Report: Pet food production facility openings meet growing demand

According to Cascadia Capital’s Summer 2024 Pet Industry Outlook, recent facility openings and expansion projects are supporting increased demand and expansion in the pet food sector.

Over the past 18 months, pet food companies of all sizes have announced or completed new facilities or expansions in the United States, investing more than $1.5 billion. The top reasons for these new facilities and expansions, according to the report, include:

• Increase capacity to meet demand
• Expanding capabilities to new products such as wet foods and freeze-dried options
• Strengthening internal supply chains after COVID-19 disruptions

Three companies invest more than $200 million each in facility projects

Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Nestlé Purina Pet Care And Blue Buffalo/General Mills has invested more than $200 million each in recent facility projects in the United States

• Hill’s Pet Nutrition opened its $450 million, 365,000-square-foot, fully-engineered smart facility in October 2023. Designed to increase the company’s canned pet food production capacity and provide a runway for continued expansion of the Hill’s Science Diet and Prescription Diet brands, the facility marks a step change in strategic automation and technological advancements in the pet food industry.
• Purina’s 1.3 million-square-foot, $450 million Factory of the Future opened in Eden, North Carolina in March. The Eden facility will produce a variety of Purina pet food brands, including Purina Pro Plan, Purina ONE, Dog Chow, Puppy Chow and more. The facility features several modern technologies that transform and improve the overall production process, including the first-ever vertical dryer installed in a Purina facility in the United States, as well as automated systems in the storage and freezer areas. The new facility also includes a first-of-its-kind Manufacturing Experience Center designed to introduce modern manufacturing to the next generation of the workforce.
• Purina also expanded its manufacturing facility in Jefferson, Wisconsin, with a $195 million project that will increase production of wet pet food brands by nearly 50 percent, including Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Beneful IncrediBites, and add 35,000 square feet to the facility.
• Blue Buffalo, a subsidiary of General Mills, broke ground in March 2023 on a $200 million expansion at its Richmond, Indiana, facility. The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2024, will include the construction and equipment of a 169,000-square-foot addition to expand its processing operations and warehousing capacity. The expansion will increase the building’s footprint by more than 40 percent by adding another extrusion line, three new packaging lines and an associated mixing and transfer system.

It is worth noting that Purina is currently building a $550 million, 1.3 million-square-foot plant—the first project Purina has built from scratch since 1975—in Williamsburg Township, Ohio. The new facility, which will produce dry pet food, has been designed with the latest innovations in digital and automated technologies to streamline production and logistics and make operations as efficient as possible.

Other installation projects in the United States

• FreshPet has announced the expansion of its facility in Ennis, Texas, due to growing demand for fresh pet food.
• Muenster Milling completed its new freeze-dried pet food manufacturing facility in Denton, Texas, in March. The vertically integrated facility includes raw meat processing capabilities capable of producing a variety of protein blends and nutritional profiles, advanced freeze-drying and turnkey retail packaging in a variety of sizes.
• Mars Petcare announced a $72 million expansion of its facilities in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
• Mississauga, Ontario, Canada-based Crumps’ Naturals announced in March the expansion of its $85 million pet treat plant in Nashville, North Carolina.

Global investments also on the table

Companies around the world continue to invest in capital projects to expand their capacities. In February, Purina announced the construction of a new HUF 300 billion plant in Buk, Hungary, which is considered the largest investment in the food industry in Hungary. Construction began in January and is expected to be completed in 2025.

In April, the company announced a $507 million investment to open a pet food plant in Mantua, Italy. The 1.9 million-square-foot plant, located about 100 miles southeast of Milan, will produce wet pet food. It is expected to be completed by 2027 and will employ 300 people. Purina is also making a $220 million strategic investment to expand its Silao, Guanajuato, plant to significantly enhance its manufacturing capabilities in Mexico.

In May, Mars announced a $140 million investment in its French sites to increase production capacity at its four French units – the two pet care divisions of Mars Petcare and Royal Canin, as well as Mars Food and Mars Wrigley, which specializes in confectionery. The company also announced the start of production at its pet food plant in Tianjin, China. The $138 million, 1.1 million square foot plant is dedicated to the research, development and production of dry food, wet food and treats. Once fully operational, the plant’s annual production capacity is expected to exceed 250,000 tons.