Like owner like pet: major trends in human nutrition are also applicable to petfood. After organic and local food, it is now the turn for functional petfood to make its way on the market. Following human trends, the interest in digestive health is particularly on the rise.
Functional petfood: a growing topic
The petfood market is expanding
In 2020, pets have provided moral support during lockdowns and helped their owners get through the difficult covid period. Unsurprisingly, owners have spent significantly more for their pets in 2020. But the expansion did not stop there: the petfood market has carried on its growth since the first lockdown. In 2021, the global pet care market was estimated at 133 billion euros – compared to 123 in 2020 – and sales increased by 7,5%[1].
Similar trends to human markets
This progressive growth can be explained by the increasing awareness of human consumers regarding overall health needs. Nutrition can be the key to live longer and in good health, for the buyers… and for their pets! In line with their requirements for their own food, they want the petfood they purchase to be healthy, natural, safe, low allergenic, local, organic, clean label, formulated with superfoods etc.
In addition to all these expectations, consumers show growing interest for functional petfood, especially for the following health benefits: weight management, digestive health, joint health, brain function, skin and coat.
A particular interest in digestive health
Among all the other functional requests, digestive health stands out and drives buying behavior. Indeed, this claim improves the likelihood of pet owners purchasing a product by 92%.
Therefore, the biotics market logically fits into the functional petfood market. And there is proof: adding prebiotics to a product makes it seem healthier for 72% of dog owners and 68% of cat owners[2].
Moreover, companion animals, equine and aquaculture combined were responsible for about 25,7% of the probiotics market in 2021[3]. This suggests great possibilities for biotics in general and especially for postbiotics on this market.
Our response to market demand for functional petfood
We meets this growing demand for digestive health functional petfood with its postbiotic solution. It is a safe way to take care of the microbiota and keep it healthy.
LBiome™: our postbiotic solution for functional petfood
Our ingredient LBiome™ is made from Lactobacillus LB, a combination of two inanimate strains (L. Fermentum and L. Delbrueckii) with its fermented culture medium and metabolites.
LBiome™ improves digestive health in pets through immunity and gut health:
- It helps shield the gut from undesirable bacteria
- It helps protect, support and strengthen tight junctions to maintain gut barrier integrity
- It works with the host’s microbiome to help improve gut health and immunity
Being a postbiotic, LBiome™ is also safe, stable, and easy-to-use. It is therefore the perfect solution for functional petfood. Kibbles for digestive health, immunity treats… Everything is possible with our ingredient, which can be used for any finished product!
The market of functional petfood is growing quickly, and we are going to be part of it. Indeed, with our LBiome™ solution, we give a response to pet owners’ demand on digestive health. Its dry powder form and its stability makes it the ideal solution to be integrated in functional petfood.
[1] Ventes mondiales de produits « Pet », PetMarket magazine, number 307, September 2021, according to data provided by Euromonitor International on the Interzoo.digital platform in June 2021
[2] L. Beaton, Diverse needs for functional pet food ingredients, Petfood Industry, volume 64, number 3, March 2022, according to “Consumer research on attitudes towards pet food”, global online survey conducted in July 2021 by Beneo
[3] L. Beaton, Diverse needs for functional pet food ingredients, Petfood Industry, volume 64, number 3, March 2022, according to “Animal feed probiotics market”, report released in September 2021 by Future Market Insights
Adobe Stock / chendongshan
