EIT Food and Mars Petcare, a global player in veterinary care, nutrition and pet welfare, have jointly unveiled an Open Innovation Challenge to identify ways to transform fiber into protein and sugar to develop sustainable pet food ingredients.

Through engaging EIT Food’s network, the initiative aims to transform byproducts from agricultural processing, such as straw from crop harvesting and waste from peeling and chopping vegetables — into nutritious pet food by improving their digestibility — offering a unique and significant opportunity for agri-food stakeholders.

Effectively using waste materials

“Agricultural byproducts often comprise high-quality proteins but come with high levels of insoluble fibers that limit usage in pet food due to being difficult for pets to digest,” says Benoit Buntinx, director of Business Creation at EIT Food.

“Transforming the insoluble fiber fractions into materials that can be effectively digested in the gut of a dog or cat would allow the usage of what would otherwise be a waste material as a valuable and more sustainable option for pet food.”

“This Open Innovation Challenge with EIT Food represents a significant step forward in our mission to drive more sustainable food solutions for pets,” explains Michael Horan, global S&T platform leader Material Science at Mars Petcare.

Harnessing new technologies

The Open Innovation Challenge provides an opportunity for organizations harnessing cutting-edge technologies to work with a leader in pet care, with the potential to scale innovations.

The top ten solutions will be invited to a virtual demo day, and Mars Petcare will support up to two of the finalists to develop a joint Proof of Concept.

Applications are now open for start-ups, academia, research institutes and established organizations.

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