Loading tweets...
Mars, the leading food multinational, has announced an investment of $112.6 million ($76.3 million) in its pet food facility in Wodonga, in Australia’s Victoria state.
According to a report in Inside FMCG, the upgraded 7,800 sq m facility will mostly be dedicated to producing single-serve pouches for the company’s Whiskas, Advance, Optimum and Dine brands, adding a a combined annual capacity of 25 kilotonnes.
Commenting on the move, Craig Sargeant, GM at Mars Petcare Australia, said: “This significant investment will allow us to respond to pet trends, including the continued rise in cat ownership – growing at nearly 4 per cent per year – more than twice as fast as our dog population. We’re also seeing increased demand for convenience, with pouch products representing half of the Australian wet cat food market and growing at nearly 10 per cent per year”.
The expanded factory will primarily serve the Australian and New Zealand markets and is part of company plans to bolster domestic pet food manufacture, Mars added.
Source: Inside FMCG
