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Company

About Partner in Pet Food

Partner in Pet Food (PPF) is an innovative, leading European pet food company, producing branded pet food and own-label products for retailers.

PPF is headquartered in Hungary and has operations in ten countries: The Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, France, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Germany. With eleven factories across Europe, PPF is the only market operator with an integrated pan-European production network. The network enables us to deliver products efficiently to our customers when and where they are demanded. Currently, we distribute our products to more than 600 customers, including supermarkets, specialist pet shops, and veterinarians across 40 countries.

We provide both a wide range of pet food products as well as extensive experience of managing the pet food category for our retail partners. We have by far the highest service level and quality/price ratio in every market amongst the Private Label producers, achieving the same KPIs as the major global branded market leaders.

The production network is split between “wet” factories producing canned and single-serve pet food products and “dry” factories producing dehydrated pet food products.

Pivotal to the PPF’s success has been our focus on customer service. Our attention to detail, high customer service standards and ability to react to market trends has seen us build relationships with Europe’s top supermarkets, in both Western and Central Europe. PPF is increasingly becoming the preferred choice to meet retailers’ needs for the most popular products.

The PPF company culture is characterized by flexibility, cost efficiency, quick problem solving, and high performance.

PPF is currently, owned by Cinven.


History

PPF was created via a series of acquisitions between 2000 and 2006 by Dutch company Provimi, and has had its headquarters in Hungary since 2007.

In 2009, a new CEO and management team was hired, which has been successfully leading the company since then. In 2011, PPF was sold to Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, which helped accelerate growth by supporting investment to increase production capacity and bring to market new product innovations such as alupouches and alucups.

In 2015, Advent sold the PPF to Pamplona Capital Management, a growth-minded private equity firm with deep sector expertise. Since then the Company has focused on continued innovation and new product development, geographic expansion, and premiumisation.

The business has also invested further in single-serve products and the development of new brands. While the majority of production is own-label products for retailers it is also increasing the market share of its own brands, such as PreVital, Dax, Propesko, and Nutrilove, a trend management expect to continue.

The pet food industry is increasingly witnessing similar food trends to those influencing humans’ diet, with owners demanding ever higher quality for their beloved animals. Providing full nutrition on a mono diet (the animal eats only pet food) requires the industry to operate to the highest standards. As part of that it is important to put in place high safety standards in order to, for example be able to provide details of provenance and full traceability through the production process.

Sales ~ 793m  EUR

Volume ~ 800 000 tons

Production Facilities: 12

Companies present in: 10 countries

Distribution in 33 countries

Customers: All Top European Retailers

Innovations / New Products1: 45% of sales

1 [Innovations / New products are products brought to market in the preceding 24 months.]

Volume

Company Mission

Quality
Excellent service level
Category management
Innovation
Production network

Quality

PPF offers the best quality/price ratio in the market to our customers. Delivering excellent quality product is the responsibility of all our employees. All our associates are trained on and committed to our Quality Policy, which assures that our products continuously meet or exceed customers’ and consumers’ expectations.

The pet food industry is increasingly witnessing similar food trends to those influencing humans’ diet, with owners demanding ever higher quality for their beloved animals. Providing full nutrition on a mono diet (the animal eats only pet food) requires the industry to operate to the highest standards. As part of that it is important to put in place high safety standards in order to, for example, be able to provide details of provenance and full traceability through the production process.

Our Management ”walk the talk” through keeping quality on agenda all the time and putting their personal support behind initiatives designed to drive continuous quality improvements.

We are relentlessly developing and improving our systems and standards to assure the highest quality and product safety through the entire value chain.

Quality is a key priority in our supplier selection procedure. We choose our partners through a robust verification procedure and their performance is continuously monitored during our relationship.

Our production facilites are certified by several international standards.

Quality

Service level

Pivotal to PPF’s success is our focus on customer service. Our attention to detail and high customer service standards and ability to react to market trends means we work in partnership with Europe’s top supermarkets, in both Western and Central Europe. The ability to switch production from one plant to another ensures service levels are safeguarded if there is a short-term problem at one particular factory. PPF can guarantee the highest service level in every market amongst the retailer brand producers, achieving the same KPIs as the major global market leaders.

