*** Welcome to piglix ***

Royal Canin

Royal Canin
Subsidiary
Industry Pet food
Founded 1968; 49 years ago (1968)
Gard, France
Headquarters Aimargues, Gard, France
Area served
Worldwide
Products Dog food and cat food
Owner Mars
Website www.royalcanin-world.com

Royal Canin manufactures and supplies dog and cat feed worldwide. The company also undertakes research into the formulation and testing of breed and symptom specific nutritional requirements of dogs and cats.

It was established by a French veterinary surgeon after he successfully treated a number of skin and coat conditions in pets by feeding them a cereal-based diet he prepared in his garage. After importing an extruder from the US, the company was the first to manufacture dry pet food in France. Aimed primarily at breeders, production steadily increased and distribution extended further into the European market. Sold to the Guyomarc'h Group in 1972, it underwent a further period of expansion, especially in the area of research and development, before being purchased by the Paribas Bank in 1990. The company was floated on the French stock exchange but removed later after it was sold to Mars, Incorporated.

The company was established by the French veterinary surgeon Jean Cathary in 1968. He had a veterinary practice in a village in the Gard region of France and was concerned many people’s pets were being presented with a variety of health problems, especially skin and coat conditions. Convinced the cause was dietary, Cathary devised a cereal–based recipe, which he prepared in an oven in his garage.

The diet successfully alleviated the problems pets were presented with, so in 1968, Cathary registered the food with the trademark “Royal Canin”. He closed his veterinary practice to concentrate on manufacturing and distributing the feed. An extruder was imported from the U.S. and Royal Canin became the first manufacturer of dry pet food in France and the first European company to use an extruder. The target market was primarily breeders and German Shepherd associations; television advertising was used to promote the product, something which was not being undertaken by competitors.

Production steadily increased and in 1970, the company was incorporated as "Royal Canin S. A."; a larger factory was opened in Aimargues and began distribution throughout Europe. Forty staff were employed in the annual production of five–thousand five hundred tons of feed. A subsidiary, Royal Canin Iberica, was established in Spain. However, Cathary sold the company to the Guyomarc'h Group in March 1972. Guyomarc'h was a much larger, family run, animal feed business founded by Jean Guyomarc’h in 1954, which specialised in livestock feed.


...
Wikipedia

...