Affinity Petcare, part of the Agrolimen group, a Spanish manufacturer of dog and cat food is creating a joint venture with Brazil's Mogiana Alimentos SA.
Affinity Petcare has announced its entry into the Brazilian market through the creation of a joint venture with the purchase of a 50% stake in Mogiana Foods, one of the four largest animal feed producers in Brazil.
The union of the two organizations will help develop and further accelerate the market for pet feed in the South American country, especially in the high value-added segment.
Affinity Petcare, a leading producer of dog and cat food, has over 50 years of experience in the field of animal nutrition.
The joint venture is based in the city of Campinas, about 100 miles northwest of Sao Paulo, and comprises of two manufacturing plants, one in the city of Campinas and another in Bastos.
The new JV will allow Affinity Petcare to advance its strategic process of continuous development and international expansion, with the aim to become one of the leading manufacturers and worldwide distributors of products for the welfare of dogs and cats.
With a size of 3.900 million euros (USD$5,141 million), Brazil is the second largest market in the world for the nutrition industry for dogs and cats. It has also experienced the highest growth rate (around 15% per year) over the past five years.
It is expected that this growth will continue in the future due to an increase in middle class population and greater penetration of household pets inside.
The Brazilian pet food market is dominated primarily by multinationals, with the major players including Mars Inc, Nestlé SA, Nutriara Alimentos Ltd, Total Alimentos SA and Mogiana Alimentos SA .
Approximately 28% of cats and 50% of dogs eat commercial, prepared petfood in Brazil, with the large majority of this being dry dog and cat food.
