Innovations with high profit margins

Dr. Jürgen Wigger, owner and managing director of Bewital Heimtiernahrung, stresses that his company will continue to look to distribution channels other than food retailers, discount stores and chains. "We are not Masterfoods and our customers are not Metro, and so we go well together. We can develop our products faster and more flexibly and we don’t have to depend on a few big customers”, says Wigger, the committed entrepreneur.
The company produces top quality pet food at its 30,000 m²-plus site in Südlohn-Oeding.
"Although expensive dog and cat food promotions on the TV and radio increase product awareness and relieve the speciality dealer of the obligation to provide advice, they also swallow up the greater part of his profit margin. Few of our dealers are prepared to sit back and let the trend towards obtaining advice from the specialist and then buying in the discount store take hold. That’s why we offer a premium range that is not available in the discount store”.
Dr. Jürgen Wigger, owner and managing director, is looking for the “Davids” of the speciality pet product trade.
It’s not just in Europe that the company has scored a success with this strategy: Bewital is now delivering its innovative products as far afield as Asia. In addition to the successful standard and basic ranges “Greif“ and "Bewi Dog“ for working and sport dogs, the super-premium “Belcando” brand has made particularly strong progress according to the company. The manufacturer asserts that the major advances achieved are the result of working closely with professional breeders. Bewital has developed an intelligent system for securing new customers for the speciality dealer. “Thanks to the country-wide puppy service I’ve acquired several new customers in the last few months and been able to sell them a completely new regime for a young dogs“, says Roland Gerkes, an enthusiastic Bewital dealer.
The company also has other intelligent solutions at its disposal for promoting sales. And Bewital sets special store by participation in fairs and exhibitions. “Customers are more than ready to discuss the subject of food at classic dog exhibitions. Sometimes we are able to pass on several hundred contacts to our speciality dealers. We can scarcely offer better sales support than to send a new client directly to the specialist trade“, comments Thomas Blommel, Bewital marketing manager. In the next few years the company intends to expand its system further and offer independent traders a genuine…