United Petfood Adds Second U.S. Factory in Arkansas
The Belgian pet food manufacturer is adding another U.S. production site, deepening a North American expansion that began in Indiana just two years ago.
United Petfood doubles down on U.S. manufacturing
Belgian pet food manufacturer United Petfood is expanding its American manufacturing footprint again, signing an agreement to acquire a dry pet food production facility in Decatur, Arkansas from Wellness Pet Company.
The companies are also entering into a long-term supply agreement as part of the transaction. Once completed, the acquisition will give United Petfood its second manufacturing facility in the United States and its third production site in North America.
The Arkansas deal comes only two years after the Ghent-based company established its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Mishawaka, Indiana. Since then, United Petfood has also entered Canada through a production facility in Drummondville, Quebec.
The result is a rapidly emerging North American production network for a Belgian family business that, until recently, primarily served the U.S. through exports.
From exporting to America to producing in America
United Petfood’s U.S. expansion began in June 2024 when it purchased a production facility in Mishawaka from Wellness Pet Company. At the time, the company described the transaction as a landmark moment because it represented its first manufacturing plant in the United States.
The rationale was straightforward: United Petfood already had significant export activity but wanted to manufacture closer to American customers.
Elodie Fleury, United Petfood’s Vice President Americas, said at the time that local production would allow the company to better serve U.S. customers while creating opportunities for growth and collaboration between its operations on different continents.
That first move now looks less like a standalone acquisition and more like the beginning of a broader North American manufacturing strategy.
Arkansas adds scale and flexibility
The Decatur plant adds another dry pet food production site to the network. Wellness Pet Company had acquired the larger Arkansas facility in 2022 to support its own growth, before agreeing to sell the site to United Petfood four years later.
United Petfood CEO Dries Eeckhout said the facility will provide additional capacity and flexibility as the company responds to customer demand across North America.
For a private-label manufacturer, that local capacity matters. United Petfood produces pet food for other brands and retailers rather than relying on a single consumer brand of its own, making manufacturing flexibility, logistics and proximity to customers central to its business model.
A second U.S. plant also reduces the extent to which future American growth has to be supplied from Europe, while giving the company production capacity in different parts of the country.
A Belgian manufacturer with global scale
United Petfood has grown far beyond its Belgian roots. The family-owned business traces its history to the Dumoulin family’s animal-feed activities in Belgium and has expanded aggressively through acquisitions across Europe.
Today, the company says it operates 31 pet food production sites, employs more than 3,500 people and serves more than 110 export markets. Its products reach an estimated 26 million cats and dogs every day.
Its expansion has accelerated in recent years. In addition to the U.S. and Canada, United Petfood has added production capacity across markets including Germany, Turkey, Denmark, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The company’s acquisition history makes the Arkansas transaction consistent with a model it has already used extensively in Europe: buy local manufacturing capacity, integrate it into a wider production network and use that footprint to grow closer to customers.
North America becomes a production market
What makes the latest transaction particularly relevant is the speed of the shift. In early 2024, United Petfood had no manufacturing plant in the United States. By late 2026, it is building around two U.S. factories and a Canadian facility.
That changes the nature of the company’s American presence. United Petfood is no longer simply a European manufacturer exporting into a large overseas market. It is increasingly becoming a local North American producer backed by a much larger international manufacturing network.
For a Belgian company operating in a major consumer category, the Arkansas acquisition is another example of how scaling in America can evolve from exports into something more permanent: factories, local production and a supply chain built inside the market.