Leading Pet Food Exporter Signs Agreement With FountainVest Partners To Support Ambitious Growth Plans

The shareholders of ZIWI, New Zealand’s leading pet food exporter and the global leader of air-dried pet nutrition, have signed a Sale and Purchase agreement with FountainVest Partners, an established private equity fund. This positions ZIWI well for the future and provides strong additional support for the company’s ambitious growth plans.

FountainVest is an investor that focuses on long-term opportunities in industry leading businesses, with a core focus on high growth consumer brands. It partners with management teams to drive future growth, while seeking to have a positive impact in the communities where they operate.

ZIWI Managing Director Richard Lawrence says, the agreement is about delivering sustainable long-term growth, and this can best be achieved with future access to capital and global market intelligence, which FountainVest Partners is able to provide.

“This partnership is about maintaining ZIWI’s high-quality standards and natural New Zealand-sourced approach to pet nutrition, while serving more pet guardians worldwide.

This signing is an important milestone in ZIWI’s bold global growth ambitions, which was envisioned when it launched in 2004.”

“During the course of our discussions it became clear that ZIWI and FountainVest share similar core values of teamwork, integrity and entrepreneurship, which are fundamental to any successful business partnership.”

“It will be business as usual for ZIWI staff. This investment will build on the current team’s successful strategy and plan to meet strong global demand for ZIWI’s product range, with new jobs and exciting career opportunities to be created in New Zealand and internationally over the long term. The management team will continue to lead the business, with executive management reinvesting back into the business.

ZIWI’s customers worldwide value our use of high-quality New Zealand-sourced ingredients, and we remain committed to New Zealand being the home of our production kitchens”, said Mr Lawrence.

The forecasted strong demand for ZIWI’s product range and the business expansion through this investment will also mean even greater use of New Zealand-sourced ingredients. This will lead to improved returns flowing through to ZIWI’s farming and seafood suppliers around the country, with a positive impact on the communities where they operate.

The signed Sale and Purchase agreement is conditional on New Zealand Government approval.

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