2022-02-28

VetFamily celebrate 20 years, and continue to grow

This January, VetFamily celebrated its 20th birthday and can look back on a fantastic journey. It began with a collaboration among a few independent vet clinics in Denmark. Today, there are close to 200 member clinics in Denmark and over 3000 worldwide.

It all began with six veterinarians 20 years ago. On January 17, 2002, VetFamily was officially established and the group quickly grew to include 13 clinics who saw the benefits of working together on purchasing and marketing. Since then, over 3000 clinics have seen the same benefits.

Thomas Larsen was one of the founding members. Today he is the manager of AniCura Dyrehospitalet City Syd and Dyreklinikken Nørresundby, and he was a key part of VetFamily for many years. He is convinced that VetFamily was the foundation for the success of his business, which he sold in 2018. VetFamily developed his understanding of running a business while allowing him to focus on being a veterinarian.

"I benefited greatly from various courses in sales, marketing and running a business, among other things. That knowledge has been the foundation for the development my business has gone through," he says.

Thomas' private home served as a storage facility for VetFamily for the first 10 years, and he was part of the board for the first 15 years.

"When we started working together in 2002, my family and I moved at the same time. We could fit everything that had to do with VetFamily in two moving boxes. 10 years later, there were pallets upon pallets of material, and that's a good visualization of the development VetFamily has undergone. Today VetFamily is essentially the same as then, but on a completely different scale and with a lot more muscle behind it," says Thomas.

VetFamily's Country Manager in Denmark Annette Bernth has been part of that development for the past 10 years. What began around a small meeting table is today a publicly traded company, but the basic principles and values remain unchanged.

"Of course, today we provide more services than back then and everything is more sophisticated, but the basic idea is the same – the veterinarians get the help that is relevant for their needs and ambitions. VetFamily is a service organization designed to make being a vet easy. It always has been, and it always will be," says Annette.

Lars Ingemann is still close to VetFamily, as VetFamily’s Danish office is located in the premises of his Højbjerg Veterinary Clinic.

Need for external input

One of the veterinarians and board members who helped recruit Annette was Tune Aas Mortensen from Overgadens Dyreklinik in Odense. Tune was also one of the founding members. According to him, the hiring of a professional director was absolutely necessary at the time - a decision that has been fundamental to the rapid development VetFamily has undergone over the past 10 years.

"At the time we were only veterinarians and, for various reasons, we were finding it difficult to really develop VetFamily and attract more clinics and hospitals. Therefore, we decided that it was time for us vets to step back a bit in the management and instead hire a professional director. Since then, the development has gone really fast," he says.

Also involved in this decision-making process was veterinarian Lars Ingemann from Højbjerg Dyreklinik. As a founding member of VetFamily and with the organization’s office located at the clinic in the outskirts of Aarhus, he has a closer relationship with VetFamily than most. He recalls the mixed emotions that followed the appointment of a managing director and an investment from a private equity fund.

"It was a big change to go from being owned by vets to suddenly getting external capital and hiring a professional director. It was a process we had to get used to. It was undoubtedly the right decision, because we had neither the training nor the skills to grow VetFamily," says Lars, whose clinic still benefits greatly from all the offerings VetFamily has to offer.

Thomas Larsen's private home served as VetFamily's warehouse for the first 10 years.

A very large family

Today VetFamily is a much bigger family than when the organization was founded back in 2002. Today, almost 200 clinics in Denmark benefit from the services and opportunities offered by VetFamily.

"When we are such big family as we are today, of course it can be difficult to maintain the close relationship and community of a family, but this is a value we still focus on and really try to maintain. One way we do this is through two annual meetings for all member clinics," says Annette.

These meetings are always attended by Overgaden Veterinary Clinic and Højbjerg Veterinary Clinic, among others. Even though VetFamily is now so large that it is no longer possible to know everyone, the meetings still help to create a community and put a face to many of the colleagues. In both clinics, VetFamily is still very important in everyday life.

"Our membership of VetFamily makes many things much easier in everyday life. From purchasing to marketing and the daily operations of the clinic, not to mention running and updating our website and VetPlan, which is part of the DNA of VetFamily," says Lars.

At Overgadens Dyreklinik, VetPlan is also one of the many services that is used a lot, while courses on strategy and business development have been very useful in the past.

"Of course, we take advantage of the financial benefits of being part of VetFamily, and we make sure to grab all the opportunities and offers that come our way," says Tune.

Tune Aas Mortensen was among others instrumental in hiring Annette Bernth as director.

VetFamily has kept up with developments in the industry

Another clinic that has benefited from VetFamily's many services over the years is Silkeborg Dyrehospital.

"We take advantage of a wide range of VetFamily services, from the preventive health platform VetPlan to help with strategy and business development, as well as the sale of pet nutrition and care products. Our membership helps make everyday life much easier," says veterinarian Vibeke Relund, who for a number of years was chairman of VetFamily.

Vibeke has seen first-hand how both the industry and VetFamily have developed over the years.

"In the beginning, it was mainly purchasing and training of staff in focus, but that is no longer the case. Nowadays, the focus is on strategy and business development, and the staff training today is focused on leadership and business development," she says.

VetFamily have a focus on keeping up with developments in the veterinary industry in order to offer the relevant services in demand.

"Both the industry and VetFamily have developed significantly over the 20 years we have been in business. It has always been part of VetFamily's DNA that we should match the needs and wishes of the member community, and it is also in this light that our latest service with financing support to, and co-ownership of, clinics should be seen. We always focus on our original values and concept when developing new services," says Annette.

During her 10 years at the helm of the fast-growing service organization, she has benefited greatly from the trust and support she has received from the clinics. It is also the foundation for the positive view she has of VetFamily's future in both Denmark and globally.

"Everything suggests that growth will continue in Denmark, where I am sure there are still many clinics and hospitals we can help. The same is true abroad, where I see us expanding to even more countries," says Annette.