The Interview: Juan Manuel Peralta, President of the CIPAL Scientific Committee

In addition to your role within the company, you are leading the CIPAL Scientific Committee this year. What does taking on this responsibility mean to you, and what is the main objective behind the development of the congress's academic program?

Chairing the CIPAL Scientific Committee is both an honor and, above all, a responsibility toward the entire region. CIPAL has established itself as the leading congress in the pet food industry in the Southern Cone. The upcoming edition will feature simultaneous conferences across three auditoriums, along with a dedicated innovation area. My role is to design the program, define its thematic pillars, and work closely with speakers to ensure both the scientific quality of the content and its relevance to the professionals who attend each edition seeking applicable knowledge.

For me, the congress serves a purpose that goes beyond the event itself: it acts as a bridge between academia and industrial operations. Much of the cutting-edge knowledge resides within universities, research centers, and scientific publications, and it does not always reach product developers and plant decision-makers in a timely manner. The program's central objective is precisely to shorten that gap—to identify and curate the knowledge the regional industry needs and present it in a way that becomes practical decisions regarding formulation, processing, quality, and market positioning.

This year, I designed the program around three thematic pillars that, in my view, capture where the industry is heading: naturalness and the Clean Label movement; precision nutrition—including nutraceuticals, nutrigenomics, microbiome, and clinical nutrition; and sustainability understood in its broadest sense, encompassing the planet, business performance, and industry development. Each session must meet a dual standard: it must withstand scientific scrutiny while also providing managers with actionable insights they can apply immediately. Achieving this requires close collaboration with speakers, helping them ground their presentations in solid evidence while connecting their findings to the economic and operational challenges facing the sector.

I also see this as a contribution to the development of regional talent. We will welcome leading experts from Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Chile. I am particularly enthusiastic about fostering dialogue between basic science and industrial application. This year, I will also have the pleasure of moderating a panel on practical gut health alongside researchers from CONICET and biotechnology companies from across the region. That is exactly the kind of rigorous, applicable discussion that the congress seeks to promote.

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From your perspective, what topics, challenges, or trends are essential to the pet food industry agenda today and will be reflected in this year's conference program?

I prefer to answer from the perspective of what we will actually be discussing at CIPAL, because the program is the result of months of listening to the industry. The first pillar is naturalness and the Clean Label movement. Consumers are conducting what could be described as a moral audit of the supply chain: they reject controversial chemical additives and demand clear, honest labeling. This is driving innovation in both ingredients and processes, favoring simpler and more natural solutions. One concept I find particularly powerful is that of shared well-being: the integration of human and animal health under the same guiding principles.

The second pillar is precision nutrition, encompassing nutraceuticals, nutrigenomics, the microbiome, and clinical nutrition. Health has become the new premium. We are talking about specific prebiotics designed to support beneficial microorganisms; bi- and multifunctional prescription diets; functional ingredients that promote healthy aging—because our pets are living longer and this new stage of life requires targeted nutrition—and a public health challenge that now affects both humans and animals alike: obesity.

The third pillar is sustainability, approached from a comprehensive perspective that includes the planet, business viability, and industry development. This encompasses mono-material and recyclable packaging, biodegradable plastics, refill systems at the point of sale, hybrid processing technologies that combine fresh meat, dehydrated and freeze-dried ingredients with kibble, renewable energy, and a concept I consider fundamental: reducing unnecessary additives and processing steps simultaneously enhances both naturalness and efficiency.

As an innovation specialist, what transformations do you believe are having the greatest impact on the pet food industry in terms of technology, production processes, and new product development?

The most visible transformation is taking place in production processes and functional ingredients, and it is directly linked to the demand for naturalness. We are moving from a single dominant product format and manufacturing technology toward a broader range of gentler processing methods and ingredients designed with a clear functional purpose rather than being driven solely by cost-benefit considerations. It is no coincidence that freeze-dried, baked, and fresh formats are growing at rates well above the market average. This raises the bar for process engineering, and CIPAL's program strongly reflects this trend.

