Brit ENG: Pet food Oscar for Czech brand Brit

VAFO PRAHA, the Czech producer of Brit super-premium pet food, represented Czech Republic at the Global PETS Forum, where it won the main award. The Global PETS Forum Awards are the ‘Oscars of the pet business’ and are awarded annually by the prestigious B2B magazine Pets International on the basis of an independent evaluation by experts from the Netherlands.

PETS International provides support for the pet product industry in 136 countries throughout the world. Every year, the Global PETS Forum conference holds a contest with a focus on strategy, organization, business relations, support for domestic markets and employee integrity. The theme of this year’s conference is the future of the industry and how to prepare for it by choosing the appropriate strategy. Out of all participants from all over the world, the prize has been awarded to a Czech company for the first time in the history of the competition. Pavel Bouška, the company owner, has come to Amsterdam to receive the prize in person.

The company has also introduced its Brit Training Snack & Tips project, which has been launched in main European markets. This unique concept combines Brit products with a tailored customer service. Brit Training Snack is an exclusive product range of treats designed for dog training. Using a QR code provided on the packaging, customers can enter a multi-language training program either on the website or via mobile applications. Users can also upload and share their own dog-training videos. “We have designed this educational tool to support responsible and correct approach to dog training and happy living with dogs,” says Pavel Bouška about the new concept.

The company has received the award also due to its pet-friendly approach and the support of dog breeding. Pavel Bouška says: “Despite a rather dynamic growth, we remain a family business and our job is our passion. Our main philosophy is to produces high-quality pet food because health and well-being of animals is our foremost concern.” All ingredients and packaging material come from European Union (with the exception of lamb meat, which is imported from New Zealand) even though importing from Asia would be cheaper. Bouška adds that when it comes to grain and poultry, the company prefers local suppliers.

Last year, the company invested into software, production technology and storage capacities, and also built a central storage facility with a capacity of 20,000 pallet spaces not far from its largest factory in Chrášťany near Prague. Already in its first month, this change in logistics proved to be highly effective – the turnover has increased by 32 % and the number of expedited loads grew by 25 %.

VAFO PRAHA has been involved in the development, production and distribution of cat and dog food for nearly 20 years. Over the past 10 years, inter-annual growth has risen by over 20 %. In 2013, the company produced 48,000 tons of pet food, with a turnover of EUR 48.5 million. To illustrate, this amounts to roughly 2,400 fully loaded lorries. Production is provided by 82 employees at three modern factories. Roughly 30 % of production is for the Czech market where Brit is one of the leaders on the domestic pet food market. The remaining 70 % are successfully sold abroad on European and exotic markets. The Brit brand can be found in 50 countries throughout the world including Scandinavia, Poland, Germany, France, the Baltic region, Russia, but also Malaysia.