Big Idea Ventures and Mars Petcare have launched the 2026 Global Pet Food Innovation Program in collaboration with AAK, Bühler, Givaudan and Ingredion, marking the initiative's third year as a platform for advancing sustainable pet nutrition solutions.
The program is seeking startups with low-carbon materials applicable to pet food, with a focus on alternative proteins, fats, oils and novel ingredients. The Mars Petcare Raws4Paws Accelerator is searching for next-generation suppliers to help source ingredients that address accessibility, security, sustainability and shifting consumer behavior in the pet industry.
Selected companies will receive expert guidance, potential commercial partnerships and $15,000, along with the opportunity to present their solutions at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore.
The 2026 Global Pet Food Innovation Program is open to global applicants, with a preference for scalable solutions based in or focused on the Asia-Pacific region. Innovators can apply at bigideaventures.com/pet-food-program/.
"We are committed to exploring new technologies and scaling innovation that could reduce the environmental impact of pet food," said Elisabetta Pierangelo, VP R&D Mars Pet Nutrition. "Through previous cohorts, we've uncovered promising new solutions and seen transformative technological developments. I'm eager to build on that momentum and witness the breakthroughs this year's program will unlock."
The initiative connects innovators from the human food space to the pet food industry and provides expertise from global leaders to help accelerate their path to market. Over the past two years, the program has generated insights into emerging technologies, with several participating startups now testing concepts that could shape the future of sustainable pet food.
"Our work with Mars Petcare and our partners has evolved into a focused engine for identifying and scaling the next generation of pet food ingredients," said Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner of Big Idea Ventures. "We are connecting high-quality startups with the corporations that can actually support these innovations to market, particularly across alternative proteins, fats, and novel ingredients.
"The priority now is not just discovery, but accelerating adoption and creating a more efficient path to commercial reality," Ive continued. "With Asia playing an increasingly important role, this is about building a global system that consistently delivers better, more sustainable ingredients at scale."
