Stable supply chain

It is true that manufacturing in Europe can be more expensive than for example in Asia if you look at it purely from a cost perspective. Vafo is aware of this, too. „However, for us, production decisions cannot be driven by costs alone“, says Jakub Majer, CEO Vafo Production. ‘Quality, safety and long-term sustainability are absolutely fundamental.’

Majer until now served as managing director of Vafo Praha and became the managing director of Vafo Production, the company announced the restructuring in a press release at the beginning of the year, in the process of which it established three new companies. Majer will focus on the development and management of all production facilities and is also one of the five Board Members of the Vafo Group.

Milan Bartoš, who until now has served as head of sales, has been appointed to the posi-tion of managing director of Vafo Praha, which continues to oversee sales and marketing activities related exclusively to its own flagship brands, such as Brit and Carnilove.  

Vafo Private Labels focuses on the development and management of private-label prod-ucts and smaller brands for domestic and international partners. It is led by Michal Vinický, an experienced commercial leader with nearly a decade of experience in the pri-vate label pet food segment.

Vafo operates several plants in Czechia and other production sites in Estonia, Finland and Poland, and exports to over 70 countries. Annual turnover is in the high three-digit million range in euros. The group currently employs almost 1,400 people. We spoke to CEO Majer about why his company manufactures so much in Europe.

As far as we know, you manufacture rawhide chews and many other types of chew and snack in your home country of Czechia and Poland. Wouldn’t production in Europe be more expensive than in Asia, for example?

Having our production facilities within the EU allows us to maintain full control over quality standards, from raw material sourcing to technological and manufacturing processes. Just as importantly, it gives us strong innovation capabilities. Being close to our production enables us to continuously develop new product concepts and categories.

A good example is our crunchy snacks produced in the Czech Republic or the entire story behind our collagen chews. We strongly believe that developing such products quickly and efficiently would be very difficult if production were based in Asia. Finally, European manufacturing also means a far more stable supply chain, one that is not dependent on intercontinental logistics.

Where are the raw materials for your European chews sourced from?

All raw materials used for our chews are sourced within the EU and our key sourcing countries include Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy and Slovakia.

Our Polish rawhide factory combines traditional handcrafted production with extremely strict quality and safety assurance processes. This combination allows us to preserve craftsmanship while meeting the highest European standards for safety, consistency and product integrity.

What are the advantages of still manufacturing in Europe?

We are a European manufacturer with a clear ambition to continuously expand our production capacities to support all markets where we are active. The key advantages lie in having direct control over the most important parts of the supply chain, which is essential for delivering consistently high quality and safe products.

At the same time, European manufacturing allows us to fully leverage the synergies within the Vafo Group and the deep expertise of our teams across different countries and product categories.

What role do European manufacturers play in shaping responsible pet products?

They play an absolutely key role. Europe is clearly at the forefront when it comes to responsibility, quality standards and sustainability in pet food and pet care. Innovation leadership may differ across categories, but Europe undeniably sets the benchmark in responsible production, and Vafo is proud to be an active part of this ecosystem.

What are your plans regarding further development of European production?

Our plans are ambitious: We aim to double our turnover, with a significantly higher proportional share of wet food, snacks and vitamin supplements in our portfolio.

Naturally, this strategy requires further expansion of our European manufacturing capacities for these categories. A key focus will also be cat food, where wet food is the primary growth driver. Strengthening our position in cat food is a strategic priority for us.

In Poland, we are currently preparing two major projects focused on building two new production plants.

You also have factories in Estonia and Finland. What is produced there and why are you there?

In Estonia, we mainly produce freeze dried products and jerky type snacks. This facility became part of our group through the acquisition of the Finnish company Primapet. Given their strong expertise in working with fresh meat, originally mainly for canned products, it was a logical step for us to expand categories that rely heavily on fresh meat processing, such as freeze dried products and jerky.

In Finland, the decision was largely pragmatic and market driven. We are a market leader there and Finnish consumers strongly prefer products made locally, from Finland for Finns. To maintain and strengthen our position, we decided to move part of our production to Finland. Currently, we operate two factories there producing dry and wet pet food.

From your point of view, what are the general advantages of a European location?

Stability, a well defined legal framework and high quality standards are key advantages. I would also not underestimate the importance of shared cultural values. Europe is simply our natural home market.