The second major transformation is the engineering of biological functionality. Incorporating live biotic ingredients and maintaining their activity through demanding industrial processes is one of today's greatest technical challenges. This is complemented by the development of probiotics validated through controlled trials in pets and by the rapid growth of postbiotics, which have expanded significantly in recent years due to their stability during processing. In terms of product development, we are seeing remarkable advances in alternative proteins and functional snacks containing bioactive compounds.

I also want to be honest about artificial intelligence, because it tends to dominate many conversations today. AI is undoubtedly a tool with enormous potential for process analysis and optimization. My belief is that AI enhances our ability to innovate, but it does not replace biology. Ultimately, the pet's acceptance of the food remains the final and irreplaceable judge.

How are new consumer demands—such as traceability, sustainability, functional nutrition, and animal welfare—influencing the innovation agenda of companies in the sector?

These demands are the primary drivers shaping the innovation agenda, and their strength stems from a broader phenomenon: humanization. The region with the highest percentage of pet owners who regard their pets as family members is, in fact, Latin America. When pets are treated as family, owners apply their own consumption criteria to pet food: they want to know what it contains, where it comes from, what benefits it provides, and under which ethical and environmental standards it was produced. It is no coincidence that the congress's three thematic pillars align almost perfectly with these expectations.

The strategic consequence is clear: scientific validation and professional ethics have become critical competitive differentiators. In a market where everyone makes promises, the winners are those who can provide proof. The challenge for companies is not to treat these demands as marketing checks, but rather to integrate them authentically into product design, formulation, and manufacturing processes. Today's consumers quickly recognize the difference between cosmetic claims and real benefits. Lasting innovation begins with science and reaches the shelf—not the other way around.

What opportunities do you see today for Latin American companies seeking to grow and compete in an increasingly globalized market?

The first opportunity is structural and unique to the region. Latin America is a powerhouse in both animal and plant protein production, which places it in a privileged position relative to the three major trends driving the global agenda: naturalness, which requires fresh meat and high-quality raw materials; functional nutrition, which depends on differentiated ingredients; and sustainability, which favors short, traceable supply chains. We already have many of the resources the world is looking for.

The second opportunity lies within the fastest-growing market segments. Premiumization continues to gain momentum, while the wet pet food segment—which still has relatively low penetration in the region—is expanding faster than dry food. At the same time, fresh, cooked, baked, and freeze-dried formats are gaining ground rapidly. In recent years, we have seen a steady increase in the establishment of these types of production facilities in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina—a phenomenon that was once largely limited to multinational corporations is now increasingly being driven by local companies as well.

The third opportunity is the one I am most passionate about: knowledge. Competing in a globalized market no longer depends solely on industrial scale; it increasingly depends on the ability to innovate with scientific support. In this regard, Latin America possesses a tremendous asset that is sometimes underestimated: its talent. This is demonstrated by the CIPAL program itself, which brings together local experts who interact with world leaders on an equal basis. A Latin American company that invests in formulation, university partnerships, genuine sustainability initiatives, and strong scientific communication can compete with any global player as equals and may even move faster in niche markets where large corporations are slower to adapt or have different business priorities.

My conviction is that the region is at a turning point. We have raw materials, consumers who value their pets more than almost anyone else in the world, and the technical talent needed to support a differentiated value proposition. The challenge is to align these three elements through a long-term strategic vision. Events like CIPAL exist precisely to accelerate that alignment—to enable knowledge sharing, foster partnerships, and help the Latin American pet food industry evolve from a trend follower into an increasingly influential trend creator.

I look forward to seeing you in September. Discover the full CIPAL 2026 program at https://cipal.com.ar/program

Thank you, Juan Manuel, for sharing your insights and expertise with the All Pet Food community!

By Juan Manuel Peralta
Source: All Pet Food Magazine