French manufacturer Normandise Pet Food has teamed up with local financial institutions Bpifrance et du Crédit Agricole Normandie to launch a new fundraising operation.
“This fundraising aims to support the company's ambitious international development plan, creation of the Normandise Canada subsidiary and also planned expansions to several new countries,” said Bprifrance in a statement.
Normandise Pet Food intends to “accelerate its international expansion; strengthen its presence in existing markets and establish itself in new countries” as well as “explore new market segments complementary to its current offer” and “strengthen its production capacity” amid a growing demand for the company’s pet food products, according to the statement.
Set up in 1991 by French entrepreneurs Christian Duquesne and Catherine Duquesne, the company operates a production facility in Vire Normandie, in the country’s north-western region. Normandise Pet Food is operated by a workforce of about 800 employees.
“This transaction marks a crucial step in our development. With the renewed support of Bpifrance and Sofinormandie, we are ready to conquer new markets and strengthen our leading position in Europe,” said Jean-Charles Duquesne, the company's co-CEO, as quoted in the statement.
The French pet food specialist sells its products under a number of brands. These comprise Equilibre & Instinct, Les Repas Plaisir, Eco Diana, and Eco Oscar, among others, as indicated by data from the company.
Normandise Pet Food offers a wide range of pet food products for cats and dogs. These include “tailor-made products based on animal and vegetable ingredients, in the form of pate, mousses, fillets packed in trays, and also chunks, fillets in sauce or in jelly, packed in pouches, i.e. freshness bags,” according to the business.
Croatia’s BARF specialist launches new production line
Croatian company Von BARF says its the leading supplier of biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) in its domestic market, capturing more than 90 percent of local. Amid a strong demand for its output, the manufacturer recently launched a new production line.
Bojan Zebić, the sales manager of Von BARF, told local news site Lidermedia.hr that Croatia’s raw pet food market has experienced double-digit annual growth over the past years.
“In our segment of raw dog food, the annual growth rate is 20 percent,” according to Zebić. In late 2024, the company launched “a completely new segment of production, a new line of lightly cooked natural products of dogs.”
Alongside its robust position in the Croatian market, Von BARF is investing to strengthen its sales in a number of other European markets. These include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, and Spain, among others.
Von BARF currently operates three production facilities in the European Union, located in Austria, Croatia and Hungary.
“Unlike our competitors, we have a wide portfolio of products and we offer delivery of products to our partners' warehouses, regardless of the country in question,” Zebić said. “In general, logistics and storage, which are normally the biggest challenges in the sale of frozen raw products, are our strength."
In a statement, Von BARF said that its dog food contains solely fresh and natural ingredients, including fresh meat, offal, bones and cartilage, and small amounts of fruits and vegetables.
“Our dog food does not contain grains, potatoes, soy or corn. Because dogs are carnivores and all of the above have more harm than good, especially if it is a dog prone to allergies,” according to the Croatian business. “Our BARF is therefore a completely natural product, without artificial dyes, flavor enhancers, and other additives.”
