MEDELLÍN, COLUMBIA — Grupo Nutresa S. A. has agreed to acquire Belina, a Costa Rican animal nutrition company with three business segments: pet food, feed and aquaculture feed. The transaction is valued at $28 million USD.

Grupo Nutresa will acquire all shares of Belina Nutrición Animal, S. A., Belina Importaciones e Innovaciones Dos Mil, S. A., and Industrial Belina Montes de Oro, S. A. 

Belina has been producing, importing and distributing various animal foods in Costa Rica for the last 15 years. Its three business segments earned $34 million in sales in 2020, according to Grupo Nutresa, with pet food accounting for 70% of sales.  

“With this acquisition, we are venturing into the pet food market, a category with significantly positive growth dynamics,” said Carlos Ignacio Gallego, chief executive officer of Grupo Nutresa. “Thus, we are striving to enhance our presence in Costa Rica and Central America initially, with an outlook to expand our reach to the entire strategic region.

“Grupo Nutresa’s sales in Central America amounted to $307 million in 2020, which represents 10.2% of the total sales,” Gallego added. “This acquisition will help us to strengthen this geography and supplement our capabilities with the ones Belina has developed thus far.”

Aside from producing its own brands, Belina also distributes Nutrisource pet food products, a brand manufactured by Tuffy’s Pet Foods in Minnesota.

The animal nutrition company operates a production facility in Puntarenas and a distribution and logistics facility in Alajuela. Belina employs 225 people across the two facilities.

“We are certain that this is the entry to a market with major growth possibilities and considerably solid fundamentals thanks to the increasing presence of pets in people’s homes and the growing expenditure of their owners aiming to ensure their health and wellbeing,” Gallego concluded. “Our intention is to gain significant knowledge about this segment and build new capabilities across our organization.”

Read more global pet food and treat news from outside North America.