Rondo Food is celebrating its 120th anniversary, as well as its 20th year as a manufacturer of pet snacks for dogs and cats.

The company started as a baking ingredients manufacturer, until 1994 when it expanded into the petfood segment. At that time, the impulse came from a long-term business partner, who was using a cooking extruder for the continual production of meat strips. This technology was bought and the company was given the name “Rondo Food," and then it began with the production of snacks for dogs and cats. “We thought that we were buying a production system," said Managing Director Dirk Wellen. "In reality it was just a pile of steel and a good idea. This idea has been consistently developed. Dosing systems had to be integrated and hygiene had to be improved. We had to master a lot of requirements—the only thing we already knew was how to package at high speed."

In 2000, Rondo Food made the decision to sell its food segment and focus on growing in the pet snack market, and today the company claims expertise as a private label specialist and in pet product development.