Latest / Barking Mad Podcast / Trends to Watch in 2025, Part 2: Alternative Proteins for Pets

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Trends to Watch in 2025, Part 2: Alternative Proteins for Pets · Barking Mad Podcast

0:20
Jordan Tyler: Welcome back to Barking Mad's Top Trends to Watch in 2025, in
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which we're sharing expert insights and opinions about the most influential
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trends happening today in the pet nutrition space, and how pet parents
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can stay informed and engaged as these trends evolve this year and beyond.
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In today's episode, we're tackling the question of alternative proteins.
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And boy, are there a lot of questions.
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As the world's population grows and our food supply chain remains finite,
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the need to identify alternative sources of key ingredients like protein
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has become increasingly apparent, both for people and for our pets.
1:02
Insect protein offers a potential solution here, but Is it
1:07
destined to fly or fail in the U.
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S.
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markets?
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Cultured proteins like cultivated and fermented meats are another option, but
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while great strides are being made in these areas as we speak, there is still
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work to be done in terms of scalability, pricing, and regulatory approval.
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Plant based proteins offer yet another path forward, but following the DCM
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debacle, many pet parents have a mistrust, whether misplaced or not, toward plant
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protein forward diets for their pets.
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But what about invasive species?
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These pose a severe problem for waterways in the United States
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and for biodiversity globally.
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What about incorporating proteins from those streams into pet food?
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These are just some of the questions looming over
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alternative proteins for pets.
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Over the course of today's episode, we'll go through each of these categories,
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focusing in particular on barriers for the adoption of insect protein in
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the American market, As well as the basis of cultured proteins and how a
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handful of companies are pioneering this technology for use in pet nutrition.
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Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners.
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I'm your host, Jordan Tyler.
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If you tuned into yesterday's episode on sustainable ingredient sourcing,
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you may notice alternative proteins fit quite nicely within that trend.
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As the quest for alternative proteins really stems from a need for more
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sustainable pet food ingredients.
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Along this vein, there are several approaches.
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But let's talk first about insects as a viable protein source for pets.
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When I sat down with Alison Rieser, Director of Sustainability and
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Innovation with the Pet Sustainability Coalition, She was practically
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buzzing with excitement to talk about this emerging alternative protein.
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Allison Reser: Partially because I have a cat and, like, very anecdotally,
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like, she loves to eat insects that she finds, so, like, let's make
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this a formal part of her diet.
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There are a lot of companies out there innovating insect protein.
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With sustainability in mind, so they're collecting some really good life cycle
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assessment data about it and sharing it.
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So that is a space I think is going to be really important for
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Jordan Tyler: PET.
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However, while insect protein may pose a great opportunity for
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sustainability and nutrition, the newness of the ingredient causes Dr.
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Renee Streeter, Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist,
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to proceed a little cautiously.
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Renee Streeter: As a nutritionist, when something new like that comes
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out, you're like, well, I mean, sure, it looks okay, but what
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about all the things we don't know?
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What's going to happen when you feed it for 15 years?
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I don't know.
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But I will say, as time has gone on, these, uh, suppliers have done
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a pretty good job of researching.
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And there's, Last time I looked, quite a few insect protein studies in dogs
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and even in cats, and so my cautiousness is being diminished over time.
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The longer we use these things, the more studies we have.
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Not that I still don't have questions, I do, but from a
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nutritional standpoint, I become more excited and from a sustainability
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standpoint, I become more excited.
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And so now.
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It's just a matter of can we win over the hearts of the general
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public who, again, are maybe not as accustomed to eating bugs.
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Jordan Tyler: What Dr.
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Streeter is describing here is the ick factor, or American consumers
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cultural hesitance to feeding bug derived protein to their beloved pets.
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The ick factor is certainly another barrier standing in the way of insect
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protein taking flight in the U.
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S.
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market.
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In fact, when we asked BSM Aperture, a powerful predictive tool helping
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bridge the gap between nascent trends and their real potential in
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the market, about whether insect protein would fly or fail in the U.
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S.
