazil and the eighth largest in the world. BRF is also Brazil’s second largest poultry producer. JBS ranks first among Brazilian companies in both categories.
5 Brazilian pet food companies
Among pet food and treat producers based in Brazil during 2020, these five companies appear in Petfood Industry’s Top Companies Current Data.
Premier Pet began in Brazil in 1995 and launched its first brand after two years of research. Premier Pet, owned by agricultural corporation Grandfood Industry and Trade, sells dog and cat food through pet shops and veterinary offices. Premier Pet is located on a large campus in the state of Sao Paolo, Brazil, with a factory of 41,000 square meters. The Instituto PremieRpet is the company's nonprofit arm, supporting and encouraging research, studies and actions that aim to promote health, quality of life and longevity of dogs and cats, in addition to supporting several social causes.
Annual revenue: US$200,000,000
Brands: dog - PremieR line: Cookie (treat), Natural, Specific Breeds, Indoor Dogs, Clinical Nutrition, Formula and Gourmet PremieR Golden: Cookie, Natural, Special, Duo, Mega, Training, Special, Vitta Natural; cats - PremieR: Natural, PremieR, Clinical, Gourmet Golden: Natural, Gourmet Vitta Natural
Total Alimentos, owned by ADM Animal Nutrition, uses technology to create wet food flavors in its dry food. Total Alimentos has its own label partnerships with many large corporations, including Walmart, Carrefour, Extra/Canino, DentaClean and Kelko. Total Alimentos also has a line of animal feed for a wide range of species.
Annual Revenue: US$190,000,000
Brands: Equilíbrio Veterinary, Equilíbrio, Max, Max Cat, Naturalis, Doglicious and Catlicious
Grandfood Industry and Trade owns Premier Pet and Golden brands. Premier Pet has an on-site Center for Nutrtion Development, which houses 40 dogs and 50 cats. Grandfood is also involved in cultivation and marketing of grains, sugarcane and eucalyptus.
Lupus Alimentos and sister company Brazilian Pet Foods are owned by Nutriara Alimentos, which split into two companies in 2010 to better serve regional markets in Brazil. Brazilian Pet Foods has since gone out of business. Lupus Alimentos, in addition to pet food, also produces feed for horses, pigs, chickens and fish.
Tim Wall covers the dog, cat and other pet food industries as a senior reporter for WATT Global Media. His work has appeared inScientific American, Live Science, Discovery News, Honduras Weekly, Global Journalist and other outlets. He holds an M.A. in journalism and an M.S. in natural resources, both
from the University of Missouri - Columbia, along with a bachelor's degree in biology.
Wall served in the Peace Corps in Honduras from 2005 to 2007, where he coordinated with the town government of Moroceli to organize a municipal trash collection system, taught environmental science, translated for medical brigades and facilitated sustainable agriculture, along with other projects.
Many hours, efforts, dollars and brainpower go into pet food companies’ and regulatory bodies’ efforts to ensure that products on the market are safe and healthy for pets.
