Vafo Group has rejigged its business structure into new units for branded and private-label pet food, along with a production division.
“The move is driven by the dynamic growth of recent years, with the aim of streamlining management, clearly defining responsibilities, and strengthening the specialisation of individual parts of the business,” the Czech group said in a statement.
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The group will be divided up into Vafo Praha, Vafo Private Label and Vafo Production, each with an overseeing manager.
Vafo Praha will be responsible for sales and marketing of the company’s brands such as Brit and Carnilove and will be headed up by managing director Milan Bartoš.
As the name implies, Vafo Private Label will oversee own-label and the businesses’ “smaller brands” supplied to the local and overseas markets with Michal Vinický at the helm.
Jakub Majer will lead the production division encompassing all of Vafo’s manufacturing plants in the Czech Republic and the four located in Estonia, Finland and Poland.
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By GlobalDataVafo Praha chief Bartoš has been with the company for 12 years.
“We’re entering a new phase of growth in which we aim to be one of the most responsive and forward-looking companies on the European pet-food market,” Bartoš said. “The landscape is changing faster than ever before, which is why we’re basing our strategy on adaptability, data, and the strength of our brands.”
Those brand stables have been expanded through M&A.
Austria-based PetCo was brought on board in 2024, a producer of wet and dry pet food for dogs and cats with four brands – Dog’s Love, Cat’s Love, Wow and Pure Nature.
Dagsmark Petfood in Finland was added the same year, while 2023 saw the addition of Pooch & Mutt in the UK on the back of a controlling stake in Swedish pet-food wholesaler Lupus Foder.
Head of production Majer added: “Vafo is entering another stage of its development. We have been growing in a long-term and systematic manner, so it’s essential for us to have a clearly defined structure that allows us to continue strengthening our brands, developing production, and responding flexibly to market needs.
“The new arrangement gives individual teams greater scope to focus on what they do best, while at the same time creating a solid foundation for further expansion both domestically and internationally.”
