VAFO acquires Dagsmark Petfood to strengthen its Finnish footprint

VAFO Group has secured a leading position in the Nordic pet food market with its latest acquisition of Dagsmark Petfood, a Finnish pet food producer. VAFO plans to invest around €10 million ($10.8M) over the next 3 years to develop the company’s production capacity.

The acquisition of its production facility in Mellilä, located approximately 60 km northeast of Turku, centers around VAFO’s strategy to focus on capacity expansion, automation and new wet food formats.

Dagsmark will join VAFO to complement its Finnish production operations while retaining its workforce. However, VAFO suggests plans to add another shift with 20 more workers and open up specialized roles in building their online presence and marketing and sales teams.

Nordic expansion

So far, the Czech group’s footprint in the Nordic nation is represented by its subsidiary company Prima Pet Premium Oy’s dry food factory, established last year for €20 million ($21.5M), and its newest dry food factory, Vafo Finland Oy, in the ECO3 Industrial zone in Nokia.  

Now that Dagsmark is in its portfolio, VAFO is banking on its strong “growth potential” to expand to other Nordic countries.

“This is a strategic move for the VAFO group and especially for Prima Pet Premium, the producer of the best-selling pet food in the local market, Hau-Hau Champion,” comments Timo Pärssinen, CEO of Prima Pet Premium. He adds that the company will strengthen its position with Dagsmark’s wet food production, “but it also creates opportunities to expand into other Nordic markets.”

“Our goal is to achieve over 20% market share in all Nordic countries—in some of them, we are already way above; in some, we still have a way to go”, a VAFO spokesperson tells GlobalPETS.

Strategy & opportunities

Key strategies include locally sourcing and producing dry and wet food for the regional market to reduce VAFO’s carbon footprint. The group also strives to achieve 100% sustainable packaging and “production excellence” to win the Nordic market.

Hau-Hau Champion, Dagsmark and Prima dog and cat food are poised for the daily market, while Brit Care, Four Friends, and other premium and super-premium brands will focus on pet shops. 

The spokesperson concludes, “There are still opportunities for organic growth via acquisitions or local private-label production, especially due to a newly built dry production site in Nokia (Finland) in 2023 and recently acquired wet production of Dagsmark.”

VAFO’s 2023 preliminary revenue is €490 million ($533.1M), and the company’s 2024 budget revenue is set at €580 million ($631M) without Dagsmark or any other future acquisitions.