Mars Petcare is partnering with Big Idea Ventures, a global investor in foodtech and agritech, to launch the Next Generation Pet Food Program.
The pilot initiative in collaboration with AAK, specializing in vegetable oils and fats, and Buehlera global technology partner for the food, feed and mobility industries, aims to drive innovation in the pet food space and work with the startup ecosystem to develop more sustainable solutions. The program is looking for startups working on sustainable proteins and fats that can support ways to reduce carbon emissions in pet food production. These include novel ingredients and breakthrough processing technologies such as upcycling food waste and innovative extraction methods.
“This initiative is designed to highlight the exciting opportunity to develop sustainable pet food products and represents a significant step forward in promoting innovative, environmentally friendly solutions in the pet food industry,” said Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing partner of Big Idea Ventures.
“Our goal at Mars Petcare is to create a better world for pets,” said Elise Malandain, VP R&D, Mars Animal Care. “This program fits perfectly with our commitment to sustainability and innovation and we look forward to working with startups that share our vision.”
Startups will be selected based on their innovative solutions, production capacity, potential to reduce the carbon footprint of pet food products and willingness to collaborate with partners. While preference is given to startups from the Asia Pacific region, companies from all regions are encouraged to apply.
“Ensuring a sustainable source of animal feed requires new ideas, technologies and innovative processes,” said Dr. Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler. “Joint innovation between industry leaders such as Mars Petcare and Big Idea Ventures attracts startups from the pet care sector and beyond and supports them in scaling their solutions to improve the sustainability of pet nutrition. We are excited to see the innovative solutions that will emerge from this program.”
For more information, visit bigideaventures.com/petfoodprogram. Interested startups are encouraged to apply as early as possible, which is open until early September.
Accordingly The largest pet food companies in the pet food industry, Mars Petcare is one of the world’s two largest pet food manufacturers. Its nearly 50 pet food brands include five billion-dollar brands. The company is increasingly seeking to diversify its revenue streams. Mars Petcare It also owns the BluePearl chain of emergency and specialty animal hospitals, as well as the Banfield and VCA veterinary hospitals.
Adapted from a press release.
