Cat food owner hands North America to its marketing chief

If you sit on the board of a private equity-backed cat food company, the person you put in charge of your biggest market tells everyone what you think wins there. One UK premium cat food group just promoted its global marketing chief to run North America. We read that as a bet that brand, more than distribution or cost, is what moves share in the US.

The US now carries more than 40% of the business

MPM Products, the owner of Applaws, Reveal and Encore, announced on October 2nd, 2026 that Samantha Greenwood is president of its North America business, which covers the US and Canada. She was promoted into the US-based role in July after more than four years as MPM's global chief marketing officer, according to the company.

Before joining MPM in 2022, Greenwood worked at Mondelēz International and Kraft Heinz across categories including premium coffee and chocolate, and was based in the New Jersey area for eight years. The release credits her with more than 25 years of experience developing international brands.

CEO Julian Bambridge said her "deep understanding of our consumers, strong connection to our brands, and proven ability to translate insight into commercial success make her uniquely qualified to lead our U.S. business."

The US accounts for more than 40% of MPM revenue, a company-reported figure. MPM says it made a significant shift to the US in 2021, building a national team and selling through Chewy, Amazon, PetSmart and specialty retailers. In an interview the release cites from trade publication Business Chief, Greenwood pointed to senior cats and the Applaws "Healthy Ageing" platform. The release adds that she is focused on Gen Z owners, who it says are disproportionately choosing cats over dogs.

MPM put out a separate release the same day on its B Corp recertification under B Lab's new standards.

A marketer in the top US job fits what the buyer said it bought

The appointment makes more sense read against the ownership change. 3i agreed in June 2025 to sell MPM to Partners Group for expected gross proceeds of about £400M and a 3.2x money multiple, after first investing in December 2020. 3i's half-year results confirm the sale completed in the six months to September 30th, 2025. Over 3i's ownership, MPM's sales and EBITDA more than doubled, and 3i said international sales, meaning the US, EMEA and APAC together, made up about 80% of revenue at the time of the deal.

Those two revenue figures sit on different bases. The 80% is 3i's June 2025 measure of everything outside the UK. The 40% is MPM's current measure of the US alone, with no period given.

Partners Group's own announcement framed the thesis around cats specifically. Thomas Clark, its managing director for private equity goods and products, said premium cat food "has historically been underserved by incumbent producers that are primarily 'dog focused'." The firm said it would work with management to accelerate MPM's growth, with a plan to expand sales in its largest markets, build operations in new markets and strengthen supply chain resilience.

Our interpretation is that a growth plan built on that premise needs someone whose job has been telling cat owners why a brand is different. Promoting the CMO, rather than recruiting a supply chain or turnaround executive, is consistent with that. The release does not say who ran North America before Greenwood or whether other US roles will change.

Premium cat food has to win share in a slow-growing aisle

The category math is less forgiving than the industry headline. The American Pet Products Association projects US pet food and treats sales of $69.7B in 2026, up from $68.3B in 2025 actual sales, inside a total industry projected at $165B (a trade association estimate, retrieved October 5th, 2026). By our math, that puts expected food and treats growth, across dogs and cats, at about 2%, the slowest of APPA's four spending segments. Supplies, vet care and other services are each projected to grow about 3% to 4%.

In a category growing that slowly, a premium brand gains most of its ground by taking it from someone else. In our view, Greenwood's two named targets are where that fight is most open. APPA data we covered in September shows Gen Z now accounts for 22% of cat owners, and that cohort mixes value staples with targeted premium purchases.

The clock is the other variable. Bain & Company's 2026 global private equity report found buyout holding periods at exit now hover around seven years, up from an average of five to six years in 2010 to 2021. 3i held MPM for less than five. Partners Group has owned it for about a year, so the US push has runway, but its first proof points land early in the hold.

We could be wrong, but the useful test is whether MPM's US business grows meaningfully faster than that 2% food and treats line over the next two years. Keeping pace would make this a title change.

Beating it would make the case for the marketer.

Source: MPM Products via PR Newswire