Service level

Category management

PPF’s high service level, category management expertise, capability to supply large volume, superior price/quality ratio and product development are its key differentiators.

Expanding further into premium products and ranges, and allocating more dedicated resources to customer teams in all markets, are key areas for PPF to further advance and reach the next stage of customer relationship excellence.

Customers are highly satisfied with PPF’s overall service level and business relationship as PPF is considered to rank as the leading Retailer Brand supplier across multiple dimensions.

Category management

Innovation

Innovation, both in terms of new product development and portfolio optimization, is essential if PPF is to maintain its position as Europe’s leading pet food producer. Innovation enables us to ensure we provide our customers with the very best, and is a primary focus for us.

The life of an animal is always changing. To ensure we are catering to the different lifestyles and nutritional requirements animals have, we undertake our own research, we follow FEDIAF (Fédération Européenne des Industries des Aliments pour Animaux Familiers) recommendations and we also work closely with veterinarians to stay one step ahead. Combining specialist knowledge with our own research creates the basis of our philosophy; to provide a wide range of healthy pet products to our customers.

Innovation

Production network

PPF has operations in ten countries: TThe Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, France, Italy, Romania, Sweden and Germany. With nine factories across Europe, PPF is the only market operator with an integrated pan-European production network. The network enables PPF to deliver products efficiently to our customers when and where they are demanded.

management

In the spirit of success!

Gerald Kuehr

Gerald Kuehr

CEO

Gerald is CEO of Partner in Pet Food since July 2020.  Prior to working at Partner in Pet Food, Gerald was working for Unilever for 10 years, starting as EVP Sales Europe and being appointed Chief Customer Officer in 2016. Gerald was a member of the Extended Global Executive Team at Unilever. Gerald was also Principal at Bain & Company Strategy Consulting (Germany) as a member of the European FMCG & Retail practice for two years. Gerald started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he was in Marketing & Sales both in Austria & Germany. Before leaving P&G, Gerald was General Manager in Austria.


Stéphane Re

Stéphane Re

CFO

Stéphane counts on an experience in finance management that spells well over the past 20 years, with several consumer goods companies and over different continents. Prior to joining PPF in 2021, from 2014, he was the Group CFO of Thai Union Europe / MW Brands, the European leader in packaged seafood, where he led a team comprising a network of Country Finance Directors across Europe & Africa, including the Paris-based HQ Central Finance functions such as M&A, Strategic planning, Corporate Controlling, Group Consolidation, Treasury & Tax, Audit & IS/IT. Before that, he spent 15 years with Nestlé in multiple assignments across Asia and Europe, as CFO, as well in Finance Transformation roles at the Group HQ in Switzerland. Stephane started his career in 1997 in Corporate Finance with Credit Suisse in Geneva, after having graduated from HEC - the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Stephane holds a Swiss and Italian citizenship. 


Torsten Jacobs

Torsten Jacobs

COO

Torsten is a manufacturing and supply chain professional with over 15 years experience in Kraft Foods, in his latest role he was Area Director Manufacturing Eastern & South East Europe. In Partner in Pet Food he is managing 9 factories, Product Development, QA, Supply Chain, Purchasing and investment projects. He joined the company in 2009.


Lívia Sarkadi

Lívia Sarkadi

Chief HR & Legal Officer

Lívia is an HR Professional with over 15 years experiences in HR management positions, starting with Retail chains and focusing in business process redesign and restructuring process, then has gained production experience with Michelin, and most recently Accor Hotels. She joined the company in the beginning of 2007.

Production network

PPF has operations in ten countries: The Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Germany, Italy and France. With eleven factories across Europe, PPF is the only market operator with an integrated pan-European production network. The network enables PPF to deliver products efficiently to our customers when and where they are demanded.

