New initiatives for global partners

"We are producing food, treats and accessories for seven animal species," reports Alan Walmsley, who is responsible for marketing at Supreme Petfoods. The new senior management, led by new MD Chris Childs - previously sales director and before that bakery production director - has worked hard to prepare the company for a strong launch into 2007. "Led by Supreme Petfoods, the small animal food category is now a boom market," Alan Walmsley continues. "In fact it is the fastest growing section of the pet food industry, stealing the crown from the once-reigning cats and dogs sector, which has been more or less static for the last few years." Supreme masterminded this revolution in the small animal food market in 1991 as it became the first company to recognise that small animals have individual nutritional requirements. Previously, pet food providers produced one food for all species, so the launch of Supreme Petfoods was a landmark event. "Russel Rabbit", the first diet specifically formulated for small animals, was heralded as a major breakthrough in the pet food world. Alan Walmsley: "Even today Supreme Petfoods is the only European manufacturer that solely produces diets for small animals." But the extent of Supreme's innovation didn't end there. It simultaneously became the first small animal food company to recognise the need for high fibre diets for rabbits, the first to use alfalfa in small animal foods, the first to introduce a junior food, the first to provide weigh-up bags for small animal foods, the first to provide educational literature about small animals and the first to use branded cartoon characters on its packs. "It's something other manufacturers have been keen to imitate," Alan Walmsley continues. As the additions to the premium range filtered onto the market - "Russel Junior", "Gerty Guinea Pig", "Harry Hamster", "Gerri Gerbil", "Reggie Rat", "Charlie Chinchilla" and "Frankie Ferret" - each took its market sector by storm. Demand for the products grew to such an extent that by the end of 1997 Supreme bought its factory in Hadleigh, Suffolk, and invested over £ 2 mio in health and safety - making it the most modern small animal food manufacturing site in Europe. To sustain the growth in demand for its baked treats, in 2006 Supreme invested £ 500 000 in relocating and building a new manufacturing facility for its bakery, where it produces treats to complement its food range. Alan Walmsley: "This major new investment has given us the ability…