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market, it had some reservations about whether or not this
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trend would actually succeed.
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In part, due to bugs being gross in the eyes of American pet parents.
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However, according to Dr.
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Blaire Aldridge, Vice President of Nutrition Services at BSM Partners,
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this doesn't mean we shouldn't still move forward with research.
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Blaire Aldridge: You hear bug and you're all like, bleh, initially.
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But then you start looking at the research coming in over time,
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and that will itself fly or fail.
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Like it will tell us.
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Good or bad.
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And I will say this, there might be a time where it is necessary to pivot
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because maybe disease comes through and knocks out the United States's poultry
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population or whatever it might, the soy, it doesn't matter, but we should already
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have Plans in place for alternative protein sources and have to research
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there to know if it's okay or not.
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Whether we love it or hate it, we should be studying it.
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Jordan Tyler: So time will tell whether insect protein will truly fly
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or fail in the pet nutrition space.
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And while we're approaching this trend with a fair amount of skepticism, it's
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still going to be one to watch in 2025.
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Let's move now to an exciting trend making waves in the alternative protein space.
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Cultured proteins, which are created through two types of technology.
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There's cultivation and then there's precision fermentation.
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Before we get too in the weeds though, let's go inside the mind of Dr.
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Bradley Quest, Principal of Veterinary Services at BSM Partners, to understand
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why exactly these high tech ingredients could change the game for pet nutrition.
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Bradley Quest: These are primary protein ingredients to use in pet
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food that really are products of using, in one case, bacteria, in other
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cases, yeasts, in some cases, using actual animal cell cultures to then
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propagate and grow, if you will, natural proteins from these organic sources.
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Now, the methodologies can be different, and in a lot of cases they are.
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But the really cool thing about it is it meets a lot of what we're
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looking for in the pet food industry.
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We're looking for sustainable, and I know that word is used a lot, but most
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of these really are sustainable in that we're not utilizing a lot of resources, be
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it natural resources, organic resources.
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Um, energy resources, in a lot of cases that we use for other protein sources,
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being animal or plant sources, that takes a lot of agricultural input.
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Not that those are definitely going away because they're not.
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They're always going to be front and center, but what this does is it helps
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take some of the pressure, I think, off of that and makes for really good
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alternative sources for pet food use.
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Jordan Tyler: So, let's get into this topic, starting with cultivated meats.
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Joshua Ehret, founder and chief executive officer of Friends and Family Pet Food,
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has been playing in this space for several years, and he's on a mission to change pet
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nutrition for the better, using technology that could revolutionize our food system.
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Cultivation, also referred to as lab grown meat.
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Joshua Errett: Historically, it was used to study cancer, how a
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cancer cell might grow or other cells in the human body might grow.
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It was only in the 2010s, or the aughts, I guess they call them, that
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they looked at this and it was like, if you can grow mammalian cells.
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without a sentient body, then could you do this for the food system?
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So that's for the genesis of it.
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And then in, I believe it was 2009, they grew the first hamburger.
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And then 2013, 14, I think the first patents were issued to
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Memphis Meats, who are now upside.
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foods in the space.
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So from there, it became this idea that we could almost recreate the
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entire food system on a cellular level, call it cellular agriculture.
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And, you know, when you talk about cellular agriculture,
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you're recreating meat.
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So it's the entire tissue of the animal.
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So that's fat.
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muscle, connective tissue, the whole thing, which includes
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proteins, everything that comes in meat, fatty acids, et cetera.
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You're cultivating everything in the cell and creating the tissue.
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And there are types of tissue you can create, just fat or just muscle, but
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generally when you put it together, You have something akin to meat that most
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people eat today, including our pets.
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And as I always say, there's so much more to meat than protein.
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And if you look at a cat biology and physiology and how it eats and digests.
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That's perfect evidence of why cats need more than just protein.
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Jordan Tyler: Okay, so a quick lesson on cultivated protein.
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Cultivated meat involves extracting muscle cells from a live animal, taken
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humanely, and then pairing those muscle cells with a quote unquote culture medium.
