IQI appoints Patricia Van Nielandt to Benelux sales role
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IQI Trusted Petfood Ingredients has appointed Patricia Van Nielandt, DVM, as sales manager for the Benelux region, covering the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The company said Van Nielandt joined its European sales team on September 16, 2026, bringing more than a decade of experience across pet food, animal health, product marketing, and sales. Before joining IQI, she served as product manager and team leader for pet food at Virbac, where the company said she helped launch the first medicated pet food for cats. (iqi-petfood.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals and industry partners, the hire adds a veterinarian with commercial and nutrition experience to a supplier-facing role at a time when ingredient companies are increasingly positioning themselves as technical collaborators, not just vendors. IQI, part of OSI Group, has been expanding its commercial footprint in multiple regions, and Van Nielandt’s background could help bridge formulation, health claims, and customer support conversations in the Benelux market. (petworldwide.net)
What to watch: Watch for whether IQI uses this appointment to deepen technical support and ingredient-led innovation efforts in Benelux and adjacent European markets. (iqi-petfood.com)
Version 2
IQI Trusted Petfood Ingredients has named Patricia Van Nielandt, DVM, as sales manager for Benelux, adding a veterinarian with pet nutrition and animal health experience to its European commercial team. The appointment took effect September 16, 2026, with responsibility for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. IQI announced the move this week as part of its ongoing regional sales buildout. (iqi-petfood.com)
The move fits a broader pattern for IQI, an Amersfoort-based pet food ingredients supplier that has been adding regional sales leadership in Europe and North America over the past two years. Company announcements show recent sales appointments in North America, Canada and the US, France, the UK and Ireland, and earlier expansion within Europe, suggesting a sustained push to strengthen customer-facing coverage in key pet food markets. (iqi-petfood.com)
According to IQI, Van Nielandt brings more than 10 years of experience in pet food and pet health, with a background that combines veterinary training and commercial work. The company said she most recently served as product manager and team leader for pet food at Virbac, where she launched the first medicated pet food for cats. Virbac has separately described that product as the world’s first medicated cat food for European professionals and pet parents, tying Van Nielandt’s prior work to a category that blends nutrition and therapeutic care. (iqi-petfood.com)
IQI framed the appointment around technical credibility as much as sales execution. In the company announcement, Sales Director Europe Elsebeth Soendergaard said Van Nielandt is well positioned to help customers find the best ingredients, while Van Nielandt said her experience as a veterinarian shaped her interest in how nutrition affects animal health and quality of life. Those comments suggest IQI wants the Benelux role to support consultative selling, especially as ingredient sourcing, functionality, and substantiation become more important to pet food manufacturers. (iqi-petfood.com)
Industry coverage has largely echoed that positioning. Petworldwide reported that Van Nielandt joined IQI on September 16 and highlighted her experience managing portfolios for both companion and large animals, as well as leading marketing activities. IQI’s LinkedIn post also emphasized her mix of product development, sales, veterinary medicine, and pet well-being, though it described her experience as spanning two decades, a longer timeframe than the “more than a decade” cited in the company’s website announcement. That discrepancy doesn’t change the core news, but it does underline how strongly IQI is marketing her cross-functional background. (petworldwide.net)
Why it matters: For veterinarians, nutrition teams, and pet food professionals, this is a small personnel move with a larger signal. Ingredient suppliers increasingly need people who can translate between science, regulation, formulation, and commercial realities. A sales manager with veterinary training may be better equipped to discuss functional ingredients, clinical positioning, and customer questions around health-oriented product development, especially in Europe’s tightly scrutinized pet nutrition environment. In practical terms, veterinary professionals working with industry partners may see more technically informed conversations coming from the supplier side, particularly in therapeutic or condition-focused nutrition categories. (iqi-petfood.com)
The appointment also matters because Benelux remains an influential cluster for European pet food business, with dense networks in animal health, ingredient sourcing, and cross-border distribution. IQI’s link to OSI Group and its stated access to global production and sourcing infrastructure give the company room to pair regional account management with broader supply-chain reach. That combination could matter as manufacturers balance innovation goals with raw material availability, cost pressure, and demand for differentiated formulations. (petworldwide.net)
What to watch: The next signals will be whether IQI ties Van Nielandt’s appointment to new ingredient programs, technical partnerships, or growth initiatives in therapeutic, functional, or premium pet nutrition across Benelux and wider Europe. (iqi-petfood.com)