Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN) has entered into exclusive discussions with Eurazeo regarding the sale of Ultra Premium Direct (UPD), a French direct-to-consumer pet food company.
Founded in 2013, UPD combines veterinarian-developed products with a direct factory-to-consumer model and has more than 285,000 active customers. The company is also in the process of developing an omnichannel strategy through its own network of stores.
Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, main investor Eurazeo, historical minority shareholder Eutopia and other minority shareholders would sell their entire stake in UPD to IPN, which is backed by CapVest Partners LLP. The finalisation of the transaction remains subject to the conclusion of the information and consultation process with the company’s trade unions, as well as to approval from the competition authorities. It is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Having announced the acquisition of French manufacturer Sopral last month, IPN’s proposed acquisition of UPD will create an international branded pet food platform in Europe with leading brands in both the UK and France. IPN’s UK brands include Harringtons, Butcher’s, Wagg and Barking Heads.
IPN chief executive Arthur van Benthem said: “UPD has delivered impressive growth in both sales and profitability and represents a strong strategic addition to IPN.
“It brings with it a sophisticated, proven e-commerce platform with significant international growth potential, a rapidly expanding mono-brand store network, and another outstanding brand to our portfolio.”
He added: “The business is highly complementary to both IPN and Sopral. By combining UPD’s direct-to-consumer strengths with Sopral’s extensive manufacturing capabilities and IPN’s broader network and customer base, we unlock powerful opportunities to accelerate our ambitious growth plans across Europe. We look forward to working with our expanding team to realise this potential.”
