Dagsmark Petfood is planning to list. I’m opening a forum thread, company page, and press release integration for this
Dagsmark Petfood is a domestic, responsible pet food brand founded in 2016, producing high-quality dog and cat food and treats. Responsibility is strongly reflected in Dagsmark’s products and production methods, and the products are manufactured in Finland from domestic and high-quality raw materials. Dagsmark’s revenue in 2021 was 7.6 million euros, and the company employs 22 people.
This is great, and I’ll definitely be following it.
The pet food market is a huge business, which until now has lacked a player with this profile.
There has been talk and encouragement for domestic and healthy food for a long time, and this will inevitably, albeit with a delay, also shift to pet food.
I can’t speak for dog food, but as a cat owner, I have been trying for years to find domestic (and from domestic ingredients), affordable, and above all healthy, completely grain-free wet food for my cats.
It has been difficult. Now you can get it from Prisma
This is indeed an interesting company. The growth has been so rapid that the valuation will likely be high (probably too high for my taste). The question is how much the company’s growth has been due to the favorable pet boom, which is now showing signs of slowing down after the pandemic. The market is certainly large, so in that sense, the company should still have a foothold to gain.
Another critical question is the decline in consumer purchasing power, which could be detrimental to the company’s growth. Will consumers still be willing to switch to Dagsmark’s premium products instead of regular pet food even during an economic downturn? Some might even switch back from Dagsmark to bulk food.
I’ll be waiting for more information with interest. I’m quite interested in this case if the valuation happens to be reasonable by some miracle.
I don’t know anything about the valuation or the stock, but in a Lynch-ian way, I can say my spouse got excited about this listing. She buys our dog’s food. Maybe one could join in simply out of support and hope that a larger player, like Musti, eventually buys this out.
The company is interesting, indeed. My own experiences with their products have been positive; my rather picky cat always eats Dagsmark and licks the bowl clean.
It would be great to get a deeper analysis of this.
Generally, I’d gladly buy Finnish food and treats for my dog. I got excited about this and bought it as soon as it was available, but we had to go back to the old kibble when the amount of poop seemed to double, and it felt bad to watch a small dog pushing out a cake almost its own size. My dog-owner friends, who would also primarily like to support Finnish products, had similar experiences. We’ve tried a couple of different flavors with the same result. They still seemed to taste good to the dog, though. I don’t know much about the quality. It was a shame, however, that we couldn’t remain customers.
This potential listing, however, made me realize that they also have new products that I hadn’t thought to look for. It’s possible I’ll become a customer yet. We’ll see about ownership after that.
I haven’t tried this with my own dog yet, but at least a few dog breeders who are more familiar with these things have said that this is clearly one of the best “supermarket foods.”
So, one would imagine the product is fine; I’ll be interested to see how things progress.
Isn’t it essentially a good thing that your gut has started working? I do understand the problem though.
For our dog with allergies, this is a very pure and effective product, without too many unnecessary additives.
From an investment perspective, it will be interesting to see what kind of margins the company generates, and based on that (and valuation), I’ll need to consider potential interest more closely.
From my experience with both my own dog and those in my immediate circle, I can say that once you find a food that works for a dog and doesn’t cause allergies or stomach upset, you don’t easily change it. I don’t know if others have many dogs that can eat any food, but at least I have a lot of experience with dogs that need to have one specific food, or at most a few alternatives, otherwise their stomach gets upset. If Dagsmark’s products work better for many dogs than others, this could be at least part of the company’s competitive advantage.
Of course, if you limit the price comparison to only domestic operators, Dagsmark is not outrageously expensive. However, to avoid giving the forum a wrong impression of the price level, Dagsmark’s price per kilo is about 3-4 times higher compared to other grain-free, non-domestic brands.
We have a couple of stray cats, and Dagsmark is very well received by them, but we can only afford to buy it occasionally. For two cats, the difference is about two euros versus six euros per day, and this is only the wet food portion of pet costs.
Takeaway: I feel that Dagsmark appeals mainly to the same consumer base as new Teslas or larger motorboats, so this should be taken into account when assessing market potential. Furthermore, such products are easily replaced by cheaper alternatives during a recession/depression.
Another thing that’s good to keep in mind is that Dagsmark is still considerably more affordable than, for example, most of Musti ja Mirri’s (Musti ja Mirri) selection, which means that with the recession, many of these customers might switch to Dagsmark’s foods. The cost practically halves, but the quality is still at a good level.
As the founder and CEO of Dagsmark Petfood Oy, I’m joining the discussion! It’s great to hear that many of you are already familiar with our products and that domestic origin is valued in pet food as well.
The pet food market is growing steadily; the coronavirus pandemic, of course, caused a small spike, especially in dog acquisitions. Domestic origin and traceability have become important factors when choosing pet food. According to our latest research, people also value the ease of purchase when it comes to pet food. This is reflected in the fact that grocery stores are increasingly seen as a more desirable place to buy pet food. In our industry too, there are cost pressures, and shelf prices are expected to rise during the rest of the year. However, in our main channel, grocery stores, prices are average or below compared to the entire market, while pet foods in specialty stores are, of course, significantly more expensive.
I’m happy to answer your questions about Dagsmark! We will get back to the listing matter once the preliminary work is completed.
I don’t know much about the quality. It was a shame, however, that we couldn’t remain customers.
I do understand the problem though.