Japan-Malaysia Pet Food Joint Venture Targets Wider Asian Manufacturing Growth

Japanese company Umios Corporation and Malaysia’s Wah Kong Corporation have completed a strategic joint venture centred on Pet World International (PWI), highlighting the growing role of cross-border partnerships in Southeast Asia’s food manufacturing sector.

Under the transaction, Umios invested approximately JPY11.4 billion to acquire a 51% interest in PWI through a newly established holding company. PWI is Malaysia’s second-largest pet food player and the country’s leading local company in the sector, according to NielsenIQ. It also operates Malaysia’s only BRC-certified pet food plant.

The partnership combines Umios’s wet pet food capabilities with PWI’s dry-food manufacturing expertise, while integrating sales networks, product portfolios, manufacturing capabilities and R&D resources across the two businesses.

PWI employs approximately 350 people, sells through more than 10,000 physical stores and its own e-commerce channels, and recorded consolidated sales of approximately JPY12.4 billion for the year ended September 2025.

For ASEAN food manufacturers, the transaction illustrates how regional partnerships can combine complementary manufacturing capabilities rather than simply adding production capacity.

Choy Peng Yew, shareholder and CEO of PWI, said: “By combining these capabilities, we believe we can accelerate PWI’s growth beyond Malaysia and build PWI into a leading pet food platform across Asia and beyond.”

The deal also highlights Malaysia’s potential as a manufacturing base for regional food and pet food businesses, particularly where established quality systems, local distribution and export capabilities can be combined with international product development expertise. Manufacturers considering expansion can look at joint ventures, which can provide a route to regional markets while bringing together local market knowledge, manufacturing infrastructure and technology.