(PRESS RELEASE) TOPEKA, KS and BOULDER, CO — Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a global leader in biology-based pet nutrition, and Bond Pet Foods, Inc., the Boulder-based leader in creating meat proteins via fermentation for pet food applications, announced an industry-first partnership to develop an alternative to one of Hill’s most popular meat proteins, made specifically to address the dietary needs of cats and dogs. This collaboration marks an important advancement as the pet food industry champions new technologies to provide more sustainable ingredient solutions for pet nutrition.
“Hill’s Pet Nutrition has a long history of using science to transform the lives of pets. This collaboration will allow us to explore how we can deliver the precise, balanced nutrition Hill’s is known for but in new and innovative ways,” said Dave Baloga, vice president, science & technology for Hill’s Pet Nutrition. “As we think about how we can help pets flourish and create a better, more sustainable world, we are keenly interested in exploring additional ways to take a science-first approach to pet nutrition. This alternative protein source marks a step forward on our sustainability journey to use science to help provide the best possible care for pets – for today and tomorrow.”
The collaboration supports Hill’s sustainability mission to leave the world a better place for people and pets by incorporating sustainability into everything the company does. Further, the collaboration was fostered through Plug and Play, a global innovation platform that works with startups that are creating ideas to transform animal health and agriculture. As a founding partner of Plug and Play’s Topeka office located in the KC Animal Health Corridor, Hill’s works collaboratively with the organization to support and work with select startups on strategic collaborations and pilot programs, such as Bond Pet Foods.
Bond Pet Foods was founded in 2015 with a mission to create more sustainable, responsible, and humane food by reimagining meat- the mainstay of our pets’ diets. Dogs and cats are voracious consumers of animal proteins. Protein is an important part of every pet’s nutritional requirement and is essential for repairing and making new cells in their bodies. As the world’s population grows and demands for resources grows with it, new technologies will be key in providing alternative protein sources to ensure pets will continue to have access to sustainable, premium nutrition.
Bond works to contribute to positive change by employing precision fermentation to produce nutritionally complete, nature-identical chicken, beef, fish and other meat proteins for pet food applications; precision fermentation is routinely used to make ingredients such as enzymes for cheese manufacturing, no animal farming required. Venture-backed by leading funds in the food-tech and alternative protein space including Lever VC, Agronomics and KBW Ventures, Bond is poised to accelerate its meat protein portfolio development through this partnership with Hill’s.
“Hill’s Pet Nutrition is synonymous with the highest quality and nutritious foods for pets and the collaboration presents a massive opportunity,” said Rich Kelleman, founder and CEO of Bond Pet Foods. “Together, we’ll be able to reimagine meat-based nutrition for the world’s dogs and cats, and we’re excited to leverage our technology to develop new, transformative meat proteins for Hill’s portfolio.”
For more information on Hill’s, visit hillspet.com; for more information on Bond Pet Foods, Inc. visit bondpets.com.