Symrise invests in Bond Pet Foods for sustainable innovation in biotechnology

Symrise has made an equity investment in Bond Pet Foods to complement its pet nutrition portfolio. The US biotechnology company produces animal-identical proteins with precision fermentation. 

Symrise says the partnership will support its ambition to develop biotech-enabled ingredients that are “better for pets and the planet” and strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of its pet nutrition division long term. 

The German company will leverage Bond Pet Foods’ technology to address key industry challenges, such as supply-chain continuity and a growing consumer demand for sustainable products that diversify the source of pet food ingredients.

The partnership will also enable pet food manufacturers to have more access to high-quality proteins that are responsibly sourced.

“This investment marks an important step in advancing our strategy to develop next-generation sustainable ingredients with biotechnology,” says Diego Maurizio, general manager of Palatability & Nutrition Business Line at Symrise. 

“By combining Bond’s fermentation capabilities with Symrise’s application expertise and market insight, we can deliver high-performance nutrition solutions and create new growth opportunities for our customers.” 

Animal-identical proteins

Bond Pet Foods has progressed its precision fermentation platform through several development agreements since its founding in 2017. The company has since built expertise in bringing novel proteins to real-world applications.

“We have put great effort into building a new way to produce animal-identical proteins for pet food applications. We find it exciting to see that work gaining traction across the industry,” says Rich Kelleman, CEO of Bond Pet Foods.

The partnership will enable Bond Pet Foods to expand how its ingredients perform and can be used by pet food manufacturers.“Partnering with Symrise marks an important step forward, bringing its expertise in pet nutrition and taste to further expand how our ingredients perform and can be used by pet food manufacturers.”

Walter Ribeiro, president of Taste, Nutrition & Health at Symrise, notes that the collaboration helps its customers develop more sustainable pet nutrition formulations.

“This investment advances our ambition to scale biotechnology across our business. With this, we aim at effectively supporting long-term resilience, portfolio diversification, and a stronger innovation pipeline.”

Pet food innovations

Nutrition Insight previously caught up with industry experts to discuss the growing humanization in pet nutrition, which drives demand for natural solutions. In response, producers and suppliers are offering innovations in sustainable, plant-based, and functional offerings.

Research also indicates that faba bean protein concentrate can replace spray-dried animal blood plasma in wet pet food without impacting the end product.

Meanwhile, we spoke with BeneMeat about its trials that incorporated 18% cultivated hamster meat into a dog treat. The company said this prototype allowed consumers to test the product with their pets to experience cultivated-meat technology firsthand.