The story
Founded by Jean Cathary in 1968, in Gallargues-le-Montueux.1
History
Early history
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 that many dogs 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 his garage oven.
The diet successfully alleviated the health issues affecting dogs, so in 1968, Cathary registered the food under 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 then 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 clubs; television advertising was used to promote the product.
Production steadily increased, and in 1970 the company was incorporated as "Royal Canin S. A."; a larger factory was opened in Aimargues, and the company began distributing throughout Europe. Forty staff were employed in the annual production of 5,500 tons of feed. A subsidiary, Royal Canin Iberica, was established in Spain. In March 1972, Dr Cathary sold the company to the Guyomarc'h Group, a much larger, family-run business, founded by Jean Guyomarc’h in 1954, that specialized in livestock feed.
The new ownership allowed the company to continue expanding, especially in the area of research and development. A second factory was inaugurated in 1975 in Cambrai, France.
The period under the ownership of Guyomarc'h saw a marked expansion of the company, particularly in the area of research and development. A dedicated research center was opened in Saint-Nolff, Brittany, in 1973. Over the decade leading up to 1982, additional subsidiaries were established in other European countries. These included Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Germany, and Denmark. Another factory was built in northern France to service sales in northern European countries. From 1982 onwards, Royal Canin diversified its portfolio to include products such as canned food and birdseed and saw its production quadruple to 200,000 tons within ten years.
The Guyomarc'h Group was purchased by the Paribas Affaires Industrielles (PAI) in 1990. Royal Canin recorded a loss in 1993; the following year, the Guyomarc'h Group was divided into four separate businesses, one of which remained as Royal Canin. In 1994, a new CEO was appointed who focused on three pillars: dry food, health through nutrition, and dog-handling expertise. The group wanted to sell Royal Canin, but the company's chairman persuaded the group to list it on the Paris stock exchange instead, and the listing took place in 1997. Forty-three percent of the company was floated on the stock market, which raised the company's valuation to 4.5 billion francs. The additional revenue raised funded the purchase of Crown Pet Foods in 1999 and the James Wellbeloved brand in 2000.
In 1999, the Guyomarc'h site was reorganized, and Royal Canin's activities became independent from the site's other activities.
Recent history
Paribas sold its holding in the company to Mars, Inc. in July 2002 more than 1.5 billion euros. The majority of this payment, almost 93 percent, was for "goodwill". The European Commission agreed to the takeover by Mars only on the condition that Royal Canin sell some assets to Agrolimen, a Spanish company. Royal Canin was delisted from the stock exchange following its acquisition by Mars.
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In 2002, Mars acquired a 40 percent stake in Royal Canin. The economic daily Les Échos described this acquisition as the marriage of a French SME that led the European market with a powerful global distribution network.
In March 2004, Royal Canin acquired the U.S. and Canadian veterinary-grade food brands IVD, Medi-Cal, and Techni-Cal from Del Monte Foods for $82.5 million.
Royal Canin was one of the many brands affected by the 2007 pet food recalls.
As of 30 April 2012, the FDA had reported no subsequent Class I, II, or III recalls by Royal Canin. That same year, Royal Canin established a logistics platform in Verdun, France.
In 2018, Royal Canin celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In 2021, Mars announced that it would invest 46 million euros in France, including 22 million euros for its French and global headquarters in Aimargues, France, where the historic plant, a pilot plant, and an R&D center are located.
Corporate information
Governance
Since July 2022, Cécile Coutens has been the new president. She succeeds Loïc Moutault. She is the first woman at the head of Royal Canin.
List of chief executive officers
1972-1994: René Gillain
1994-2004: Henri Lagarde
2004-2007: Alain Guillemin
2007-2014: Jean-Christophe Flatin
2014-2022: Loïc Moutault
2022–present: Cécile Coutens
Events
Royal Canin organizes events related to pets and the pet industry, such as the Vet Symposium, aimed at veterinarians and veterinary nurses from around the world, and the PRO Experts Forum, aimed at breeders.
In December 2023, Royal Canin launched its international photography competition, the Royal Canin Photography Award (RCPA). The competition aims to celebrate cats and dogs and raise awareness of their uniqueness and diversity through art.
Royal Canin Foundation
The Royal Canin Foundation is a non-profit entity created in 2020. The Foundation was launched to fund projects that demonstrate the beneficial role of companion animals in human health, such as disease detection and support for individuals with autism. In 2021, the foundation notably supported a program for canine-assisted COVID-19 detection and the innovative K-Dog project for early breast cancer screening.
From Wikipedia’s article on Royal Canin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5