Purina opens €135 million wet cat food factory in Thailand

The American subsidiary of Nestlé announced the opening of a new 93,872 square meter plant for Purina in the southern province of Rayong, less than 200 km from capital Bangkok, for the production of its brands Purina One, Pro Plan, Felix and Fancy Feast.

The new equipment will primarily be focused on the wet cat single-serve food product line, and will supply the Asian, Oceanian, and African (AOA) regions.

It will also contribute to accelerating revenue and profit growth for Nestlé while strengthening Thailand’s position as an important production hub for pet food products.

“Thailand offers easy access to high-quality raw materials and is logistically convenient to supply products across the region, especially South East Asia, which is an emerging market with tremendous potential for our pet care business,” commented Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Indochina, Victor Seah.

In April, Purina unveiled the $90 million (€85.9M) expansion of its Blayney factory in Australia to meet the “growing demand” for wet cat food in the country and beyond.

Market increase

According to Euromonitor, Thailand’s dog and cat food market increased by 9.4% in 2021 to ฿39 billion ($1.1B / €1.06B).

Thailand exported 720,694 tons of pet food in 2021 with a value of $2 billion ($1.92B), according to the Thai Pet Food Trade Association.

The previous year, Thailand exported 609,001 tons of pet food valued at $1.6 billion (€1.3 billion).

And far from stopping there, it seems that the industry is growing and it is now in third place for pet food exports worldwide. Between January and April 2022, the country exported 276,769 tons of pet food with a value of $842 million (€806.4), an increase of between 20% and 30%.