Pursuing a joint strategy

"Both companies will remain autonomous legal entities," says Thomas Suwelack, managing director of both companies. The Kurpas family, which owns Fleischeslust, has acquired an interest in the Seitz Group in return. "The plant in Spiegelau (Bavaria) is to be retained, as are the jobs there and distribution of Fleischeslust products to pet stores," Fleischeslust founder Oliver Kurpas told PET worldwide in an exclusive interview.
Operating in the background is the Hamburg-based investment company BPE, which has a majority holding in the Seitz Group. BPE became involved in Seitz in 2015 as part of a management buy-in during a generational transition in the company. Jörg Seitz, one of the sons of the company's founder, is an executive of the company and has played a key role in its expansion.

Seitz Heimtiernahrung will continue to concentrate on its work as a private label manufacturer. It can now also benefit from Fleischeslust's expertise in developing and producing sausages for dog food, however, and aims to develop the range significantly. The merger has brought Fleischeslust a certified facility for its own products. "Sausage is an important area for expansion. It has been developed and made socially acceptable by Fleischeslust," says Seitz director Christian Hofmann, adding that "the production of sausages is subject to entirely different conditions from wet food products in tins." Around 15 000 tonnes of wet food per year are currently output by the company's production facilities, and this output is on the rise. The newly merged enterprises will also focus more strongly in the future on raw food. Whilst Seitz Heimtiernahrung has been operating in this segment for 30 years, the Fleischeslust brand can profit considerably from the expertise available in Langwedel and expand its own assortment.

"Merging the companies is to the benefit of everyone involved," says Oliver Kurpas in conclusion. Seitz and Fleischeslust will exhibit jointly at the next Interzoo whilst clearly emphasising the autonomy of the two brands.