Nestlé Purina’s CHF 520 million investment in Mantova signals growth shift in European pet food market

Nestlé Purina plans to spend CHF 520 million on a new integrated pet food complex in Mantova, Italy, aiming to boost production, logistics, and sustainability as wet food sales soar across Europe.

Nestlé Purina will invest CHF 520 million in a new integrated pet food complex in Mantova, northern Italy, as the Swiss group bets on continued growth in wet food for cats and dogs.

According to Nestlé, the site is due to begin operations in 2029 and will combine manufacturing with a logistics platform serving Purina and other Nestlé brands. The company said the project is intended to improve delivery efficiency, reduce transport emissions and strengthen supply chain resilience.

Petcare now represents 29% of Nestlé sales in Zone Europe, underscoring the category’s strategic importance. Nestlé Purina Europe chief executive Rafael Lopez said the investment signals the group’s ambition in a segment benefiting from consumers increasingly treating animals as family members.

The Mantova plant will add to Purina’s European footprint, taking the total number of production sites in the region to 15. Wet cat food has been a particular growth engine, with European sales in that segment rising 8% in 2025, according to the company.

Nestlé said the facility will incorporate measures to save water, recover energy and lower logistics traffic. The announcement follows a separate CHF 370 million wet pet food investment in Brazil earlier this year, while the wider group is also reshaping its industrial base elsewhere, including plans to close its Diósgyőr chocolate factory in Hungary.