Belgian private label pet food manufacturer United Petfood is deepening its presence in Germany, securing a 50 percent stake in wet pet food producer SmartPetPro through a new strategic investment.
The Ghent-headquartered company described the move as a strategic step toward strengthening its position across the European pet food market, bringing a well-regarded German manufacturer into closer alignment with its international operations.
A Partnership Built on Complementary Strengths
SmartPetPro, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Dessau, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, has built its business around private label premium wet pet food manufacturing. According to United Petfood, the company has earned a strong reputation, operates a modern production site, and maintains long-standing customer relationships across the region.
“SmartPetPro has built a strong reputation, a modern production site and long-standing customer relationships,” United Petfood told GlobalPETS.
United Petfood CEO Dries Eeckhout said the partnership brings together SmartPetPro’s local market experience with United Petfood’s international manufacturing scale — a combination the company expects will reinforce its premium wet pet food offering while expanding its customer base across the region.
“By combining their expertise with United Petfood’s international network and manufacturing know-how, we can continue to support our customers with high-quality products, innovation and reliable service,” the company said.
Leadership Stays in Place
Despite the change in ownership structure, SmartPetPro’s leadership team isn’t going anywhere. Current CEO Lars Oehlmann will continue leading the business, while co-founders Stefan Pfannmöller and Erich Herrmann will remain involved going forward — a setup designed to preserve institutional knowledge and existing customer relationships through the transition.
Why This Investment Matters
The deal reinforces United Petfood’s broader ambition to expand its premium wet pet food capabilities while growing its footprint in one of Europe’s largest pet food markets. Rather than building manufacturing capacity from scratch, the investment lets United Petfood tap directly into SmartPetPro’s existing infrastructure, reputation, and customer relationships.
This move is also part of a wider pattern of investment activity sweeping across Europe’s pet food industry recently, with companies like Verlinvest, Five Seasons Ventures, and Burgess Pet Care all making similar moves into the region over the past month. For an industry facing growing competition and rising consumer expectations, strategic investments like this one are becoming an increasingly common way for manufacturers to scale quickly while retaining the specialised expertise that built their partners’ reputations in the first place.
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