Chasing records in Europe

When Attila Balogh, CEO of Partner in Pet Food, took up his appointment in 2009, his declared primary aim was to advance the company's development. "Above all, I wanted to drive forward PPF's orientation towards innovation, customer service and the development of new products," said Balogh in an interview with PET worldwide in April 2012. Now, nearly three years later, he appears to have achieved this aim. The company, which was acquired by financial investor Advent International in 2011 and is regarded as one of Europe's leading pet food producers, now supplies over 200 customers, including major grocery retailers, in the 36 markets in which it operates. Partner in Pet Food is headquartered in Budapest. It employs around 1 200 staff and has eight production facilities across Europe in Hungary, Slovakia, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. In 2014 it achieved record sales. "The company has for a second year running bucked the difficult headwinds affecting most European consumer goods companies, reporting sales growth of 5 per cent as part of its 2014 results. Total group sales for 2014 were € 235 mio across the 36 markets in which PPF operates," stated Attila Balogh. "Double-digit branded sales growth was achieved in twelve markets, including Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania." The total product volume was 416 806 t. Pouch sales were one particular growth driver, with sales up by 42 per cent, along with alucup sales, which grew by 38 per cent. "Overall, innovations accounted for 10 per cent of sales in 2014, demonstrating PPF's continued strength in innovation."

Strong markets in the UK and France The United Kingdom and France are the big sales drivers among the markets of Partner in Pet Food. PPF's sales in the UK have trebled and are up by 226 per cent, a success that is attributable in part to PPF being able to secure the UK retail giant Tesco as a customer in November 2013. "The sales boost in 2014 was also the result of supplying Tesco with wet pet food and not just the dry pet food that we had previously supplied it with," adds Balogh. The CEO explains the significant growth in France likewise as due to its new listing with two major accounts. Balogh also cites another reason for the success of the business in France: "We know from experience…