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In other words, a nutrient rich substance designed to help
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those cells grow big and strong.
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Now, in this controlled environment, the cells multiply and begin forming
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muscle tissue that is cellularly identical to conventional meat.
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This, according to Josh, presents a world of opportunity, particularly for our pets.
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Joshua Errett: Cultivated meat, to me, is The brass ring, the Holy grail, whatever
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you want to say, uh, pet nutrition, because you can make truly unparalleled
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nutrition out of cultivated meat.
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You can tune the amino acid profile.
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You can tune other nutrients in there as well.
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And my big vision for cultivated meat.
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Is to create, uh, food for, uh, you know, a cat or dog that contains
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everything that the cat or dog needs.
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So, like, all the palatants, all the, uh, premix vitamins and minerals.
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can be added and cultivated instead of just thrown in in a sort of powder format
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at the end of the manufacturing process.
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Even just standardizing what comes in meat that goes into pet
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food would be a huge advantage.
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So all these things put together make me really obsessed about
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cultivated meat for pets.
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Jordan Tyler: Now, cultivated meat is one approach to cultured protein
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or cellular agriculture, whereas another is precision fermentation.
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This is a technology that's been used for decades to produce enzymes
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for cheese and yogurt production, in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and a
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whole host of other commercial uses.
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Bond Pet Foods has been developing its Precision Fermentation technology
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for several years, specifically to provide animal free protein
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ingredients to key partners across the pet food and animal feed industries,
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including Hills Pet Nutrition, And agribusiness giant Wilbur Ellis.
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We sat down with Rich Killiman, founder and chief executive officer of Bond
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Pet Foods, to learn a little bit more about what this technology offers.
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Rich Kelleman: So we are an older Colorado based company that's working
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with fermentation to make meat protein, like chicken, turkey, and fish, without
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the animal, for pet food applications.
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Our proteins are complete, allowing brands to fully replace their meat meals
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by products one to one in their recipes.
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It's lean, it's scalable, so the math makes sense from a unit economics
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standpoint to include it at high inclusion in their formulations.
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And I think, just as important, it's wholly more efficient.
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Sustainable and humane compared with meat and animal ingredients that are
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available in the pet food supply chain today, we're not creating a new way to
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make ingredients that could have value in the pet or human food supply chain.
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We're working with.
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A technology that's been around for more than half a century to make everything
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from enzymes for cheese manufacture, to good bacteria for probiotic
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supplements, to vanilla and a host of other ingredients that we're consuming
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on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
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It's just a creative way to employ that same kind of food process to
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create a different kind of protein and ingredient that could have
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value for a different audience.
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Jordan Tyler: While operations like the one at Bond Pet Foods use sugar
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fed yeast to develop its fermented proteins, there are other ways to feed
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a microorganism and encourage it to to grow up into a full fledged protein.
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For example, Calista, a cellular agriculture company based in Silicon
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Valley, is using methane to fuel its precision fermentation process.
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Here's a quick overview from Herman Sloot, vice president of
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commercial development at Calista.
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Herman Sloot: So the very specific characteristic of these bacteria is
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that they use methane or methanol as a substrate instead of sugar.
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These bacteria are able to metabolize natural gas and use that natural gas as
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the energy source for the fermentation.
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And that is completely different than bacteria that grow on sugar.
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So one of the first things is If you want to do fermentation, you need to have a
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very good control of your biomass because that determines how the bacteria will grow
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and how these bacteria can produce then a biomass with a specific protein content.
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If you don't control your feedstock, you cannot control your fermentation.
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So you have to make sure that you have a steady supply.
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In terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality of what you get.
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So we believe that natural gases do both of that.
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Jordan Tyler: It's crazy to think that bacteria can eat methane and
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turn it into something us and our pets can benefit from nutritionally.
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I was pretty blown away by that, and I think it sort of exemplifies
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how cool this trend is and the opportunities it offers for the future.
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Another cool aspect of the cultured protein movement, both cultivated
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and fermented, is the ability to fine tune your inputs to get
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specific outputs, as noted by Dr.
