Pro Pet eyes the export market

The speciality retail arm of the German pet supplies market has rarely experienced such upheaval as in the last couple of years. Renowned brands have lost considerable market share during this period, while other players have increased theirs significantly. Many new brands have also appeared in the market and have been the beneficiaries of the market share loss of the major suppliers.Pro Pet Koller Markenvertrieb is one of the companies to have benefited from the latest shifts in the market. "We experienced strong double-digit growth last year and have got off to a good start this year too," says company founder and managing director Werner Koller.A key reason for its success may be the openness and honesty that the company shows in its dealings with customers in the speciality trade. These in turn regard Pro Pet Koller Markenvertrieb increasingly as an interesting alternative to the leading suppliers, not least on account of the good price-performance ratio of the products offered. However, the company avoids far-reaching agreements with the head offices of pet store chains because "we are not prepared to supply at any price," says Werner Koller.

In the last few months, the company has launched many new products onto the market, primarily under the Mac's brand. Mac's Classic is a dry food line from Pro Pet Koller Markenvertrieb in the low-price segment. The Mac's Soft product line comprises five semi-moist foods with a high meat content, two of which are especially for small dogs. For barf feeders, it has brought out Mac's Barfer Mix, another pet food line comprising four products that have been developed as the ideal supplement for mixing with pure meat. For cats the company unveiled Mac's Cat Shakery last year, a line of four premium treat products. The grain-free moist food line Mac's Mono for dogs and cats was also given a packaging makeover, while two grain-free cat food products were added to the Nutram super-premium brand that Pro Pet Koller Markenvertrieb distributes exclusively in Germany and Austria.Further new products were added at the beginning of this year. Mac's Go is a range of complete foods in the medium price segment. Three different pouch multipacks for cats, each containing twelve 100 g…