Since September 2022, Nicolas Nolf, CEO of Elan Bleu, is the buyer of the historic brand of Petfood, Mastery Nutrition. He answers our questions to find out a little more about the story that connects him to this brand, which is so close to his heart.
How do we end up buying Mastery?
It’s a long story, but in the end, very simple: I’m the Founder of Atavik, which has existed since 2012. Our products are in more than 200 points of sale as well as on our online store for thousands of customers, but I was regularly asked for other types of products. In particular foods that respect the physiological needs of dogs and cats, but on a shorter range. While remaining made in France, because in recent years it has become a super important criterion for masters.
I started by studying the possibility of launching a new brand to respond to it. But In the current market, there are already so many brands ! I also knew from experience that launching and installing a new brand is a very long and uncertain path. And at the same time, I learned that the Zolux group wanted to sell the Mastery brand.
I quickly became interested in the file because it is a brand that is almost 30 years old, which has largely proven itself, and which I have known since 1996.
We discussed at length with the Zolux group to understand the distribution of the brand, the projects in progress, the potential. Above all, I needed to ensure a good match with our team. If I’m the only one who believes in the product, it doesn’t work! I need a brand that joins our family business to convince the people who work there. This was the case with Mastery and we went to the end of the acquisition project in September (2022).
How did you know Mastery originally?
I knew the products during My first participation in dog show in 1996. It was a regional breeding exhibition of the French Rottweiler club, sponsored by what was then called Dog Inter! A very young brand at the time, created around 1993, and whose products immediately struck me with their appearance different from classic kibbles: this is called a ‘multi-component’, in the bag we saw the pieces of dried meat, the aromatic herbs, popcorn grains. The product was very greasy to the touch and its very rich smell was like no other!
I flashed on it and I used Dog Inter for several years, often intermittently during my moves because I could not find it everywhere. The brand was then called Dog’n Cat International, then Mastery. I raised several litters and made a lot of dogs grow with success thanks to Mastery. So when I knew it was for sale, I said to myself ‘Obligated, it’s for you’ !
Are the products the same today as they did at the beginning?
Some things have remained the same, especially the appearance Multi-component : This remains today the distinctive mark of Mastery. It promotes appetite because the animal takes great pleasure in eating the different pieces. It also allows the same product to Suitable for all jaw sizes. We sometimes think that big dogs inevitably need very large kibbles, but you just have to see them enjoying themselves with Mastery to realize that they are not! The size of the dogs in clientele goes as far as the Great Dane, from which we feed whole farms. And for having myself fed the Rottweiler and Bullmastiff mastery, I know it suits them just as well as my two pugs today.
The product is Less greasy to the touch only in its infancy, because the technique of incorporating fats changed several years ago. It is true that it was an aspect at the time that we loved or hated! The current version is suitable for a much larger number of masters, and ensures better product preservation.
What doesn’t change either is French manufacturing ! Mastery is made in Brittany, region in which we already had several suppliers. It is a real land of agriculture and agri-food, moreover most of Mastery’s raw materials come from it. Brittany is full of poultry, pigs and fish. We are very proud to continue the development of the brand based on this.
What are the obstacles for Mastery, during this recovery?
Not really obstacles, but a lot of work! We had to understand at high speed who are Mastery’s customers. Reading a customer file and turnover is easy, but I’m talking about really knowing which stores are reselling Mastery. There are 200 in France, and a very large number have been selling Mastery for a very long time. On the ground I even met a lot of resellers who, like me, had known Dog Inter! I started by doing nearly 4000 km in different regions of France to meet them.
And of course there are challenges ! The brand has a very loyal clientele but often it has not been really put forward for a long time. Over time obviously many brands have settled in stores, which often also have their own brand. The market has nothing to do with what it was 30 years ago.
But everywhere I went I was told about the loyalty of the masters who have been buying Mastery for years, sometimes more than 20 years! In today’s world it is not so frequent and it says a lot about the extreme reliability of the products.
What are the ongoing projects at Mastery?
We want to give back to Mastery Its letters of nobility in store. in the coming months, All Mastery formulas will be improved, and the packaging will take a good facelift ! This is a long work initiated by the Zolux group and which we are doing well.
Another big change is this type of interview : talk about behind the scenes, explain who we are, share our passion with customers. Whether they are stores or masters, by the way! Giving stores the means to talk about us is very important. We are used to doing it with Atavik especially because historically, we have always sold both to stores and to individuals. While Mastery only sells to stores and breeders, which means that the brand is not used to trading with masters.
So we will take more speech directly, to inform the masters, guide them in their choices, tell them who we are and what the products are made of.
We also put the map of France back to the points of sale. We no longer work with the Médor & Company, we have new reseller stores that join us, networks of brands that are expanding… Things are moving and that’s good!