Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the food industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked innovative ingredients for pet food.
Out of 263, the Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Innovative Ingredients for Pet Food
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 263 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 food startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 258 pet food ingredients solutions, get in touch.
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Hungry Bark offers Salmon-based Mix-Ins
Most pet foods contain essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to maintain animal health while promoting growth. However, these health-focused foods are not favorable to their pallets, causing them to become picky eaters. Some pet owners overcome this by placing supplements or pills inside their pet’s favorite foods which increases their dependence on pharmaceuticals. To mitigate this, startups are creating ingredients such as flavored pre-mixes that supplement the taste of pet foods.
US-based startup Hungry Bark offers a range of premixes for dog food. The startup’s products include chicken, salmon, and beef-flavored protein mix-ins that contain nutrients to promote stronger bones and muscles. In addition to improving the taste of foods, Hungry Bark uses hormone- and antibiotic-free meats to make its mixes and does not have any additives, fillers, or artificial preservatives. The startup’s product allows pet owners to improve the diet and health of underweight, working, and active dogs.
Nutrition Technologies produces Insect-based Oil
While oils in food are viewed negatively, specific types of oils are associated with a range of health benefits. Moreover, the health benefits of oils apply equally well to pets as they do to humans. For this reason and more, startups are utilizing sustainable sources such as insects to produce oils that improve the health of animals and pets.
Singapore-based startup Nutrition Technologies specializes in creating products made from black soldier flies. The startup’s oil, Hi Oil, is extracted from black soldier larvae whose diet consists solely of vegetables. The resulting oils have a high amount of essential medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that boost energy and improve the health of pets and animals. The startup’s sustainable oil products benefit the pet food and the animal feed industries.
Circu’Egg develops Eggshell-based Food Ingredients
Eggshells contain calcium, protein, and minerals including strontium, fluoride, magnesium, and selenium, none of which are currently being effectively utilized by the food industry. Billions of eggs are produced each year and nearly all of their eggshells are discarded, wasting their nutritional value. To reduce this wastage, startups are creating pet food raw materials from eggshells.
Circu’Egg is a French startup that provides solutions for the sustainable recovery and upcycling of eggshells. The startup’s products include an alternative source of calcium which, compared to traditional calcium carbonate, has a lower metal content and an egg membrane powder that contains bioactive molecules. The startup’s shell powder benefits pet owners and the pet food industry as they serve as a good source of calcium low in heavy metals and is sustainable for the environment. The egg membrane powders also promote healthy joints and act as anti-inflammatory agents for pets.
Mymidgard creates Cricket-based Protein for Pet Food
The main driving factor behind sustainable alternative food sources is the limited availability of land for growing crops. Moreover, the available land is split between growing crops for humans, livestock, and pets which further increases the scarcity of land. As a result, startups are developing alternative foods for pets using insects such as crickets due to their high nutritional value.
Canadian startup Mymidgard offers protein-rich pet food products from crickets. The startup’s pet food is made from eco-friendly and nutritious whole ground crickets, fruits, and vegetables. Additionally, the startup’s products are grain-free and contain no additives or preservatives. Mymidgard provides the pet food industry with sustainable protein along with frass for the agricultural industry.
Meridian Biotech provides a Fish Protein Alternative
In the pet food industry, fish is a common protein source with a range of other health benefits due to the presence of omega 3 fatty acids. However, as demand from pet owners for fish-based products increase, this leads to problems such as overfishing and increased toxicity in aquatic environments. To avoid these problems while meeting the rising demand for aquaculture, startups are developing biotechnologies to sustainably create proteins for pets.
Meridian Biotech is a US-based startup that produces alternative proteins. Its proprietary MTech Process uses a range of low- or negative-value organic feedstocks sourced from fermentation industries to create high-value single-cell proteins. The resulting product, DY-Pro, is an inactive dried yeast that finds use as an ingredient in pet foods and has a high percentage level of dry weight crude protein. The startup’s product offers highly nutritional protein ingredients while improving the sustainability of the industry.
Discover more Food Tech Startups
Food startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on alternative protein sources, food supplements as well as insect-based proteins. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the food industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more food technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free FoodTech Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
