Vafo buys into Austria's Pezz check to build pet-health diagnostics arm
What's the deal? VAFO GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Czech pet-food and supplements maker controlled by billionaire Pavel Bouška, has acquired a strategic stake in Austrian startup Pezz checkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which specialises in pet-health diagnostics. The two companies did not disclose the transaction's value.
What's the endgame? Pezz check is meant to push Vafo beyond traditional feed towards prevention and diagnostics. The company will work with Britain's Biome9Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which Vafo acquired via Pooch & MuttDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2025 and which analyses the gut microbiome of dogs from sample data.
How it works: An owner takes a sample of their dog's excrement, sends it to a specialised lab, and the tube is analysed for its gut microbiome. "Thanks to a huge database of samples, we can analyse an animal's profile very quickly and cheaply and detect serious health problems or threats before they actually appear," Bouška said (translated from Czech).
Vafo now runs a lab in Wales, a partner lab in Berlin, and adds the Austrian tie-up. Pezz check and Biome9 will build a joint plan to find scientific, commercial, and operational synergies while continuing to operate separately.
Why now? The aim is "super-premium, targeted nutrition," Bouška told Forbes last year. Vafo is developing the model first in the UK, with thousands of early customers, before expanding to the Czech market and larger brands. "Targeted nutrition can turn the pet-food market completely upside down. But it will take time," he said (translated from Czech).
What's the context? Vafo, whose turnover approached €700 million last year, has been acquiring at pace. It recently took over German brand Pets DeliDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, bought Polish distributor AzanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and a majority stake in PetCo GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → last year, and earlier acquired Finland's Dagsmark PetfoodDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to lead the Nordic market.
The group is among Europe's leading pet-food makers, with nine factories including in Poland, Germany, and the UK. Its products reach more than 90 countries, with annual output of 275,000 tonnes.
The signal: Vafo is betting that data-driven diagnostics — not just granules — will define the next phase of pet nutrition. By stacking labs across Wales, Berlin, and Austria, it is positioning itself as a European first mover in personalised pet health.
Read more: e15.cz
Image credit: NavyMedicine
