Natural pet food proves formula for success
Ever since its launch in 2019, Absolute Petfood’s natural brand Grandorf has been off to the races. Its range of natural and hypo-allergenic dry food – which is 100% made in Belgium – and wet food for dogs and cats is exceedingly popular amongst pet parents.
The pet food market is growing exponentially. As ever more brands are eager and clamoring to grab their share of success, Grandorf has managed to stand out from the rest, by keeping things simple. Our basis is the use of high-quality, selected hypoallergenic ingredients. They enable us to make fantastic and healthy pet food,” explains CEO Maarten Perdieus.
“We focus on offering a well-balanced diet with high deboned meat content. We are unique in NOT using chicken in dry food recipes. And on top of that, our palatability and digestion scores are among the best. The response from pet parents proves we’re on the right track.”
Initial success
“Despite the lockdown just 3 months after the launch of the Grandorf brand, sales took off. One of the first shops managed to re-order its introduction volume of 3 meters’ worth of shelf space within 6 weeks after the launch!” Perdieus continues.
In the first year, the goal was to create a good foundation in the Benelux home market. In the Netherlands, the company partnered with specialty chain Jumper (+65 stores), and in Belgium, with Aveve (+100 stores), and specialty stores.
Key to the sales strategy is education. During the lockdown, webinars were created to train staff and inform pet parents on pet food to enable them to make the best choice.
International expansion
Since 2021, the company has set its eye on international expansion. “Despite travel restrictions in 2021, we managed to set up distribution in Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, France, Israel, Japan, part of Germany, plus some individual shops in other countries,” Sales Director Mark Hendrickx explains. “Our goal is to make it possible for all pet parents in Europe to purchase Grandorf within a reasonable distance of their house by the end of 2023.”
Join this success story?
Distributors or resellers interested in partnering with Grandorf can get in touch by visiting the Grandorf stand at Interzoo 2022 – Hall 5, Booth 128.
