Cobb seeks to expand in Africa with a new joint venture with the Irvine Group. The Irvine Group is Cobb’s oldest distributor and has been producing and selling Cobb products in Africa for over 72 years. The joint venture will open a new grandparent (GP) operation in Tanzania that will help supply East Africa with healthy, affordable, and quality broiler breeding stock. This endeavor helps to strengthen an already strong presence in the region as the Cobb brand is readily recognized and has been successfully distributed by Irvine for many years.
“This is the first time that Cobb will invest directly in Africa, and we are excited to commit to the development of a market with extraordinary growth potential,” said Roy Mutimer, Vice President of EMEA & Asia-Pacific, for Cobb. “Irvine’s, a company with more than seventy years of experience doing business in sub-Saharan Africa, will be a great partner for Cobb – it’s a recipe for success.”
The existing challenges of freight cost and HPAI (high-pathogenic avian influenza) bans mean that the current supply from Europe has become less reliable. This new joint venture is projected to help improve market access and reliability of supply. Cobb egg production improvements in existing lines, as well as new genetic lines that are tailored to environments similar to those of Sub-Saharan Africa, will also help build on current success.
“With over 700 million people, Sub-Saharan Africa has a great long-term potential and we are excited for this new partnership and the future of Cobb-East Africa,” said Mutimer.
Cobb will leverage Irvine’s existing market development, local knowledge, and existing parent stock operation in Tanzania. Local production, via Cobb-East Africa, will deliver more competitive costs and reliable Cobb supply.
