China-based pet food producer Gambol Pet Group has raised RMB500m ($70.5m) in a series B round that included Legend Capital, the venture capital firm established by conglomerate Legend Holdings, DealStreetAsia reported today.
Financial services provider Industrial Bank also contributed to the round, which brought the company’s overall funding to more than $127m to date.
Gambol produces dry and wet pet food, as well as treats such as rawhide chews and dental bones that it sells both online and offline in China and internationally. In addition to its home country, it has opened branches in Thailand, Japan, the Netherlands and the US.
The company also supplies pet food to retailers such as Walmart. It will use the series B funding to introduce additional production lines and beef up its research and development hubs and warehouses in addition to facilities that will hold pet competitions.
The latest round following a $56.5m in series A funding from investment firm KKR’s China Growth Fund in February 2017.
Chen Rui, managing director of Legend Capital, was quoted as saying: “As ‘purchasing recreation for pets’ becomes an important consumption habit among young people, China’s pet food market is rapidly growing with the potential to become a hundred-trillion-yuan market in the future.
“The investment will help Gambol to further expand the market, and to take a lead in setting the industry benchmark.”
