SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND — In late 2022, Thai Union Group announced plans to establish two new companies in China and the Netherlands under its i-Tail Corporation PCL subsidiary, a manufacturer of premium wet pet food and treat products based in Thailand.
The two new companies in China and the Netherlands — dubbed i-Tail (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and i-Tail Europe B.V., respectively — will support the company’s pet food sales in key Asian and European markets, specifically supporting its import, selling and distribution operations in the two regions.
According to the company, it will be leveraging the registered capital collected from proceeds of its initial public offering (IPO) on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to establish the two new entities in China and the Netherlands. i-Tail Corporation officially went public on the SET in December 2022.
The new Chinese business will be located in Shanghai, while the new business in the Netherlands will be based in Utrecht.
In the company’s fourth quarter 2022 financial results, Thai Union group also shared plans to commercialize an updated wet pet food and treat plant in the second quarter of 2023, which will expand the company’s capacity by more than 18% and include a new automated packaging line.
According to Thai Union, i-Tail Corporation saw 21.69 billion Thai baht ($633.5 million USD) in sales in 2022, with branded products accounting for 0.7% of total sales and private label business accounting for approximately 99.3% of total sales. The pet food business churned out roughly 140,311 tons of dog and cat food and treats in 2022. Thai Union shared the company’s fourth-quarter sales were up 34% year-over-year.
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