De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda

What De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda does

De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda (legal entity: De Heus Uganda Limited) is a Ugandan animal feed manufacturer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal De Heus, a Dutch family-owned business now in its fourth generation with over 100 years in animal nutrition and 300 years in milling. The company was established in Uganda in 2018, initially through the Koudijs export brand distributing imported livestock concentrates and starter feeds. Its core business has shifted decisively toward aquaculture nutrition — specifically extruded floating complete feeds for tilapia and African catfish — supported by a newly commissioned 50,000 metric ton-per-year state-of-the-art aquafeed factory in Njeru, near Jinja and the Source of the Nile, which was officially commissioned by H.E. President Yoweri Museveni in September 2025 and is positioned to serve the broader East African market.

The product portfolio spans 9 named De Heus tilapia feed SKUs covering the full growth cycle (Fry Powder for 0.01–0.5g fish, through micro-pellets, grower and pre-finisher pellets, finisher pellets, and broodstock feed) plus a species-specific African catfish complete feed range. Underlying technology includes proprietary species-specific nutritional formulations, extruded floating pellet processing for superior water stability and feed conversion, and GMP+ certified quality management with daily intake inspection, interim production checks, and final product testing in dedicated laboratories. R&D is anchored at Royal De Heus's Aquaculture R&D Centre in Vietnam, with collaborative research partnerships with Wageningen University (Netherlands) and the University of Toronto.

Commercially, De Heus Uganda employs a hybrid go-to-market combining direct-to-farmer technical sales representatives (with WhatsApp as a primary engagement channel), two company-owned retail shops (Jinja and Hoima), and a 15-dealer distribution network spanning major Ugandan towns. The company provides hands-on on-farm technical advisory covering nutrition, farm management, animal health, and feeding strategy as a core value-add. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales of manufactured and imported feed products to small-scale fish and livestock farmers across Uganda and, increasingly, East Africa. The Uganda operation is led by Managing Director Bon Tjeenk Willink, with global CEO Gabor Fluit (since January 2025) overseeing Royal De Heus's broader expansion strategy built on prior Asia-market aquaculture experience.

Name

De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda

Legal name

De Heus Uganda Limited

Website

https://deheus.ug

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda is a Ugandan subsidiary of Dutch family-owned Royal De Heus that manufactures extruded floating aquafeeds for tilapia and catfish, operates a newly commissioned 50,000 MT factory near Jinja, and sells through dealers, retail shops, and direct technical sales to smallholder fish farmers across Uganda and East Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture Feed Manufacturing

NAICS

Other Animal Food Manufacturing (311119)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Finfish Feed (Salmonids, Trout, Sea Bass/Bream, Tilapia, Catfish) (AFADADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grower/Finisher Feed (AFADADAG), Livestock Complete Feed Milling & Blending (Cattle/Swine/Poultry) (AFADAIAA)

Keywords

• Animal nutrition feeds
• Aquaculture feed manufacturing
• Tilapia catfish feed
• Livestock concentrates
• Fish feed production

Headquarters

HQ city

Buikwe

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Aqua Feed Sales: Production and sale of complete fish feeds for Tilapia and African catfish across all growth stages. The company operates a state-of-the-art aquafeed factory near Jinja with capacity of 50,000 metric tons annually.
2. Koudijs Brand Concentrates and Starter Feeds: High-quality concentrates and premium starter feeds imported from specialized production locations in Europe and Asia, sold under the Koudijs brand for livestock and aqua farmers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda manufactures and sells species-specific extruded floating aquafeed for tilapia and African catfish, covering all growth stages from fry powder to broodstock pellets, through a 50,000 metric-ton-per-year factory near Jinja. The company also distributes Koudijs-branded livestock concentrates and starter feeds imported from Europe and Asia, and provides on-the-farm technical advisory services directly to farmers in Uganda.

Product overview

De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda operates as an animal feed and aquaculture nutrition company offering a portfolio of tilapia and catfish complete feeds across all growth stages, complemented by the imported Koudijs concentrate and starter feed sub-brand. The portfolio spans 9 named De Heus tilapia feed products ranging from Fry Powder (0.01–0.5 g) through to Broodstock pellets (3 mm), alongside African catfish complete feeds. The company operates a new state-of-the-art aquafeed factory in Njeru near Jinja (capacity ~50,000 MT/year) and provides on-farm technical advisory services tailored to each farm's nutritional and management needs. Koudijs concentrates continue to be imported from Europe and Asia and distributed under their own brand alongside the De Heus aquafeed range.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Koudijs: A well-known and trusted animal feed brand in Uganda, known for concentrates, starter feeds and practical farming advice. Koudijs is the main export brand of Royal De Heus. High quality concentrates and premium starter feeds are imported from specialized production locations in Europe and Asia. The brand continues in the market for livestock categories other than aquafeed.

