For many pet owners, protein is still king: In a 2024 survey of 1,000 U.S. owners, 52.6% chose “high protein” as the top pet food ingredient attribute. And while novel proteins rise as consumers and businesses alike recognize the need for more sustainable sources, animal protein still matters, at least to 20.8% of these pet owners, who say it should be the first ingredient.
The survey was conducted by Lonnie Hobbs, Ph.D., and Aleksan Shanoyan, Ph.D., with Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics. An earlier (and much smaller) survey of U.S. pet owners by Bond Pet Foods led CEO Rich Kelleman to say during a Petfood Forum 2024 presentation: “Pet parents aren’t wanting, waiting for new protein solutions,” adding (probably because his company offers such a solution, yeast-based fermented protein), “This is not, unfortunately, a ‘build it and they will come’ moment.”
