New demands for the pet food market: what alternatives do we have?

The industry is analyzing alternatives, which include that some existing ingredients, which have been used in a particular way until now, can play new roles in pet food recipes.

Let's understand the context

Supported by the human trends of consuming organic food, reducing meat consumption, and reviewing the production chain and the environmental impact of each food people consume, the pet food industry is suffering changes. Driven by those consumers increasingly aware of health and its impact on the ecosystem, the industry is motivated to seek new alternatives to meet the changing demands.

Regarding sustainability, a survey carried out by Euromonitor International Global Lifestyle shows that the importance and concern about the environmental impact and the climate crisis are significantly greater among people who have pets than those who do not. In fact, almost 70% of pet owners are concerned about climate change and seeking to reduce their negative impact on the environment. These numbers do not drive but compel our industry to take action and listen to what pet owners are looking for when it comes to buying food, snacks, and accessories for their four-leg loved ones.

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Small change, great results

Changing food formulation is not an easy task. Although within the industry it is believed that it can grow with what already exists, that is, without having to look for new ingredients, the complexity is not less. Making a small change to a pet food formula can have a great impact on the final product, from palatability to processing and packaging. And the truth is that some of these changes may be completely unexpected and discovered by trial and error and, in many cases, may not even be detected until a consumer puts it into words. That is why, if we work with raw materials that we already know, the impact of changing their function within a formula may be less or, at least, more controlled. In this sense, when applying changes in formulations, we can say that success, beyond the result, is anticipating and managing the 'cascade effect' changes.

Challenges and opportunities in search of greater sustainability

In recent years, as trends are already telling us, pet food ingredients have been in direct tension with sustainability.

And while there is a large part of millennials who want their pets to be vegetarian or vegan (if possible), there are other trends, such as the ancestral diet, which encourages animals to eat as similar as if they were in their natural habitat. That ingredient, in most cases, would be meat. And for that, we have to consider that meat production significantly increases the industry's carbon footprint, as it is one of the most polluting food processes.

Challenges seem not to stop, and we have to face that with consumers who negotiate less and demand more: mostly, they no longer want their pets to feed on meat by-products. This is due, in large part, to misinformation. However, until we can educate the audience, they will continue demanding and preferring foods with human-grade meat (that is, suitable for consumption by people) as the formula's main ingredient.

Thus, it is clear how opportunities often meet new challenges aroused by a constantly changing industry. As we move towards new usage alternatives for the ingredients we already have, we must face various demands and obstacles that will suddenly emerge.

The challenge is also indoors

Similarly, applying changes to the functionalities or roles of ingredients not only has external challenges but also, and to which we must give the most importance, internal ones, which arise from food production and the complexity it entails.

To change ingredient role, the most important details to keep in mind and review the cascade effects are:

Functionality

The ingredients that we use and have in stock, and on which we apply changes, must provide the functionality needed from a nutritional perspective as well as from the very practicality of the product. When applying changes to formulations, chemical reactions between ingredients must be considered, because they can modify proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, fibers, vitamins, and minerals availability, among others.

Packing

Since each ingredient has its own benefits, as some are very good at retaining water and others are good at providing a matrix of structure, there is a need to consider how best to package the final product (thinking about the new formulation). Should it be all the same? Is packaging with other characteristics needed? What product changes affect its conservation?

Supply chain

A factor that exceeds us as manufacturers of pet food is raw materials availability. If we make a formula change that impacts the amount we need of one of the ingredients, we must, before moving forward with the process, ensure that our current suppliers can provide the necessary amounts. If they don't, we will have to look for alternatives, either from suppliers or go back to step 1: the ingredient!

It may not be a question of inventing anything new but rather of getting creative and, based on science and information, finding new ways to combine ingredients to improve the results and reduce the environmental impact.

Of course, we must not forget to take into account the focuses of today's industry: quality, sustainability, and well-being.

Source: All Pet Food