A brief introduction of your company/enterprise?
We are a family owned company with 65 years of history. My grandfather started with the production of bird and rodent food. In the nineties my parents diversified to a full product range for all pets, mostly imported. Today we are a one stop shop for retailers with a product range of 6000 items. Our customers are mainly pet shops, garden centres, supermarkets and e-commerce. We are active in 40 countries with Belgium and France as our most important markets.
Our ambition is to move from a one stop shop of commodity products to an innovation and marketing driven organization. Sustainability is one of our strategic axes; we are developing a few brands wo will contribute to this goal and that will become our main activity. We notice that most consumers say they find sustainability important but they still buy products that fit their personal needs best. To be successful in our mission we need to develop eco conscious products that are either better or cheaper than the industry standard. This way consumers don’t have to compromise. We currently developed three brands: Yana, Emma’s Garden and Fantail.
With our Yana label we will turn regular consumables (food, cat litter, snacks,..) into the most sustainable version. First we are reducing the impact of each product (sourcing, packaging,…) and the remaining C02 emissions are compensated for 110% resulting in a carbon positive solution (www.yanapetandplanet.com)
Emma’s garden is our brand that will turn your garden into a natural paradise. Our western society has destroyed natural ecosystems through buildings, agriculture and clean gardens with no support for life. Emma will provide products and knowledge to restore the biodiversity in your garden. If we can restore a large amount of gardens we will create the largest wild life reserve in the world.
Fantail is our design and lifestyle brand for dogs and cats. This brand offers basic product needs (e.g. dog beds) in the best possible version in terms of functionality, design and sustainability (www.fantail.be)
Most development is work in progress but in 2022 and 2023 the first innovations should become more visible for retailers and consumers.
What are the reasons you have decided to join Gondola Society?
Before I became CEO I was responsible for Product & Marketing. This position became available and we recruited Wanda Gordts who was previously working at Colruyt. She was already familiar with Gondola and recommended to have a look at the possibilities.
We decided to join the Society as networking is still a great way to share knowledge, spot market trends or access key decision makers when necessary. I’m already in some other network groups and it is such a good combination of making friends and building your business.
Retail in Belgium is also still responsible for 50% of our turnover so I think it is logic to join the most relevant society in this sector.
What are your expectations for the coming year 2022?
On a company level we should complete most of our digital transformation. I hope our new ERP, CRM and WMS will be operational by the end of 2022. We will also reorganize the company in line with the strategy which will demand some energy as change is always difficult. I’m also excited about some new innovations we can launch in the second part of this year. Entering the German and UK market is on the agenda, although not yet defined if both will be in 2022.
On a macroeconomic level I’m not sure what to expect. Worldwide supply chains are still turbulent and prices are still high. I do forecast that the pet industry will exceed historic growth as we see a large spike in demand for pets combined with an increased spending per household. In our latest survey, 7% of respondents indicate they don’t have a dog but are actively looking for one. That is a huge number. Dogs and cats are not produced in a factory so it will take years to meet increased demand. Waiting lists with breeders are full until 2023 and sometimes already 2024. I think the coming 10 years Petcare will be one of the top performing categories in consumer goods.
Biggest learnings of 2021
I learned so much last year that it’s hard to pinpoint the most important. One thing that comes to mind is the importance of communication. As we are changing our business model and moving faster than before, we need to install more formal communication systems so the “why” is always clear for everyone in the company.
The importance of your network is another that comes to mind. In 2021 I joined a community of 200 Belgian start-ups and scaleups and today we collaborate with 6 of them to help us in our transformation. If we need a solution I know who to call and this speeds up the process significantly.
One that’s maybe more personal: the impact food has on my mental state. I did some experimentation with certain diets and I was surprised how much it affected my sleep, happiness, focus and stress levels. I don’t have it figured out completely yet but I’m already eating much more conscious 😊