As South Africans continue to contend with high prices for monthly groceries, fuel as well as the high interest rate in the country, another hidden cost is slowly eating away at their monthly budgets.
According to Montego Pet Nutrition, a company that manufactures food for dogs and cats of all breeds and life stages, pet inflation in South Africa stands at 13.2%.
That is higher than the 10.3% for food, beverages, baby food, and snacks, for the same period.
John Preston, the financial director of Montego Pet Nutrition, shared some insights as to why it is becoming more expensive to own a pet.
Preston told Business Report: “The increase can be attributed to the input of commodities, a large portion of meat proteins, return on equity for fully imported products and materials that are imported, transportation costs of raw materials. Opex in the form of labour is also a significant contribution. Load-shedding costs thereof in diesel too, would affect a manufacturers cost increases.”
Montego Pet Nutrition is one of the largest privately owned pet food manufacturer in Africa and was founded in early 2000. The company has grown since, from offering just one product to now offering nine brands and 180 products.
When asked how the company competes with other premium brands, Preston told Business Report that the company is a firm believer in innovation and quality.
“We are continually improving our approach and expanding our intrinsic range of products. Launching products like Monty and Me Essential (the more affordable range), allows the affordability of customers to purchase a product of this quality. Over the years, our flagship product, Montego Classic Adult, has earned its place in South African homes for its high nutritional content, quality, great flavour, and supreme value. Today, we are proud to be able to cater for every type of pet owner,” he said.
“Our Field + Forest range offers ultra-premium nutrition, and our Karoo range offers a super-premium experience, specifically addressing the needs of this category through products like Karoo Targeted Care. To date, we’ve grown from one single product to nine brands and more than 220 stock-keeping units,” Preston further said.
“While the benefits of our various brands differ, all our products are produced while using the finest ingredients, in carefully calculated proportions and according to our original recipes – then cooked to perfection in our world-class factory,” he explained.
Mitigating load shedding
The company says it managed to stay ahead of the rolling blackouts imposed on South Africans by the ailing state-owned power utility, Eskom.
Preston said: “Montego was ahead of the power cuts, and we were able to continue production and keep our stock on shelves for our own brands and private label brands we manufacture for. Yes, this did come at a cost to have diesel back-up generators; however, the strategy for the medium term is to expand our current solar energy to reduce the overall use of diesel.”
Putting Africa on the map
The company has high hopes for the future and hopes to be noticed on the international pet food scene.
Preston said: “We’re anticipating good growth in the retail space and making Africa known as a prominent pet food/pet food manufacturing continent is one of the key elements in our strategy. We are growing our current export exposure.”
BUSINESS REPORT