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Seafood giant Umios expands premium pet food in Asia

Japanese company Umios has invested in Thailand’s Patay Food Group and partnered with Malaysia’s Pet World International.

Japanese seafood company Umios Corporation is taking a 25.1% stake in Thailand’s Pataya Food Group (PFG).

At a glance:

• Umios Corporation is taking a 25.1% stake in Thailand’s Pataya Food Group.
• Umios, formerly Maruha Nichiro, has also acquired a majority stake in Pet World International.
• The group’s expansion plans target the protein transition and premium pet food.

Established in 1979, Pataya manufactures branded seafood and pet-food products, as well as acting as a business-to-business supplier in Asia.

A statement on the website reads: “Through this capital and business alliance, the Umios Group and PFI will draw on their combined expertise, brands, and sales networks to expand the reach of their processed foods across Thailand and other Asian markets.”

The alliance will also “expand the group’s portfolio of processed foods and other products, as well as its sales channels in Asia”.

The collaboration is aimed at helping PFG capitalise on two major regional shifts: protein consumption and pet humanisation — which is “driving increased demand for premium pet food, according to an October investor update, published by Umios.

Pet food is a priority as premium demand grows

PFG, which has production facilities in Thailand and Vietnam, is known for brands like Nautilus, a seafood range available in Thailand and France, canned seafood brand Seacrown, and snack brands Titan and Mont Shamau.

There are plans now to also scale its pet food brands Regalos and Remy into higher-margin international segments. Umios, formerly Maruha Nichiro, was one of the early entrants into the premium, health-focused pet segment.

Umios boasts more than 145 years of experience across fisheries, aquaculture, food processing and distribution. The business operates across fish, meat and other agricultural products, sourcing from around 70 countries. As well as processed foods, it also has a fine chemicals unit focused on DHA/EPA oils and functional ingredients.

An investor report, published in October, highlighted expansion ambitions across the global pet food market, which is growing at 5-7% CAGR. Umios is targeting pet food operating profit of approximately ¥10 billion (€56 million) and return on invested capital (ROIC) of approximately 18% by the year ending March 2028.

In Japan, the company operates its own brand, AIXIA, while in Thailand, it manufactures and sells premium pet food on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis.

Umios takes majority stake in Pet World International

In June, the Japanese company also announced a strategic joint venture with Pet World International (PWI), the Malaysian pet food company. Umios has invested approximately ¥11.4 billion (€64 million) to acquire a 51% stake in PWI through a newly established holding company.

The joint venture “combines Umios’s strengths in wet pet food with PWI’s dry-food capabilities, creating comprehensive coverage across dogs and cats, wet and dry”.

“PWI brings outstanding brand and manufacturing strength in Malaysia and is the ideal partner to accelerate our pet food strategy across Asia,” said Kimihiro Takaya, managing executive officer at Umios.

PWI sells through more than 10,000 physical stores and its own e-commerce channels, and posted consolidated sales of approximately ¥12.4 billion (€70 million) in the year ended September 2025.

Mordor Intelligence has estimated the pet food market will increase from $208.55 billion (€185.83 billion) in 2025 to $226.31 billion (€201.66 billion) this year, and reach $324.17 billion (€288.86 billion) by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7.46% over 2026-2031. “The pet food market continues to expand as pet owners spend more on nutrition that mirrors choices made for household food, especially in premium, functional, and fresh formats,” the September report reads.

The Asia-Pacific pet food market is expanding, supported by urbanisation, first-generation pet ownership, and capacity investments, noted Mordor.

With “an expanding middle-income population and increasing pet ownership”, the Umios Group has positioned the full-scale expansion into Asia as “a strategic priority, which was behind the decision to acquire the shares of PWI”, said Umios in a statement at the time of the announcement.

Choy Peng Yew, shareholder and CEO of PWI, said: “We have built PWI over many years into one of Malaysia’s leading pet food businesses, and our priority was to find a partner that could help take the company into its next stage of growth while sharing our long-term vision for the business. Umios brings extensive capabilities in pet food, product development and international markets that are highly complementary to PWI’s strengths.”

Umios has allocated around ¥140 billion (€790 million) for its growth investment plan. Of that, approximately 56% is planned for M&A across processing and distribution, primarily in North America, and 18% for “enhancement of the pet food business”.