At Global Pet Expo, many new dog, cat and other pet products contained functional ingredients meant to provide more than just basic nutrition. Marketing claims accompanying with these functional ingredients included joint health, skin and fur support, stress relief and immunity boosting. Along with pet foods, functional ingredients appeared in supplements, toppers and treats.
“Functional foods are quite popular,” Kambria Newton, Petcurean’s trade marketing and communications manager, told Petfood Industry at Global Pet Expo 2022. “We've been in this space for a long time, and now we're offering the solutions that are most frequently switched to by consumers.”
Formulations meant to address allergies, weight management, digestion and gut health were among those functional pet food formulations most in demand by pet owners, according to Petcurean’s consumer research. Those demands were addressed in the brand’s new products.
For the functional ingredients in the Brit line of dog and cat functional snacks, new product developers also selected items based on the health topics that consumers want to solve or improve, Karolina Capova, head of product for Vafo Group, Czech-Republic-based maker of Brit and other brands, told Petfood Industry at Global Pet Expo 2022. Some of those functional ingredients included krill in a skin and coat dog treat formulation, she said. Other functional ingredients for pet treats included rosemary, hemp, ginger and chamomile in the Brit dog and cat treats on display at the Expo. Formulation included immunity, skin and coat, antistress with shrimp, dental with venison, mobility with squid, antiparasitic with salmon, skin and coat with krill and immunity with insects.
New functional pet foods and treats at Global Pet Expo
New dog, cat and other pet foods and treats with functional ingredients in the new product showcase at Global Pet Expo included:
- Honest Paws turkey tail mushroom blend supplement
- Open Farm supplements and Kind Earth
- Stachios Soothing Sauce and toppers
- Greenies Supplements treats for skin and coat or immune health
- Wellness Core Digestive Health cat food
- Dr. Marty Better Life Bites heart, joint, digestive, immune formulations
- VetDiet – dental, skin and stomach, weight control cat foods
