“Excellent potential for growth”

PET in Europe: Your company starts with the new name “Affinity Pet­care”. Why the name ”Affinity”?
Carlos Argenté: After acquiring different European brands from Masterfoods and Royal Canin, we have become the third-largest pet food producer in Europe. With our daughter company Gallina Blanca Purina we already lead the pet food sector in Spain. We were looking for a greater corporate identity for all these brands and companies that are related to pet care. We wanted a name that was really close to the owners of pets. One of our focal points is the well-being of pets. A second focal point is to learn more about the relationship between pet owners and pets. We want to bring the consumers the very best in dry food for dogs and cats, providing the widest possible range of products, and placing them as close as possible to pet owners. These values of the trademark are identified by a symbol, an attractive and easy-to-remember medallion. Both the name and the symbol conveys the affinity between pets and their owners, expressing the idea which best identifies the trademark’s objective: to guarantee the well-being of pets.
”We have a lot of experience in Spain and know how to compete with Mars and Nestlé in grocery and with Royal Canin and Iams Pet Food in the specialised channel,” Carlos Argenté.
PET in Europe: What are Affinity’s medium- and long-term objectives for the European pet food market?
Carlos Argenté: At the moment we are putting in place the staff and organizational structures in order to present ourselves in the market shortly under the new name Affinity. We will be informing our customers at home and abroad of our new identity and our aims in a brochure during December. All pet products will add the new brands to the current packagings and current brands will be endorsed by our new corporate identity. The strategy will be based on generating new ideas and new pro­ducts, and allow Affinity to become the best option for the pet’s well-being. We think that Affinity will have excellent potential for growth.
PET in Europe: What strategies is Affinity adopting to push the European market?
Carlos Argenté: We have a lot of experience in Spain and know how to compete with Mars and Nestlé in grocery and with Royal Canin and Iams Pet Food in the specialised channel. We are very successful in this regard, as Spain, which is after all the third-biggest dry food market in Europe, is one of the few countries in which Masterfoods is not the market leader, we are. We are…