Products and services

• Tilapia Fry Powder (0.01–0.5 g) Powdered starter feed formulated for tilapia fry weighing 0.01–0.5 g to support optimal growth during the earliest weeks of the fish's life. Sold to fish farmers in Uganda.
• Tilapia Fry Crumble Crumble-sized starter feed formulated for tilapia fry, designed to support the rapid growth characteristic of the fry stage.
• Tilapia Micro-Pellet (0.8 mm) Extruded floating 0.8 mm micro-pellet of small, uniform size with high floating properties, formulated for early tilapia growth stages.
• Tilapia Starter Pellet (1 mm) 1 mm extruded floating micro-pellet containing all nutrients at optimal levels for the starter stage of tilapia.
• Tilapia Grower Pellet (2 mm) Fully floating 2 mm grower pellet formulated for the optimal start in the grow-out unit, supporting continued healthy growth of tilapia.
• Tilapia Grower Pellet (3 mm) Floating 3 mm grower pellet with further optimized nutrient composition to support tilapia growth and maturation through later growth stages.
• Tilapia Pre-Finisher Pellet (4 mm) 4 mm pellet typically used for the longest period during the tilapia growth cycle, supporting the pre-finisher stage.
• Tilapia Finisher Pellet (6 mm) 6 mm finisher pellet with nutrient composition designed to ensure full maturation of tilapia to harvest weight.
• Tilapia Broodstock Pellet (3 mm) 3 mm broodstock pellet with nutrient composition designed to support broodstock in producing large quantities of strong fry.
• Tilapia Complete Feed Species-specific extruded floating complete feed for tilapia covering all growth stages from fry and fingerlings through to broodstock, optimized for high performance, size uniformity, and survival rates.
• African Catfish Complete Feed Species-specific extruded floating complete feed for African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), formulated for carnivorous nutritional requirements at every growth stage with high digestibility; includes starter, grower, and broodstock formulations.
• Koudijs Concentrates and Starter Feeds High-quality concentrates and premium starter feeds imported from specialized production locations in Europe and Asia, distributed in Uganda under the Koudijs brand (the main export brand of Royal De Heus) for livestock and aqua farmers.
• On-the-Farm Technical Advisory Services Hands-on technical advisory service where De Heus specialists work closely with farmers on nutrition, farm management, animal health, and husbandry, tailored to each farm's specific conditions and objectives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Factory capacity of 50,000 metric tons of fish feed annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with the University of Toronto for collaboration on animal nutrition research and knowledge sharing to improve results for farmers.
• Wageningen University (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with Wageningen University in the Netherlands, one of the world's leading agricultural research institutions, for developing nutritional solutions and advancing aquaculture knowledge.
• Royal De Heus (Parent Company)coreOthersDe Heus Uganda is part of Royal De Heus, a Dutch family-owned business active in milling for over 300 years and one of the top ten animal nutrition companies globally. The company leverages De Heus's global expertise, factories, and laboratories.
• KoudijscoreOthersKoudijs is the main export brand of Royal De Heus, operating in Uganda since 2018. Koudijs concentrates and specialty feeds are imported from specialized factories in Europe and Asia. In Uganda, De Heus and Koudijs operate as complementary brands.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Nutreco: Nutreco is the Dutch parent company of Skretting and Trouw Nutrition, operating globally in animal nutrition and aquaculture. As Royal De Heus's closest global competitor in aquafeed, Nutreco's Africa expansion strategy directly informs the competitive context for De Heus Uganda's growth plans.
• Cargill Animal Nutrition: Cargill operates a global animal feed and nutrition business including the legacy EWOS aquafeed platform and broad livestock feeds across Africa. As a broad incumbent with agronomy, financial, and supply-chain scale beyond De Heus's specialized aquafeed niche, it represents the larger competitor across integrated supply chains.
• Land O'Lakes (Purina Animal Nutrition): Land O'Lakes operates a sizable global animal feed business across livestock and aquaculture through its Purina Animal Nutrition arm. As a broad incumbent with deep international reach, it competes indirectly with De Heus Uganda by serving multinational integrators and large-scale aquaculture operations in Africa.

Direct peers

• Skretting: Skretting (part of Nutreco) is the world's largest dedicated aquafeed producer with established operations across multiple African markets including Egypt and Nigeria. It directly competes with De Heus Uganda in extruded tilapia and catfish feeds and serves the same commercial aquaculture customers.
• BioMar: BioMar is a leading global aquafeed manufacturer with operations in Egypt and active expansion across emerging aquaculture markets. It produces extruded feeds for tilapia and other warmwater species and competes with De Heus Uganda for premium aquaculture customers and tender business.
• Aller Aqua: Aller Aqua is a Danish aquafeed manufacturer producing extruded feeds for tilapia and African catfish in multiple African markets including Egypt and Nigeria. It overlaps directly with De Heus Uganda's product portfolio and species focus, and the two compete for the same commercial aquaculture customers in East Africa.

Regional players

• Unga Group: Unga Group is one of East Africa's largest animal feed and nutrition companies with manufacturing operations in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It directly competes with the livestock-feed portion of De Heus Uganda (Koudijs concentrates and complete feeds) and operates in overlapping dealer channels.
• Hakan Yem: Hakan Yem is a Turkish animal feed producer with growing exports and operations across African markets. While primarily serving poultry, ruminant, and aquaculture customers in MENA and Africa, it is a regional peer that competes for distribution channels and feed-quality positioning alongside De Heus Uganda.

Others

• Koudijs Uganda: Koudijs Uganda is a sister brand under Royal De Heus, distributing livestock concentrates, starter feeds, and other feeds in Uganda. It is not a competitor but a co-distributed brand under the same parent; its ongoing presence in the market informs De Heus Uganda's brand-transition decisions for aquafeed products.

Emerging players

• Raanan Fish Feed: Raanan Fish Feed is an Israeli aquafeed specialist focused on warmwater species including tilapia, exporting to African and Asian markets. It is comparable to De Heus Uganda's specialized extruded tilapia and catfish feed portfolio as a niche competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/de-heus-animal-nutrition-uganda

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about De Heus Animal Nutrition Uganda