VAFO expands into diagnostics as Sam’s Field enters UK, Ireland
Bottom line
VAFO Group is pushing further beyond traditional pet food with two moves announced in late September 2026: a minority investment in Austrian pet health diagnostics company Pezz life, and the UK and Ireland launch of its Sam’s Field brand through exclusive distributor BSB Products. VAFO said the Pezz life deal will support scientific and commercial cooperation with Biome9, the gut health testing business it brought into the group through Pooch & Mutt, while both companies continue to operate independently. GlobalPETS reported that Pezz life’s platform covers a broader range of health markers than Biome9, extending VAFO’s reach across nutrition, prevention, and diagnostics. (vafo.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the bigger story is the continued convergence of diagnostics and nutrition. VAFO is building a portfolio that links microbiome and other preventive testing with tailored feeding and supplement strategies, a model that could shape how pet parents encounter early health screening and diet recommendations before or alongside veterinary visits. Sam’s Field’s expansion is a commercial move, but the Pezz life investment signals a stronger push into data-informed preventive care, an area where vets may see more consumer questions, more at-home test results, and more nutrition-linked health claims. (vafo.com)
What to watch: Watch for how VAFO integrates Pezz life and Biome9 scientifically, whether veterinary channels become a bigger part of the strategy, and how Sam’s Field performs in the UK and Ireland rollout. (vafo.com)
VAFO Group is widening its health and nutrition footprint with a minority investment in Austrian diagnostics company Pezz life and the launch of Sam’s Field in the UK and Ireland, moves that show the Czech manufacturer is building not just a broader geographic presence, but a more vertically connected pet health platform. The announcement, reported September 28, 2026, ties together premium nutrition, preventive diagnostics, and direct-to-consumer expansion. (globalpetindustry.com)
The Pezz life investment didn’t come out of nowhere. VAFO has been moving steadily toward science-backed, personalized pet care for several years. It took full ownership of UK brand Pooch & Mutt by 2023, and Pooch & Mutt then acquired Biome9 in February 2025 to add gut microbiome testing and personalized nutritional support. By late 2025, Pooch & Mutt had also expanded BIOME9’s lab operations at AberInnovation in Wales, underscoring that VAFO’s diagnostics ambitions include in-house scientific infrastructure, not just brand extension. (petworldwide.net)
According to VAFO’s September 16 press release, the Pezz life deal creates the basis for scientific and commercial cooperation between Pezz life and Biome9, with a joint roadmap planned to explore commercial, scientific, and operational synergies while the businesses remain independent. Financial terms were not disclosed. GlobalPETS added that Pezz life’s technology spans a broader set of health markers than Biome9’s at-home gut microbiome focus, suggesting VAFO is extending from microbiome-led nutrition into a wider preventive testing menu. Third-party profiles of Pezz life describe offerings including urinalysis, parasite PCR screening, and dermatological diagnostics, though VAFO itself has framed the partnership more broadly around preventive pet health. (vafo.com)
On the commercial side, Sam’s Field has now launched in the UK and Ireland through an exclusive partnership with BSB Products, which already distributes VAFO’s Carnilove brand in those markets. That gives VAFO a ready-made route to market as it broadens its premium nutrition lineup in the British Isles. In parallel, VAFO has been publicly describing a strategy that connects testing insights with nutrition decisions, including microbiome-informed food and supplement recommendations through Pooch & Mutt and BIOME9. (globalpetindustry.com)
Company statements make that strategy explicit. Pezz life founder and CEO Markus Zengerer said the company sees “significant potential” in combining expertise across nutrition, prevention, and diagnostics. Bushra Abu-Helil, head of science and research at Biome9, said Pezz life’s capabilities could help give pet parents and vets “clearer, earlier insight” into pets’ health. VAFO board member and head of commercial Timo Pärssinen said the group’s ambition is to move beyond nutrition and play a broader role in pet wellbeing. Those comments are promotional, but they align closely with the direction VAFO has been taking through Pooch & Mutt and BIOME9. (vafo.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is another sign that consumer pet health companies are trying to knit together diagnostics, supplements, and diet into a single preventive-care proposition. That could create useful early screening touchpoints, but it also raises familiar questions about interpretation, clinical validation, and where veterinary oversight fits when pet parents arrive with at-home test data in hand. If companies like VAFO succeed in normalizing diagnostics-linked nutrition, clinics may need clearer protocols for discussing microbiome reports, urine screening results, or other consumer-facing tests that sit in the gray zone between wellness monitoring and medical decision-making. (vafo.com)
The move also reflects a broader competitive shift in pet care, where manufacturers are looking for growth beyond core food categories. For VAFO, adding Pezz life strengthens a diagnostics pillar that complements its established nutrition brands, while Sam’s Field’s UK and Ireland debut broadens shelf presence in mature, premium-oriented markets. The likely bet is that better data can support more targeted feeding, stronger brand loyalty, and a larger role in everyday health management. That’s partly inference, but it’s well supported by VAFO’s own framing of the investment and its earlier emphasis on microbiome-led nutrition. (vafo.com)
What to watch: The next milestones will be whether VAFO and Pezz life announce specific joint products or veterinary-facing services, how much of this diagnostics strategy stays direct to consumer versus moving into clinic partnerships, and whether Sam’s Field gains enough traction in the UK and Ireland to justify further brand expansion there. (vafo.com)