Explore sustainable pet food ingredients with omega-3 for dogs and other pets

Sustainable innovation in pet food

The recent megatrends in the pet industry, as humanization and clean label, have led to a significant shift in pet food innovation. This means that Pet Food manufactures need to adapt their supply chains to meet the new consumer needs. 

The pet food of the future is cleaner, full of proteins, plant-based, and has functional ingredients supporting pets health and wellbeing.

A Nielsen report found that dollars sales of pet food products with all-natural ingredients increased by 8% in 2018 over 2016.¹ Additionally, 64% of pet food products have more than one source of protein to ensure pets receive their nutrients. 
Vegetarian and vegan pet food products increased dollar sales by double-digits in 2018. Finally, as with other types of food products, pet parents are looking for functional ingredients that enrich their pet diets. Nielsen’s survey found that the presence of functional ingredients matter more to pet parents than product claims (like "grain-free" or "organic").
¹ Health and Wellness Trends are Shaping Pet Innovation, Nielsen Company (US), LLC, 2018 The next frontier Pet Food innovation is sustainability, transparency and human-like health benefits.

Transparent ingredients

Pet parents are looking for cleaner ingredients, and they are willing to pay more for them. They also want to know where their food comes from and how it was made, so transparency is key. In order to maintain a competitive advantage, pet food manufacturers may establish a transparent supply chain with quality raw materials.

Sustainability as main driver raw materials supply

Because sustainability is driving change in the supply chain, it is important that pet food manufacturers not only adopt sustainable practices, stablishing strategic partnerships for sustainable ingredient, communicating those practices to pet parents. 

Pet food that feels like human food

Consumers are interested in human-grade ingredients for their pets, which means that pet food manufacturers have an opportunity to explore well know ingredients and benefits from the human nutrition, bringing to market products that feel like human and are sharing the same values we see in Food and Beverages products today. 

The power of omega-3s 

Long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients. They are synthesized by humans and most animal species at low levels and play a crucial role in human health, helping to maintain heart, brain, and eye health². They may also help lower the risk of heart disease³.  ² Cleveland Clinic, Omega 3 Fatty Acids ³ FDA qualified health claim As in humans, Long-chain omega-3s are essential for animal nutrition. The importance of DHA omega-3 in pets’ nutrition is receiving increasing attention. Numerous studies support specific benefits for Pets in neurological, immune, fertility and vascular health.  DHA within omega-3s have been found to promote heart health, combat inflammation and help slow down the progression of kidney disease, which is especially important for aging cats. Furthermore, older pets suffering from cognitive dysfunction showed improved recognition of family members and other dogs when supplemented with omega-3s. As an added bonus, omega-3s reduce skin shedding by protecting fur from the roots, great for pet parents who suffer from allergies.

AlgaPrime™ DHA 

In nature, marine microalgae are at the base of the food chain and the original source of omega-3 fatty acids that later accumulate in these fish. To meet the production challenges and growing demand of Omega-3s, microalgae fermentation plays a strategic role as we access its naturally original source.

We're pioneering a new way to create Omega-3s that are sustainable, affordable, and at scale.

Our proprietary fermentation process transforms microalgae into high-quality and health-promoting Omega-3 products, taking the “middle fish out”.

AlgaPrime™ DHA is a high-quality, vegetarian source of Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), which is a key building block for Pet Food. With AlgaPrime™ DHA we help maintain or raise the Omega-3s level for healthy diets, reducing the dependency on fish oil in feed, while preserving the environment.

Pet health

• Health Efficient - AlgaPrime™ DHA support specific health benefits for Pets improving cognitive, immune, and cardiovascular health.

Reducing complexity 

• Affordable – We continue to develop new strains with higher omega-3 content and increase production efficiency in our commitment to deliver innovation that works for large-scale businesses and brands in Pet Food.

• At Scale – In our efforts to help farmers meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, we designed our production sites with ample capacity to facilitate rapid growth for the next decade, with programs for de-bottlenecking and process optimization to improve output.

• Reliable - AlgaPrime™ DHA provides supply chain resilience, reducing complexity with on-demand production without the constraints of geography, seasonality, and changing climate conditions.

• Consistent - Produced via fermentation, AlgaPrime™ DHA provides a standardized, high-quality, and abundant source of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Enabling sustainable growth 

• Sustainable - AlgaPrime™ DHA is sustainably produced using renewable energy and cane sugar as a feedstock. This results in low carbon, water, and land use impact. 

• Clean - AlgaPrime™ DHA microalgae are grown in closed fermentation tanks and do not contain the persistent organic pollutants that naturally accumulate in fish oil.

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