Natural food competence

The Swedish family Heyman established its company, Vargarda Hundemehl, in 1903. It was named after the small town in which Doggy is still based even now. Production of dry food did not commence until the 1950s. In 1992 the company added tinned food to its production range. The company has been at its premises in Vargarda for over 100 years. After 98 years in family ownership, the company was sold by Göran Heyman to Svenska Lantmännen, a group comprising approximately 50 000 Swedish farmers, with annual sales of € 3.1 bn. The company’s home market is Scandinavia, in parti-cular Sweden, Norway and Finland. In Germany, Doggy has been operating since 1996 under the name Bozita. A German subsidiary, Bozita Heimtierfutter, was established five years later. Other export markets quoted include Switzerland, Austria, the UK, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as a number of countries with single importers. However, expansion efforts are currently concentrated on Germany and the relatively new markets of Switzerland, Austria and the UK, and to this end Doggy’s export team has recently been strengthened by the addition of Niklas Siwersjö as new export director and two extra export sales staff. The company’s production facilities are located at its Vargarda premises and turn out 45 000 t of food per year, comprising 30 000 t of dry food and 15 000 t of tinned food. Around 30 000 t of the production output is destined for the markets in Sweden, Norway and Finland, roughly 7 000 t is shipped to Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a further 1 500 t to other countries. 7 500 t is earmarked for private label customers. The “pure nature from Sweden” philosophy of the company is also its key to success: the raw ingredients are produced exclusively in Sweden, and under the stringent laws that apply there they have to meet high standards in respect of purity and naturalness. For example, they must not contain any carcass meal, and the animals used must be reared without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics. During the Europe-wide BSE crisis in particular, the demand for natural products increased sharply. 10 to 15 per cent of the company’s annual investment budget also goes on environmental protection. Doggy managing director Hans Nielson lent substantial support for the development and introduction of the new cat food. The latest new product to hit the shelves of pet stores in Sweden is a new moist food for cats, which is supplied in cardboard packaging from Tetra…