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Renee Strader.
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Renee Streeter: Some of these cultured meats can be modified so that they're
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producing certain amino acids, more or less, or even certain types of proteins
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that are similar to our animal proteins.
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And so it becomes really customizable, which I think, is
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probably the wave of the future.
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We can utilize them maybe a little bit more efficiently
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to meet our amino acid needs.
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And also if animals have certain restrictions, we could probably
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pull back on certain amino acids that may cause issues or make
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it more likely an issue occurs.
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Jordan Tyler: So while the idea of growing proteins in a laboratory has
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a sort of Frankenstein feel to it.
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It's actually a super exciting innovation for the global food supply.
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And like Rich Kellerman noted, we've actually been using this technology
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for a really long time already.
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We're just using it now in a different way.
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I'm excited to keep up with Josh, Rich, Herman, and others in this
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space to see how it evolves.
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this year and in the future.
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Now, before we start winding down today, I want to make two quick mentions.
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As plant based proteins and invasive species are also poised to join the
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alternative protein conversation for pets.
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However, while the opportunity lies in wait, what we really need is research
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to ensure that pets can pick up Truly thrive on a plant only diet, and that
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the use of invasive species tracks with supporting our pet's nutritional needs.
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My amazing colleagues have authored quite a few articles on the merits of
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plant-based nutrition and the use of invasive species, which we will link
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to the show notes for this episode if you'd like to learn more, but.
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For now, it's safe to say the alternative protein space is growing and evolving, and
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we'll be keeping a close eye on each of these categories to keep you up to speed
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on where we sit and where we're headed.
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As we close out today's episode, let's hear from Emily Messnier, Vice
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President of European Operations at BSM Partners, a palatability expert by
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trade and sustainability guru by choice.
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When I asked Emily what she thought about alternative proteins for pets, she said
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she sees more than one avenue as key to addressing the need for more sustainable
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pet food ingredients and supply chains.
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This includes upcycling, which we discussed in yesterday's episode,
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as well as emerging options like insect protein, cultured meats, and
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Emilie Mesnier: other alternatives.
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The need for alternative proteins is undeniable, and that translates
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with significant investments pouring into everything from insect
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farms, you know, cultured meat facilities, upcycled ingredients.
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yeast based, algae based, you know, non meat based type of protein, even
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climate resistant and resilient crops.
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So this excitement stems from the potential of these proteins to
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offer a more sustainable and more ethical alternative to traditional
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intensive animal agriculture.
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Jordan Tyler: So there you have it, our deep dive into the fascinating
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world of alternative proteins.
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From insects buzzing with potential Pun intended.
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To the sci fi turned reality of cultivated meats and precision fermentation, it's
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clear that the future of pet nutrition is evolving right before our eyes.
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Whether you're excited about sustainability benefits of an insect
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protein, intrigued by the customization possibilities that cultured meat offers,
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or curious about the potential of methane eating bacteria, Alternative proteins are
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piquing our interest, and advancements in the stays will certainly be worth watching
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in 2025 and in the years to follow.
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But we're not done yet.
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Tomorrow, we'll release yet another episode exploring our third trend
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to watch in 2025, and perhaps my personal favorite, biotic ingredients.
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Be sure to tune in for a fascinating discussion about how these powerful
20:01
microorganisms could transform pet health from the inside out.
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Until then, thank you for tuning in to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners.
20:13
If you'd like to learn more about us, please visit our
20:16
website@www.bsmpartners.net.
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Don't forget to subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you enjoy
20:26
today's episode, share it with a fellow pet lover and leave us a review.
20:31
Lastly, be sure to stay tuned for more insights this week
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from our Trends 2025 miniseries.
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As well as future episodes on pet care innovation, sustainability, and other hard
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hitting topics you won't want to miss.
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We'd like to thank our dedicated team in support of this episode.
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Edmiette Thomas, Neely Bowden, Kate Wright, and Dr.
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Katie Miller.
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A special thanks to Leanne Haggerty and Michael Johnson.
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See you next time!