Page 68 - PET worldwide issue 02/2022

Suppliers

For the love of dogs

A love of dogs was responsible for the creation of the Miklauz

family and their business. Their company Petco sells premium
pet food produced in Austria.

Katharina and Stefan Miklauz core competence as an Austrian
met while out walking their dogs. family firm,” stresses Katharina
When discussing nutrition for Miklauz.
their pets, they discovered that
none of the premium dog food Production in Austria
brands on the market was man- “In the current crisis we have dis-
ufactured in Austria. “This was covered once again how many
even though Austria is renowned advantages production in Aus-
for producing food of the highest tria offers,” say the two entre-
quality and for having some of preneurs. Personal contact, a
the most stringent food legisla- regional focus, short transport
tion,” says Katharina Miklauz. distances giving rise to swift
The couple guessed that prob- delivery, and regional raw in-
ably no one had attempted to gredients: the list of benefits is
manufacture premium dog food endless. “Of course, the higher
in Austria, and so they embarked cost of production in Austria is
on the venture in addition to do- a drawback,” comments Stefan
ing their existing jobs, supported Miklauz. He is confident, how-
by production partners. Eight ever, that people will pay more
years later, those tentative be- for food manufactured in Austria
ginnings have now grown into a using regional ingredients than
company boasting three brands for a product from countries to
in the premium pet food segment the east. Customers know they
– and a family with two children. are getting quality, after all, and
Dog’s Love was the first prod- this quality is an asset.
uct launched, a super-premium For manufacturers like Petco
brand with six moist food vari- there are also challenges to
eties. Following its initial listing be overcome, however. “But it
with major pet stores, the com- makes the daily round more
pany took great strides forward interesting,” says Katharina
with a string of new products Miklauz. She adds: “As we are
and finally two more brands. In constantly developing our prod-
2017, a super-premium cat food ucts and brands, there is al-
was added with Cat’s Love, fol- ways something happening at
lowed by Wow, another premium our company. If this were not
dog food in 2018. “We have pri- the case, I think it would be the
oritised regional production end of our success. We also
Katharina Miklauz is fully committed to running her company. from the outset to enhance our work continuously on the prod-

68 PET worldwide 2|2022

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