Irish pet food firm wins £1.5m Dutch deal
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A Co Tyrone pet food company has landed a major £1.5m deal to supply its products to a Dutch supermarket giant.
Dungannon's Mackle Petfoods has signed a deal to supply its Naturo petfood to Albert Heijn.
The company, which has received support from Invest NI, makes a range of products for both dogs and cats.
Managing director John Mackle said: "We quickly realised through intensive market research, storechecks and market visits that there was nothing quite like Naturo on the Dutch supermarket shelves.
"In a pet-loving country like the Netherlands, with 4.5 million cats and dogs, we saw an opportunity for Naturo, especially as the Dutch prefer quality natural products.
"We also did our homework before entering the Dutch market and realised that there were some differences between the Netherlands and our domestic market.
"This helped us to ensure our product offering was exactly what the market wanted and included determining that we needed to launch the product in full colour Dutch language sleeves."
Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said the company's success was a "good example for other Northern Ireland businesses considering exporting as it highlights the significant opportunities in overseas markets with the right determination and ambition".
"Mackle Petfoods' Naturo range was launched in the UK and Ireland in 2013 and the deal being announced here will now see the product on the shelves of 200 Albert Heijn stores in the Netherlands," he added.
"One of my core priorities is to help local businesses grow and develop through export success and innovation.
"Local companies are continuing to broaden their horizons and explore new horizons."
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