Early history
The company was established in 1968 by the French veterinary surgeon Jean Cathary in 1968.[7] He had a veterinary practice in a village in the Gard region of France and was concerned many people's 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 with 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 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 began distribution throughout Europe. Forty staff were employed in the annual production of five thousand five hundred 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 animal feed business founded by Jean Guyomarc’h in 1954, which specialized in livestock feed.
The new ownership allowed the company to continue expanding, especially in the area of research and development.[8] 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, during 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 the countries of the north of Europe. From 1982 onwards, Royal Canin diversified its portfolio to products such as canned food and bird seed and saw its production quadruple to 200,000 tons in ten years.
The Guyomarc'h group of companies 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 and focused on three pillars: dry food, health through nutrition and dog-handling expertise.[9][10] The group wished to sell Royal Canin but its chairman managed to persuade it to list it on the Paris stock exchange instead, which took place in 1997. Forty–three percent of the company was floated on the stock market and it raised the company's valuation to four and a half billion francs. The additional revenue raised provided the funding to buy Crown Pet Foods in 1999 and the James Wellbeloved brand in 2000.
In 1999, Guyomarc'h site was recognized and Royal Canin's activities became independent from the other activities of this site.[11]
Recent history
Paribas sold its holding in the company to Mars, Incorporated in July 2002 for more than of one and a half billion euros. The majority of this payment, almost ninety–three percent, was for "goodwill". The European Commission only agreed to the takeover by Mars if Royal Canin disposed of some assets to Agrolimen, a Spanish company. Royal Canin was delisted from the stock exchange following its acquisition by Mars.
In 2002, Mars acquired 40% of Royal Canin's stakes.[12][13] The economic daily Les Échos describes this acquisition as the marriage of a French SME, a leader in Europe, and a powerful global distribution network.[14]
In March 2004, Royal Canin acquired the US and Canadian veterinary-grade food brands IVD, Medi–Cal and Techni–Cal from Del Monte Foods for $82.5 million.
The company was one of the many brands affected by the 2007 pet food recalls.
