Bond Pet Food, an alternative protein company for pet food, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a biology-based pet food company, announced this week that they have partnered to develop an alternative meat protein for pet food using precision fermentation.
Precision fermentation makes animal-identical proteins without slaughtering/harming animals. Bond sourced a small blood sample from a heritage hen, and this sample was used to extract the genetic code of chicken protein. Then, the code is mixed with specialized yeasts, sugar, vitamins, and minerals and fermented in stainless steel vats to eventually produce meat proteins.
Bond Pet Food produces bio-identical chicken, beef, fish, and other meat proteins that have the same nutritional value as their animal counterparts. Last year, the company unveiled that it had developed a chicken protein prototype for pet food.
Through the partnership, the two companies will develop a pet food formula that acts as an alternative to Hill’s most popular meat proteins for both cats and dogs. The goal is to craft a product that is more sustainable than other pet foods, while simultaneously providing food that contains high-quality nutrition.
Pet food raises concerns due to its use of factory-farmed meat, deeming much of what is available on the market as unsustainable and unethical. On top of this, pet food can contain slaughterhouse byproducts, undisclosed animal species, cheap fillers, and even toxic ingredients that lead to recalls. We have plenty of plant-based and alternative meat options for humans, but not as many for Fido.
Other competitors in the alternative pet food space include Wild Earth and Because, Animals. In September of this year, Wild Earth announced that it would begin developing pet food developed with cell-based meat after raising $23 million in funding. Because, Animals is developing cell-cultured mice meat for cat food.
For Bond, the deal is a big win, as Hill’s appears to be the first large pet food brand intent on bringing a product with animal-identical protein to market using precision fermentation. As more deals like this one are inked, it’ll only be a matter of time before we see a significant number of new alt-protein pet food products from the large players in what is a $30 billion pet food market.
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