São Paulo – A leading global chicken meat producer with a vast presence in the Middle East, Brazilian food processor BRF has a division that focuses on dogs and cats. Like its parent brand, BRF Pet has loyal customers in Arab countries, as Oman, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are some of the destinations of the business division that is preparing to break into new markets.
Marcel Sacco, vice president of marketing and new business at BRF and general manager at BRF Pet, said BRF Pet has increased its productive capacity and product portfolio for a growing market – a survey by the Brazilian Association of the Pet Products Industry (Abinpet) released earlier this year showed that the pet population in Brazil hit 167.6 million, with 67.8 million dogs and 33.6 million cats, besides birds, ornamental fish, and others.
In 2023 the Brazilian pet industry, encompassing veterinary, food and equipment, reached BRL 47 billion. Pet food accounts for 78% of this. The executive mentions data from the Euromonitor showing that the sector grows faster than the global economy.
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According to Abinpet, exports grew 2.7% in 2023 year on year, to USD 447 million. Imports declined by 24%, to USD 10.5 million. The industry’s highest global revenues are in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The industry has an annual turnover of USD 149.8 billion, as per numbers presented by Abinpet and supplied by Euromonitor on 2023 and 2022.
“International expansion, which now accounts for some 10% of BRF Pet business, is also on the horizon. We’re focused on diversifying markets and acquiring new destinations to widen our presence in the global market. We’ve exported to South and Central America, and the Middle East, too,” said Sacco. Primocão, Primogato and Faro are some of the brands the company ships to Arab countries.
The company’s operation in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to grow in the coming years. “We remain interested and prepared to further build on business with Arab countries. We’re scoping out the leading markets in the region, ensuring that the products to be exported are adapted to local requirements of consumers and regulatory agencies,” he said. Arabs are part of a list of over 20 countries the company operates in.
BRF Pet’s natural food and opportunities
Out of the 20 brands that the company owns, Sacco mentions premium special brand GranPlus as its flagship, and super premium natural Guabi Natural and BioFresh as unique brands. The latter two, he explains, are in line with a trend of dogs and cats owners to seek out increasingly natural foods. “For 2024 we’ve invested in wet foods in both pouches and tins, and snacks,” he said.
“We remain interested and prepared to further build on business with Arab countries”
Marcel Sacco, Vice President of Marketing & New Business at BRF and general manager at BRF Pet
BRF Pet was established in 2018. It now has 1,400 employees distributed across five plants in Brazil’s Campinas, Bastos, Francisco Beltrão, and Ivoti, and Paraguay’s Dr. Juan León Mallorquin. The productive capacity of wet food production in the Bastos plant was expanded in 2023.
“Evidence that BRF S/A is banking on pet products is its recent investment in dog and food supplements with the new GUD brand of food supplements, including formulae with natural ingredients and bone-shaped softgels. We’re the first Brazilian pet food company to enter this pet nutrition market that used to be dominated by the pharma industry. And we’re eager to keep growing and innovating, with two more launches about to be announced,” said Sacco. Find out more on the company.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
