Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition, a leader in animal nutrition solutions, and Bond Pet Foods, a pioneer in sustainable animal protein production through fermentation, have announced a partnership to develop tailored ingredients for pet food applications. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both companies, with Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition expanding its capabilities and Bond entering into its second strategic partnership within the global pet food industry.
The partnership aims to leverage Bond’s precision fermentation technology to create sustainable and innovative ingredients for pet food manufacturers worldwide. This technology employs a yeast-based fermentation process to produce proteins like chicken, turkey, and fish without the need for animal farming. The brewing platform also allows for the enhancement of the finished products’ nutritional and functional performance.
“Our partnership with Bond expands our capabilities and opens up new ways to deliver sustainable, innovative ingredients to pet food manufacturers around the world,” said Jim Wiswell, President of Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition. “We see tremendous opportunity with Bond’s technology to expand what’s possible with pet nutrition and support our pursuit of a more responsible pet food future.”
Animal-derived ingredients have traditionally been the mainstay of dog and cat diets. However, the rising demand for these ingredients poses significant environmental challenges. Bond’s precision fermentation approach offers a viable solution by producing animal proteins without the environmental impact associated with conventional meat production.
“As the pet food industry focuses more on sustainable solutions, precision fermentation is an increasingly attractive tool to produce proteins, flavors, and blends that perform,” said Zac Halper, Vice President of Wilbur-Ellis Pet Nutrition. “This collaboration with Bond, and their deep fermentation expertise, will allow us to further advance our ingredient portfolio.”
Patrick O’Reilly, CEO and Founder of Bond Pet Foods, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “For more than 100 years, Wilbur-Ellis has been known for high-quality ingredients and has a genuine commitment to innovation in the pet nutrition space. We look forward to developing a new class of products through this JDA program that will provide pet food manufacturers with more sustainable, functional formulary alternatives.”
Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition has a long history of providing high-quality ingredients and services to the animal health industry worldwide. Bond Pet Foods, headquartered in the United States, uses biotechnology to create animal proteins that are nutritionally comparable to conventional counterparts but with a reduced environmental footprint. The company has attracted investments from leading funds in the alternative protein, biotechnology, and ingredient space, including Temasek, Blue Horizon Ventures, Astanor Ventures, Vulcan Capital (Wilbur-Ellis), AgFunder, CPT Capital, Good Startup, and S2G Ventures.
For more information, visit wilburellisnutrition.com and bondpets.com.
