Nestlé invests $200 million in UK pet food facility

Nestlé has announced a £150 million ($200.5M/€180M) investment in its Purina pet care facility located in Wisbech, a town in eastern England. The site, which produces its pet food brands Felix, Gourmet, and Winalot has an annual production capacity of 1.2 billion pet meals.

“We plan to optimize efficiency through upgrading technology and machinery on the production lines as well as improving automation”, a Purina spokesperson tells GlobalPETS.

The investment will also focus on increasing production volume, improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and adding a new production line in the facility. The upgrades are expected to be completed by early 2025.

In 2023, pet care accounted for 20% of Nestlé’s total group sales, up from 12% a decade ago. In recent years, the Swiss multinational has made significant pet care investments in Mexico, Italy, United States, Brazil, and Hungary.

Investment in the U.S

Purina’s 1.3 million-square-foot pet food facility, located outside Cincinnati in Ohio, is scheduled to begin operations in 2025. It will produce dry cat and dog food for the brands Purina Pro Plan, Purina ONE, and Dog Chow.

In 2023, the company completed the exterior of this $550 million (€493.6M) pet food factory in Williamsburg Township, Ohio—Nestlé’s second Purina manufacturing facility in the area.

Purina highlights the importance of its strategic position within the Cincinnati region, which has “favorable distribution opportunities.”