A British pet treat maker is looking for new products, a Polish insect protein producer has launched wet pet food and a Spanish pet care company has received state aid for French investment.
British pet food maker Mr Bug is preparing to launch two new products and plans to expand its production capacity later this year as demand for its products continues to grow, a senior company spokesman has said.
Mr Bug’s first product is mealworm-based dog food called Bug Bites, which comes in four flavours, co-founder Conal Cunningham told Petfoodindustry.com.
“We only use natural ingredients and the mealworm protein is grown on our farm in Devon,” said Cunningham. “We are currently the only UK company to do this, ensuring our products are of the highest quality. Mealworm protein is not only delicious but also incredibly healthy and is now recommended by vets for dogs with allergies and dietary issues.”
In 2024, the company plans to launch two new products: a “superfood ingredient” mealworm protein flavor designed to impart a nutty flavor to food, and a full line of dry dog foods “made with only natural ingredients; grain-free, it provides dogs with super-healthy, hypoallergenic and eco-friendly nutrition,” Cunningham says.
The company’s products are primarily supplied to around 70 independent pet shops in the UK, but Mr Bug’s founders have begun working to expand the brand’s international presence.
”We currently sell our products to Denmark and the Netherlands and we are very keen to expand our sales at the Interzoo show in Nuremberg later this year, where we have a stand,” Cunningham said.
Other plans for the company include investing in increased production capacity to facilitate further expansion.
He said: “Given the growth in sales and the need to reduce production costs, we will be looking for investment to expand our plant later this year, which we are very excited about.”
Polish insect protein specialist Ovad is entering the country’s pet food market with its own brand of wet dog food, Hello Yellow.
“For the last three years, we have been growing mealworms, producing ingredients for pet food and much more,” Wojciech Zachaczewski, one of the company’s co-founders, told local news site Rzeczo.pl. “We are now entering the market with our own wet food.”
According to Owada, in the first stage of the brand’s development, Hello Yellow will be released in three flavours and will be sold in many pet food stores throughout Poland.
The Polish company was founded in 2021 and operates a production facility in Olsztyn in the north-east of the country.
Spanish pet food maker Affinity Petcare, a division of Agrolimen SA, has received a total of €300,000 ($324,000) from several French national and local government agencies to co-finance its expansion project at its factory in Centre-et-Loire, France, in La Chapelle Vendomous in the Val-d’Or region. The company has committed €5 million ($5.4 million) to the project to increase production capacity.
Affinity Petcare plans to use the investment to increase the factory’s production capacity by more than 20% by 2027, local daily La Repubblica reported. Last year, the French factory’s output increased by 18%, reaching about 120,000 tons of pet food.
The company’s pet food brands include Advance, Ultima, Brekkies and Libra. In addition to its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, Affinity Petcare has offices in Paris, Milan, Snetterton (UK) and Sao Paulo (Brazil). The company’s products are sold in more than 20 countries worldwide.
Post time: Nov-21-2024