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Nestlé Purina PetCare acquires natural pet food brand Lily’s Kitchen

Move underlines focus on high growth segments
Lily's Kitchen Dog Food
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Nestlé Purina PetCare has acquired natural pet food brand Lily’s Kitchen, the UK’s leading producer of premium wet and dry natural foods for dogs and cats. Their product range, particularly in natural wet and dry dog foods and snacks, perfectly complements Purina’s existing brand portfolio.

Established 12 years ago in founder Henrietta Morrison’s kitchen in London, Lily’s Kitchen has become an internationally recognised £85 million1 retail brand offering natural recipes for dogs and cats across 6,000 stores in 30 countries. Particularly popular among younger pet owners and millennials, the pioneering brand was awarded The Royal Warrant from HRH The Prince of Wales last year.

Natural foods represents one of the fastest growing segments in the pet food category, reaching 7% of total pet food with double digit growth of 10%2.

With the backing of L Catterton, Lily’s Kitchen has recently expanded into the Middle East and Asia and already has a growing presence in France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Lily’s Kitchen will continue to be run as a stand-alone business from its base in Fitzrovia, London.

Bernard Meunier, CEO, Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA said: “We very much respect the powerful brand, strong ethical values and impressive sales growth their experienced management team has achieved. 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. 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.”

David Milner, CEO, Lily’s Kitchen said: “Nestlé Purina acknowledges the importance of Lily’s Kitchen’s values, which was fundamental to moving forward together. And while Lily’s Kitchen will continue to operate as a clear challenger brand, it’s a universal truth that both companies love pets and see them as part of the family. Nestlé Purina will help us build further brand awareness of our company and accelerate the continued expansion of our global footprint. Ultimately, working with Nestlé Purina will allow us to get our brilliant food to as many pets as possible around the world.”

Nestlé Purina is a world leading pet care company that makes many popular and trusted pet food brands, such as Purina ONE, Pro Plan, FELIX and Winalot, and works continuously to enrich the lives of pets and the people who love them.

References

  1. Lily’s Kitchen combined Internal and External Data Sources
  2. Purina estimate based on Euromonitor and Nielsen data 2019, growth versus a year ago
 

About Nestlé Purina PetCare

  • Nestlé Purina PetCare believes that pets and people are better together and is committed to helping pets live longer, happier and healthier lives. For over 125 years, Purina has been one of the pioneers in providing nutritious and palatable products made to the highest standards of quality and safety. Purina’s passion for pets goes beyond the advancement of pet nutrition. In 2016 Nestlé Purina PetCare EMENA (Europe, Middle East, North Africa) launched 10 Purina in Society commitments to have a positive impact on pets and society, including promoting pet adoption, pets in the workplace and helping to reduce the risk of pet obesity. The Purina portfolio includes many of the best-known and best-loved pet foods including FELIX, Purina ONE, Gourmet and Purina PRO PLAN.
  • A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness.
 

About Lily’s Kitchen

  • Founded by Henrietta Morrison in 2008 with the purpose of creating natural, wholesome pet food, Lily’s Kitchen has since grown from Henrietta’s kitchen table to reach the homes of loyal customers across 30 countries with over £85m in retail sales. After noticing a discernible lack of quality, natural and nutritional food options for her border terrier, Lily, Henrietta partnered with vets, nutritionists and farmers to create unique recipes of wholesome, natural ingredients. Today, those recipes – and many more – created the premium natural pet food category in the UK, and can be found in 6,000 stores around the world. Lily’s Kitchen holds the prestigious honour of having been awarded a Royal Warrant in 2019 and was the first pet food brand in the world to become a B Corp, a worldwide group of organisations using business as a force for good. For more information please visit lilyskitchen.co.uk.
 

About L Catterton

  • With approximately $20 billion of equity capital across seven fund strategies in 17 offices globally, L Catterton is the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. L Catterton's team of more than 190 investment and operating professionals partner with management teams around the world to implement strategic plans to foster growth, leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad thought partnership network. Since 1989, the Firm has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands. L Catterton was formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH, and Groupe Arnault. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.