Bond Pet Foods has recruited Biotechnology industry leaders Dr. Tony Day and Dr. Mike Arbige to join the Boulder, Colorado company reimagining pet nutrition by developing pet food products made from meat protein that's brewed instead of farmed. Bond's transformative approach leverages microbial fermentation technology to produce chicken, turkey and beef proteins through a process that's more sustainable and humane than its conventional counterparts.
Bond has tapped Day and Arbige to help accelerate the development of a cost-advantaged, precision fermentation process for its first ingredient- a chicken meat protein that will serve as the foundation of its dog and cat food recipes.
Tony Day, Ph.D., joins the Bond team as Chief Technology Officer. Day is a seasoned biotechnology executive with more than 40 patents and 30 years of R&D and business development experience at companies including Genecor (now part of IFF) and Solazyme (now part of Corbion). At Solazyme, Day served as both VP of R&D and VP of Commercialization, where he led the development of novel algal derived products. He was the recipient of the Presidential Green Chemistry Award for his work developing novel oils through microalgal fermentation.
"I have spent my career applying biology to make sustainable products at industrial scale with commercial economics," said Day. "I am excited to apply my knowledge to Bond's mission of creating pet food in a more sustainable and humane way, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of meat production for the world's dogs and cats."
Joining Day is Dr. Mike Arbige, Ph.D, who brings 40 years of biotechnology experience to Bond's Scientific Advisory Board. Arbige is a luminary in the biotech community, most recently holding the position of Vice President of R&D for DuPont's biosciences group. Arbige was responsible for a team of over 750 scientists and staff dedicated to the discovery and production of hundreds of bio-derived goods within the animal health and nutrition sector including functional proteins, probiotics, vitamins and amino acids.
Day and Arbige are signing on at a pivotal time of growth and development for the company. Bond is rapidly advancing its technology, now running fermentations of chicken protein weekly in its Boulder lab with the goal of having a market-ready product in the second half of 2023. Day and Arbiges' commercialization experience will support Bond CSO Dr. Pernilla Audibert and her science team's work to optimize both the nutritional composition of the meat proteins, and their production economics.
"Bond is poised to disrupt the pet food industry, using microbial fermentation in a novel way to create a new, more responsible way to make meat protein and deliver complete nutrition to our pets," said Arbige. "I'm looking forward to being a part of their journey to build this production platform, and a better food future."
While its meat proteins are on the horizon, Bond continues to introduce products made with microbial and plant-based ingredients for those seeking healthy, more sustainable pet food options today. While not animal derived, the yeast, fungal and algal proteins in the recipes are made through a similar fermentation technique and provide high quality supplemental nutrition. Its debut product, a Protein-Packed Dog Treat bar is currently sold out but will be back in stock this summer along with a suite of responsible, health-conscious treats to satisfy dogs and pet parents alike.
