ST. LOUIS — Nestlé Purina PetCare has acquired United Kingdom-based Lily's Kitchen, a natural pet food brand.
St. Louis-based Purina PetCare said Lily's is the U.K.'s leading producer of what the industry calls "premium" wet and dry natural foods for dogs and cats. The company will continue to operate as a stand-alone business from its headquarters in London.
Terms of the sale weren't disclosed, but Lily's Kitchen's sales through 6,000 stores in 30 countries are about 85 million pounds ($105 million), officials said. Lily's was backed by Connecticut-based investment firm L. Catterton and had recently expanded into the Middle East and Asia.
The purchase complements Purina's existing brand portfolio, which includes Purina One, Por Plan, Felix and Winalot, according to the company. Natural food is one of the pet food category's fastest-growing segments, hitting 7% of total pet food sales with 10% growth, Purina said, citing 2019 estimates by Euromonitor and Nielsen.
"Natural foods represents an exciting and rapidly expanding part of the pet care market, and this move reflects our desire to act on consumer trends and invest in high-growth categories," Bernard Meunier, CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare for Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA), said Wednesday in a statement. "Lily’s Kitchen is an excellent fit with our existing brand portfolio, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth with Purina’s own world-leading pet care expertise, insight and global resources.”
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