Embarking on expansion in America

Higgins Premium Pet Foods is a manufacturer of bird food and pet food based in Miami in the US state of Florida. The acquisition is a strategic step for Versele-Laga on the road to becoming a global branded manufacturer of high-quality pet food and pet care products.

In Higgins the company is gaining not only an important presence in the USA, but also a gateway to the markets in the Caribbean and South America. Both companies are therefore expecting more opportunities, higher efficiency and a greater market reach. Higgins will provide Versele-Laga with better knowledge and a greater understanding of the needs of pet owners in the USA. "Versele-Laga would like to become the brand of choice for pet food," says Gwijde Versele, finance director of Versele-Laga. With the acquisition of Higgins, 132 years of experience in the pet food field is being combined.
Higgins will continue to be run as an independent subsidiary of Versele-Laga. "The company can thereby maintain its strength as a specialist in high-quality pet bird and small animal food as well as utilising the infrastructure of Versele-Laga," stated a press release from Versele-Laga. The management of Higgins will remain in the hands of Dean Reyes as director of sales and marketing and Andy Perea as general manager. They will work with David Mortier, who is responsible within Versele-Laga for the development of the US business.

New products have been added to the range at Versele-Laga. The recipes for Nature, the company's own range of foods, treats and raw food, have been completely revised. As a result, the range now matches even more closely the natural nutritional requirements of the various species.
The outcome is a food with a greater variation in taste and texture, based on the natural habitat of each creature. "The natural ingredients should be emphasised here, which are mixed with more raw food, and the elimination of the normal hard pressed pellets," says Dr Guy Werquin, head of research and development. For herbivores, a special selection of fibre-rich grasses, herbs and vegetables has been created for each species, which is a healthier and more balanced recipe. All food types and treats for herbivores have been formulated entirely free of grain, giving rise to food with a particularly low starch content, as in the wild. It consists of a mixture of fibre chunks for better tooth abrasion, types of fruit and vegetables suitable for the…