- A new pilot initiative aims to drive innovation in the animal feed sector and develop more sustainable solutions together with the startup ecosystem
- The program offers human nutrition startups pursuing innovations in sustainable pet food a unique opportunity to receive support from industry experts.
- Selected startups will present their innovations at the Singapore International AgriFood Week in November
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Big Idea Ventures, a leading global investment firm in food technology, agtech and materials science, announced the launch of the Next Generation Pet Food Program in partnership with Mars Petcare, a global leader in veterinary care, nutrition and breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing and animal welfare.
The pilot initiative, in collaboration with AAK, a multi-ingredient manufacturer specializing in vegetable oils and fats, and Bühler, a global technology partner for the food, feed and mobility industries, aims to drive innovation in the pet food space and collaborate 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 CO2 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: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. This program fits perfectly with our commitment to sustainability and innovation and we are excited to partner with startups that share our vision,” said Elise Malandain, VP R&D, Mars Petcare.
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.
“The pet food and care industry offers an opportunity to innovate with sustainably sourced specialty oil and fat systems. We are proud to support this initiative and look forward to contributing our oil and fat expertise,” said Niall Sands, President Commercial Development and Innovation at AAK.
“Ensuring a sustainable source of pet food requires new ideas, technologies and innovative processes. Collaborative innovation between industry leaders like Mars Petcare and Big Idea Ventures is attracting startups from the pet industry and beyond and helping them scale their solutions to improve pet food sustainability. We are excited about the innovative solutions that will emerge from this program!” said Dr. Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler.
For more information, visit bigideaventures.com/petfoodprogram. Interested startups are encouraged to apply as early as possible, which is open until early September.
Media contact:
Buehler:
Dalen Jacomino Panto, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 37 57
Mobile: +41 79 900 53 88
Email: [email protected]
Katja Hartmann, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Mobile: +41 79 483 68 07
Email: [email protected]
Great idea companies:
Shruti Salkar
Email: [email protected]
About Big Idea Ventures
Big Idea Ventures is the world’s leading investor in food and agritech. As one of the most active investors in foodtech, agritech and materials science, we focus on identifying and investing in the world’s most innovative and sustainable technology companies. We partner with universities on technology transfer and, by combining capital, knowledge and partnerships, drive economic growth and help build food ecosystems. Our collaboration with leading companies and governments aims to support entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers in solving some of the world’s greatest challenges. Big Idea Ventures has teams in New York, Paris and Singapore and has invested in more than 120 companies in 30 countries.
www.bigideaventures.com
About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated believes that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a family-owned company with over $50 billion in sales, our diverse and growing portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services supports pets around the world, and our high-quality snacks and foods delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s most loved brands, including ROYAL CANIN®FAMILY TREE®WHISKAS®CESAR®DOVE®ADDITIONALLY®M&M’s®SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of veterinary clinics, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™, cover preventive, general, specialty and emergency animal care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers groundbreaking opportunities in animal diagnostics. Mars’ five principles – Quality, Responsibility, Reciprocity, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our 150,000 employees to act every day to create a better world for people, pets and the planet.
For more information about Mars, visit www.mars.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About AAK
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™.
We specialize in vegetable oils and fats, the value-added ingredients in many products that people enjoy consuming. We make these products taste better, become healthier and more sustainable.
At the heart of AAK’s offering is collaborative customer development, combining our desire to understand what Making Better Happen™ means for each customer with the unique flexibility of our manufacturing facilities and deep product and industry knowledge, including chocolate and confectionery, bakery, dairy, plant-based foods, specialty foods, foodservice and personal care.
Our 4,100 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 16 dedicated customer innovation centers and with the support of more than 20 manufacturing facilities.
AAK is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and headquartered in Malmö, Sweden. The company has been committed to Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
www.aak.com
About Bühler
Bühler’s goal is to create innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of business, humanity and nature in all decision-making processes. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies every day to meet their basic needs for food and mobility. Two billion people enjoy food produced on Bühler equipment every day; and one billion people travel in vehicles whose parts were manufactured with Bühler solutions. Countless people wear glasses, use smartphones and read newspapers and magazines – and all of this depends on Bühler process technologies and solutions. With this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to transform today’s global challenges into sustainable business.
As a technology partner for the food, feed and mobility industries, Bühler is committed to providing replicable solutions that reduce energy, waste and water consumption by 50% in its customers’ value chains by 2025. In addition, Bühler is proactively working with suppliers to reduce climate impacts across the entire value chain. In its own operations, Bühler has developed a path to achieve a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 1 and 2, compared to a 2019 baseline).
Bühler invests up to 5% of its sales annually in research and development to improve the economic and sustainable performance of its solutions, products and services. In 2023, around 12,500 employees generated sales of CHF 3.0 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company with a 164-year history, Bühler is active in 140 countries worldwide and operates a global network of 105 service stations, 30 production sites and application and training centers at 25 locations.
www.buhlergroup.com