A fundamental principle to ensure product innovation is a continuous development, deep understanding of market needs and portfolio optimization. The life of an animal is always changing. To keep up with the different lifestyle and nutritional changes, we undertake our own research, follow FEDIAF (Fédération Européenne des Industries des Aliments pour Animaux Familiers) recommendations and also work closely with various veterinary institutions to stay one step ahead. This is to ensure our philosophy: providing a wide range of healthy pet food products to our customers.


Key innovations

Natural Meat Pouch

Consumer interest toward natural products is increasing. We have developed a wide range of recipes in the fastest growing pet food sub-category that has higher meat content and a balanced ratio of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. It is not only made from high quality ingredients but it has a similar visual appearance to human food. PPF is the first company to introduce the Natural Meat Pouch in a dog portfolio in addition to the cat range.

Grain free

Pet parents want to feed their animals with more healthy and natural food that is closest to the one that they could consume in the wild. We have created a dry portfolio that contains a high level of fresh meat and the recipes do not contain cereal. These highly digestible grain free products are available for both cats and dogs.

Sterilized

After sterilisation the cat's nutritional needs change, their energy requirements are reduced while their appetite increases. To help maintain the ideal body weight we developed a whole portfolio to give a special diet for sterilised cats. Our offer is unique in the market as you can choose not only dry but pouch alucup and can product categories.

Fresh meat

Most dry cat and dog food on mass market use dehydrated meat meals as the primary source of protein. PPF is able to produce dry food which are rich in fresh meat as an unprocessed, high quality ingredient that transported in best conditions and stored only for short period.

Doypack

As an answer for premiumization market trend, we invested into a new packaging line to have capability of doypack production. The unique shaped bags have good stability on shelves, provides premium visibility to the products and resealable formation helps retain aroma.

Sustainable

PPF is committed to use global resources well. We seek a good balance between economical and sustainable production. Together with our customers we invest in solutions to reduce packaging materials and the consumption of energy. Our portfolio contains a wide range of MSC / ASC certified products.

Innovation

The Netherlands

Partner in Pet Food NL B.V.

Van Deventerlaan 30-40

3528 AE Utrecht

Tel.: +31 (0)30 4010010

info.nl@ppfeurope.com

Responsibility: Western Europe

Czech Republic

Partner in Pet Food CZ s.r.o

Office Park, building B (6th floor)

Bucharova 1423/6

158 00 Praha 13 - Nové Butovice

Tel.: +420 234 111 111

Fax: +420 234 111 299

info@ppfeurope.com

Responsibility: Czech Republic + Baltic states

Hungary

Partner in Pet Food Hungária Kft.

H-1112 Budapest

Boldizsár utca 4.

Tel.: +36 1 801 02 03

Fax: +36 1 801 02 01

info@ppfeurope.com

Responsibility: Hungary + Southeast Europe

Slovakia

Partner in Pet Food SK s.r.o

Bratislavská cesta 919/4

929 01 Dunajská Streda

Tel.: +421 31 559 13 65

Fax: +421 31 550 23 91

info@ppfeurope.com

Poland

PPF Poland S.A.

ul. Szamocka 8,

Warszawa 01-748

Tel.: +48 22 569 24 10

Fax.: +48 22 833 39 25

info.pl@ppfeurope.com

France

Partner in Pet Food France

2 bis Rue de la Tête d’Or,

Lyon 69006,

Tel.: +33 6 40 86 34 08

Romania

Partner in Pet Food Hungária Kft.

office 123

Iuliu Maniu Boulevard, Campus 6 Building 6.1, floor1, 

Bucharest, District 6

Tel.: +40 31 860 66 15

bucharestoffice@ppfeurope.com

Sweden

Doggy AB

Doggyvägen 1

447 84 Sweden

Tel.: +46 322 61 78 00

info@doggy.se

Germany

BOZITA GMBH

Osterfeldstr. 12-14

225 29 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 40 39895780

info@bozita.com

Italy

LANDINI GIUNTINI S.P.A.

Via Rosa Luxemburg n. 30

06012 Città di Castello (PG) – Italy

Tel.: +39 075 851781

Fax.: +39 075 8517804

info@landinigiuntini.it

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