French pet food maker Pepette is finishing construction work on a new plant in the country’s Centre-Val de Loire region, and has recently added new products to its portfolio, according to a senior company representative.
Said Marine Thersiquel, founder and chief executive of Pepette Petfoodindustriya.com the facility is equipped with a total surface of 1,500 square meters (16,150 square feet).
“We will launch in early March,” he said. “We have also expanded our offering of snacks for dogs with three additional products.”
In 2022, Pepette collected around €6 million (US$6.5 million) from a group of investors to build its new plant. The project allowed the French business to strengthen its production activities and pursue international expansion plans.
At the time, Thersiquel said “France is the second largest market in Europe in terms of the number of dogs and cats, at 21 million. There is great potential for expansion here that we want to explore.
“In the mid-term, we intend to expand to other European countries,” he continued. “This concerns some markets, such as Germany as well as southern European countries such as Italy and Spain.”
Set up in June 2019, Pepette aims to deliver a healthy and fresh alternative source of pet food to cats and dogs. The business makes pet food tailored to the needs of specific pets and supplied directly to its owners, as indicated by Pepette’s founder.
Argentinian pet food maker to launch new plant
Argentina’s Vitalcan is building a new pet food factory in Río Grande in the country’s southern Tierra del Fuego region, with an investment worth around US$9 million.
In the first phase of the manufacturing project, the Argentinian company plans to create about 45 new jobs. Once the plant launches production activities at the end of 2024, a total of 300 jobs will be created at the facility, local daily Privincia 23 reported.
“We are the only company in the sector with our own research in Argentina,” says Maximiliano Sobotowicz, director of new business and marketing at Vitalcan. “This research guarantees the quality of all Vitalcan products.”
The pet food producer currently employs a workforce of more than 250 people. With continued investment in Río Grande, Vitalcan hopes to become a dominant player in the Argentinian market, according to its representative.
“The key is to create additional value by combining three axes: passion, scientific research and industrial and sustainable development,” said Sobotowicz.
Vitalcan’s product portfolio includes a wide range of wet and dry pet food products for cats and dogs. In addition to Argentina, the company said it sells its products in Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador.
Moldovan pet food business expands sales in Romania
Moldovan pet food producer Terafix is launching sales in neighboring Romania, benefiting from its increasing production capacities.
With this development, Terafix will have access to a European Union market of about 19.1 million consumers, compared to Moldova’s population of about 2.6 million. The latest move comes 10 years after the business launched manufacturing activities at its plant in Străseni, in the central part of the country, local news site Stiri.md reported.
The Moldovan company claims to specialize in the production of natural pet food from chicken feathers and animal products.
“Our dog food is a natural, high protein product with no preservatives or additives and provides great value for the customer,” says Terafix.
