Diana Pet Food | FRANCE
Bertrand de Launay is the new CEO of Diana Pet Food. At Interzoo 2016, he shared his strategic vision for the company with us.
Reinventing palatability
Pet food palatability is Diana Pet Food’s historical core business. With its SPF activity, Diana Pet Food is the worldwide leader in the cat and dog food palatant business. Panelis, its centre of expertise in palatability measurement is recognized as a reference in pet food performance assessment and understanding of pet feeding behaviour.
“Palatability will stay a priority for us in the coming years,” says Bertrand de Launay. “We will continue implementing SPF successful business model and the global network of our palatant operations by establishing new plants in Asia and South America.”
Diana Pet Food will also pursue its investments in research to offer creative palatability solutions and new expectations around pet meals. “We need to reinvent palatability to create pet and owner sensorial satisfaction and make pet meals a shared happy moment. Our Pet Sens’ Innov platform, inaugurated in May 2016, includes unique tools to work on pet owner perception of cats’ and dogs’ enjoyment during feeding time.”
Health, nutrition and protection
But Bertrand de Launay’s ambition for Diana Pet Food goes far beyond palatability. “Our aim is to become the worldwide leader in high value solutions in the pet industry. We want to multiply our existing turnover by the factor 2.5 over the next 10 years. To achieve these goals, we will accelerate the development of our most recent activities and create new businesses aligned with our ambition.” External growth also forms an integral part of Diana Pet Food’s strategic plan. “We will bolster our Videka activity by developing strategic alliances with key industrial players in the natural protection field. This will expand our range of advanced antioxidant and antimicrobial systems, enhancing pet food protection.”
Diana Pet Food is also actively looking for acquisitions and strategic partnerships opportunities in the pet health and nutrition sector. “Joining forces with expert companies will enable our Vit2be activity to launch new substantiated and marketable nutritional innovations for the pets’ ageing, digestive health and weight management segments.”
New territories
Beyond pet food, the company will combine its unique knowledge on pets with Symrise expertise in fragrances to launch a range of scent solutions for the pet care market (see page 29).
Diana Pet Food’s growth will be accompanied with a new offer in the field of market data intelligence. “We have recently acquired a substantial share of Yummypets, a social network dedicated to pet lovers. It gives us access to valuable qualitative and quantitative data on owners’ behaviour and expectations. We will use it to help pet market players develop targeted products and actions supporting their brand performance.”