Vetagro Undergoes Rebranding and Reorganisation - INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

Since 1982, Vetagro has been focused on developing feed additive solutions for poultry, swine and ruminants in the Italian food-valley. They have expanded their global reach through extensive scientific research, internal technological advances, innovative formulation and an emphasis on quality. To continue their growth, Vetagro has undergone an elaborate rebranding to more accurately showcase their evolution. 

To talk through Vetagro’s rebranding, Feedinfo Industry Perspectives sat down with Andrea Piva, President of Vetagro and Ester Grilli, VP Nutrition & Health. They dove into the strategic plan behind this rebrand, the history behind the company’s new look, how this rebrand reaches other aspects of the organisation, and how they are planning on continued growth in the future.

[Feedinfo] What is the strategy behind Vetagro’s rebranding efforts and why is now the perfect time? 

[Andrea Piva] The idea for our rebrand came after a significant milestone for the organisation. Vetagro celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022 and as we have grown, we felt we needed a makeover. We wanted to modernise our logo to reflect the advanced, cutting-edge technology at the core of our products. The main goal was to keep a connection to our past, which made us who we are now, without forgetting our important growth steps toward a global market with ever- changing needs. At the same time, we wanted to maintain a link to our territory, which is clearly acknowledged by the Italian flag showcased in the rebrand. We are at the centre of the Italian food culture and know-how. This is our heritage, and we are proud to export it all around the world.

[Feedinfo] Can you expand on the department makeover you are alluding to? What changes are being made on that end other than just an extensive hiring programme? 

[Ester Grilli] In this super-fast evolving market, we are witnessing rapid changes and trends that need to be constantly monitored and forecasted if we want to be able to meet our customers priorities. Our awareness of this is the basis of the evolution of the company. We strongly believe that true innovation requires the anticipation of market needs. This is why our marketing and R&D groups in Vetagro have now been merged into a unique department that provides the talent and expertise for the analysis of market trends, insights, communication, events, R&D and technical services. This Marketing and Innovation department will see continued investment and growth because we believe it will be at the core of our future development. At the same time, our innovation needs to be brought to the customer’s table and this requires a bridge to our sales force. With our growth and organisational changes, we are proud to announce the Dr. Chad H. Stahl has joined Vetagro as Global Head of Sales and Strategy. We have known Dr. Stahl for a long time now and have always had great esteem of his work as researcher and member of academia. He will be leading and coordinating our sales team across the world and will provide new perspective on strategic developments. We are very excited to have him on board.

[Feedinfo] Vetagro has been a player in the animal nutrition industry since the 80s. Was there any reluctance to remake the company's brand because of this long history? 

[Ester Grilli] Initially, yes, we had to consider our history when undergoing this process. Our company has always had high brand recognition among our customers. Therefore, we had to think through it and find a way to do a rebranding without losing our connection to our past and our roots. After a lot of hard work from our team, we are pleased with the final result. The new logo is a careful and thoughtful reflection of Vetagro's business essence: clean, transparent, and innovative.

[Feedinfo] Tell us a little bit about how Vetagro has grown in the past few years. 

[Andrea Piva] Vetagro began as a start-up in the 80s. Over the years, we have been ahead of the curve regarding different technologies and processes used throughout the industry. We were pioneers in implementing rumen by-pass and microencapsulation technologies in feed additives, as well as anticipating the reduction of growth promoters in animal agriculture.

Thanks to our vision, we developed a rigorous scientific approach that allowed us to bring to market novel solutions before everyone else. However, it wasn’t until the early 2010s, when we built a new plant, that we leaped to directly approach extra European markets. This allowed us to consistently increase our growth to where we are now. Just to give you a few numbers, we were less than 15 employees in 2015 and now we are more than 90 people worldwide with more growth to come.

[Feedinfo] What is your growth strategy moving forward? How can you continue to push the envelope at Vetagro? 

[Andrea Piva] Innovation and transparency, as we have already seen, are at the basis of Vetagro's values. Transparency for us means wanting to open our doors to our customers and for them to see the work behind our products. Our growth strategy is driven by the market and customers' needs, while also managing to create specific marketing projects. We are now launching the Avipower® line which is a new range of botanical-based products for poultry and pigs, specifically conceived to help veterinarians and nutritionists face the health challenges related to antibiotic resistance, reduced usage of ZnO, clostridia and coccidia.

We are continuing to grow in an organic way by leveraging on our strengths: science, young talents, worldwide presence, and a fast-decision-making process. We will push the boundaries of our microencapsulation technology to expand the applications of our products across all market segments. We look forward to the future with these new adventures ahead of us.

Published in association with Vetagro