France's pet food maker Normandise Pet Food has unveiled plans to develop its international foothold and open three new subsidiaries in the U.S., Mexico and the UK. The development follows the company's earlier launch of an offshoot in Canada.
Normandise Pet Food continues to ramp up its export sales, which currently generate around 60% of the company's sales. Some of the producer's main foreign markets include the UAE, China, Japan, Australia and Mexico, company representatives told local business magazine Le Journal des Entreprises.
Owing to the company's ongoing international expansion, in 2025, Normandise Pet Food is expected to reach sales of around €184 million (US$213.5 million). By 2030, the pet food producer's objective is to further expand its annual sales to the level of €300 million (US$348 million), according to company representatives. This would represent a 63% increase compared with this year's forecasted sales.
"Among our own brands, Normandise Pet Food has a wide variety of products to boost the health and wellbeing of dogs and cats: Equilibre & Instinct, premium foods of high nutritional quality; Les Repas Plaisir, delicious and varied gourmet recipes that provide a complete and balanced meal," the business said in a statement.
The French company offers a wide range of pet food products for cats and dogs. These comprise "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 Normandise Pet Food.
Established in 1991 by French entrepreneurs Christian Duquesne and Catherine Duquesne, the pet food maker operates a manufacturing facility in Vire Normandie, in the country's northwestern region. Normandise Pet Food is run by a workforce of about 900 employees.
The company is currently led by Jean-Charles and François Duquesne, the founders' sons, who serve as co-CEOs of Normandise Pet Food.
Musti takes over Portuguese retailer
Finland's pet care specialist Musti Group is developing its foothold in the European sector with the latest acquisition of Portugal's ZU, a retailer focused on pet food, accessories and vet services.
Owing to the takeover, Musti expands the company's network to 474 stores, 54 vet clinics and 196 spas in seven countries, capturing 22% of its sales online, the Finnish business said in a statement.
"Adding ZU to the Musti Group is a next step in our expansion outside the Nordics and Baltics," said David Rönnberg, the CEO of Musti Group. "We look forward to working with the ZU team to replicate Musti's Nordic market leadership in Portugal. They join us on our journey to humbly understand the high needs of pet parents and our commitment to the continuous evolution of our offer to meet those needs – top quality, good value food and accessories, supportive pet care and vet services, and a fast and easy to use integrated online platform."
The provisional purchase price of the deal amounts to €12.9 million (US$15 million), paid in cash at closing, the statement said.
Polish pet food, product market to grow over 30% by 2029
Pet food and product makers are expected to boost their sales in Poland in the coming years, as international market research firm OC&C Strategy Consultants expects the country's market to expand by more than 30% by 2029, reaching annual sales of around PLN 13 billion (US$3.6 billion).
Over the past five years, the Polish pet food market has reported an average annual growth rate of some 14% per year, and it is forecast to achieve around PLN 9.6 billion (US$2.66 billion) worth of sales in 2025, OC&C Strategy Consultants representatives told local news site Portalspozywczy.pl.
"Since the pandemic, a rising number of Poles have chosen to own pets who have become an important part of their daily lives," said Bartek Krawczyk, a partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants. "This directly drives market growth. The market is growing not only in quantity but also in value. People in their 30s and 40s increasingly understand the impact of food quality on their pets' health. Pet supplements are also becoming increasingly popular in Poland."
The Polish canine population comprises more than 8.4 million dogs, up around 700,000 compared with 2019. Poles own 7.5 million cats, which represents an increase of 1.1 million compared with the country's 2019 feline population.
Data collected by the firm suggests that premium pet food brands are rapidly expanding their sales in the Polish market.
"Poles are increasingly reaching for high-end pet products," according to Krawczyk. "The growth of the premium segment is the most important trend today. Sales value is growing faster than volume, and consumers are looking for natural, healthy products tailored to the needs of their pets."
