The Italian pet food leader Monge announced its plans to further expand and invest over 50 million euros in the next three years. This being necessary to continue to exist, General Manager Luciano Fassa comments: “ We are working on several fronts. The project with the shortest horizon, by the spring of next year, is the strengthening of production and sterilization for cans. The second major investment, again in the wet pet food sector, is the doubling of the production capacity of bags for dogs and cats from 100 to 300 grams. Then there is the expansion of the packaging lines and silos for dry products, to have a greater variety of kibble in stock. The fourth, which should have visibility by 2024, is the construction of the second automatic warehouse with 45,000 pallet places, which is essential because the 43,000 warehouse, inaugurated in 2019, is now saturated “.
On the last Zoomark, visitors and competitors could convince themselves that Monge continues to innovate new products such as its new cat products : maltagliati and paté under the Excellence brand. “At the same time, we launched 10 references in the wet cat segment , the one with the best growth performance in Italy and Europe. Finally, we have launched new mono protein products that enrich the Excellence and Monge lines . The other big news is the expansion of the offer of vegetable bedding with a new 100% Italian barley-based product from Monge Easy Green.: the goal is to propose a range of exclusively vegetable litters by 2024, abandoning the mineral ones ”, Fassa emphasized.
The company though has to face all current problems caused by the war in Ukraine too. “Unfortunately, the entire supply chain is affected by the explosion in production costs . There is no doubt that some of these increases that the industry has to undergo is, to some extent, the result of speculation. The pet food is heavily affected by the increases, because 100% of the components used to produce croquettes, pates and morsels have undergone price increases on several occasions. It is inevitable that you will need to sell at slightly higher prices. The other big problem is the difficulty of finding raw materials and packaging, as well as the huge increase in logistics costs ”, the CEO explains.
The Italian company generates 30% of its total sales abroad by exporting in more than hundred countries. “The goal is to reach new markets, starting with Europe to get to South America and the Far East, where there are spaces that we want to conquer “.
Showcasing the company at the current Interzoo, Fassa stated: ” For the occasion , we will present a real surprise: we will enter a market that has never been managed before “.
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