Transavia, Romania’s leading poultry producer and one of the country’s most reputable family-owned businesses with 100% Romanian capital, is expanding its business model by adding a new line of activity: pet food production.
The record investment, worth 763 million lei (150 million euros), will be fully financed from the company’s own funds, through reinvested profits. It represents the largest entrepreneurial initiative of its kind in the region.
With a built area of 65,000 square meters, the new factory will have the capacity to produce enough food to feed more than 11 million dogs and cats each year, offering a wide range of dry and wet food products.
Located in Ciugud, Alba County, in a strategic area near the A10 highway (Sebeș–Turda), the facility will become the largest pet food production unit in Romania and one of the largest and most modern in Europe. Equipment installation is set to begin early next year, and after testing and process calibration, production is expected to start in the second half of 2026.
“We are starting an important strategic stage that will allow us to continue our mission of doing things the right way and offering safe, high-quality products. For us, expanding into pet food is not a change of direction but a natural continuation of our way of doing things — correctly, responsibly, and with care for everything around us,” said Ioan Popa, President and Founder of Transavia. “We have always chosen not to waste anything and to turn resources into value. We’re now doing the same thing by offering high-quality products for the four-legged members of families. This new link in our 100% integrated business model allows us to ensure that all parts of the chicken are used efficiently, avoiding waste and reducing food loss. The chicken parts that are not preferred by consumers or not intended for human consumption — but are perfectly suitable and nutritious for pet food — along with other carefully selected ingredients, will be processed to create high-quality, nutritious, and safe food for dogs and cats.”
“This expansion is not just an ‘investment in a factory’; it’s an investment in the sustainable future of an economy that can and must create value at the highest level. We expect this new large-scale TRANSAVIA project to generate lasting prosperity within local communities, acting as a catalyst for economic and social development — by stimulating local businesses, strengthening networks of partners and suppliers, and creating new jobs. At the company level, in the medium term — within 2 to 3 years after sales begin — we aim to increase our EBITA from over 100 million euros today to approximately 250 million euros, with a significant contribution from the new division,” added Ioan Popa, President and Founder of Transavia.