Hamiform | FRANCE

Quality rodents

“In the late nineties, our father was a farmer and bred pigs and other farm animals,” says Laurant Davalo, co-owner of Hamiform. “I was a biology and veterinary science student, while my brother studied business administration. As part of my course, I specialised in breeding hamsters and mice. Being a student, I need money so I asked my father if I could breed my own high-quality rodents to sell. He agreed, offered us a place on his farm and told us how to earn money by breeding animals.”

A bouquet of flowers

Hamiform’s small mammals are renowned for their healthy fur and docility. To achieve this, the French company treats its animals with great care. “Think of it as a bouquet of flowers,” says co-owner Philippe Davalo. “To keep them healthy, you give them enough water and – optionall – some special feed. It’s the same with breeding animals – we feed them only the best food, give them organic hay and ensure that their habitat is clean.”

Produced in-house

Once retailers and pet stores started to appreciate the superb quality of Hamiform’s rodent food, they were quick to order it to sell to their customers. “Of course, we were honoured by this, but it took us off guard,” says Laurent. “We were just breeders who incidentally produced our own food. You can’t just push a button and suddenly say ‘sure, how much to do you need?’ So we quickly designed our packaging and our food was in the stores a few days later. The Hamiform brand was born and from that moment we’ve produced all our products in-house.”

High-quality products

Although the company operates primarily on the European market, it also exports its hay products to China. “We are one of the biggest producers of organic hay in the world,” says Philippe. Hamiform is now focussing on increasing its production capacity in order to develop internationally. “In parallel, we are currently developing our dog and cat segment with the recent acquisition of Anju Beauté. The most important challenge is to continue to provide high- quality products and healthy animals. Because without animals, there will be no business.”