As the house of natural and premium brands of pet food that also supplies private label manufacturing for major retailers such as Coles, Woolworths and ALDI, Real Pet Food Company (RPFC) is on a mission to introduce high-quality, flavourful and ethically produced brands beyond Australia’s shores.
Asia-Pacific’s pet food market is swiftly rising – posting the highest growth rates in 2015 and forecast to reach US$10.7 billion by 2020. RPFC, which holds 92 per cent of Australia’s pet food market, seeks to expand further into China and Southeast Asia.
“We’re the fastest-growing pet care company in this part of the world with the largest manufacturing capacity for fresh, chilled and frozen pet foods,” says David Grant, CEO. “We can customise to market needs – from specific ingredients to environmentally sensitive packaging. We’re flexible with a quick turnaround time.”
Founded as VIP Petfoods more than 20 years ago in Queensland, RPFC is now the second-largest pet food manufacturer in Australia and New Zealand with manufacturing sites across Australia. In 2015, Quadrant Private Equity acquired the company for US$313.86 million.
Some of the company’s high-quality brands acquired over the last two years include Nature’s Gift, an all-natural flavour-rich pet food, and Tucker Time, a favourite of dog breeders and veterinarians. It also acquired the frozen raw food brand BARF or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, which is sold in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Seeking distribution partners with an existing logistics platform, cold chain capability and local market expertise, RPFC is already in talks with Asian partners such as Lee Pet and e-commerce platforms such as JD.com.
The company also plans to grow its game meat processing division, which offers products from quarry animals such as kangaroo, wild boar and venison.
“We’re the only player in the world that knows how to do what we do,” Grant says. “We have the greatest production capacity and can make every pet food product available on supermarket shelves.”
