As UK-based vegan pet food brand Hownd this week announces its rollout into Britain’s largest pet store chain Pets at Home, we decided to look into the ethical pet food brands now available in conventional pet retailers, and found that there are at least 15 producers currently listed in brick-and-mortar stores around the world.
Increasingly, consumers are beginning to question the logic behind killing animals in order to keep animals alive, and making purchasing choices that align with their ethics. A market report last December projected the vegan dog food market to increase from $12.27 billion in 2021 to $31.48 billion by 2029 with a CAGR of 12.5%.
Furthermore, a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE last year concluded that if all cats and dogs worldwide were exclusively fed vegan food, almost seven billion land-based livestock animals could be spared annually, along with billions of aquatic animals, and that feeding dogs a vegan diet could save an area of land larger than Mexico.
A tremendous milestone
In a significant move for the brand and for the movement as a whole, HOWND has launched its vet-approved Superfood range into Pets At Home online. The products contain pre- and pro-biotics, marine algae as a rich source of Omega-3, as well as Phytodroitin, an innovative cruelty-free alternative to commercially derived Chondroitin for joint support and mobility. Product Director Jo Amit describes the rollout as a “tremendous milestone” and its visibility on the Pets at Home website will certainly bring awareness amongst pet owners about the need for alternatives to conventionally produced pet meat.
In addition to the e-commerce listing, “Hownd Superfood is available at Pet Mania Ireland, Ocado and select pet specialty retailers. We hope that Pets At Home will stock Hownd Superfood in store in the near future,” says the company.
Another brand making great strides is Omni, a leader in the UK plant-based pet food scene. Just four months ago, the vet-led brand announced its rollout into Fressnapf, a leading German pet retailer and one of the largest globally. Operating over 1400 stores across 12 European countries, Fressnapf claims to be the largest pet product retailer in Europe.
Driving change in the industry
Omni has also gained the attention of Pets at Home, which was an early investor in Meatly, a cultivated pet food producer formerly known as Good Dog Food, established in 2022 by Agronomics and Roslin Technologies. And this week it was announced that it will be the first retailer to sell Omni Feast Chicken Revolution cans for cats (reportedly to be on sale for around just £1) containing cultivated chicken meat produced by Meatly.
Omni Feast needs to gain approval from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, though Founder Own Ensor told The Sunday Times that the approval is expected to arrive within the next three months.
“…finding sustainable alternatives to replace some of the protein used globally in pet food would be a major step forward“
David Wainwright, Commercial Director at Pets at Home, commented: “While it is still early days, we are committed to helping drive change in the industry and finding sustainable alternatives to replace some of the protein used globally in pet food would be a major step forward.”
Other cruelty-free brands available now in conventional stores include the following.
- Lily’s Kitchen – UK
- Beneo – Germany
- VegDog -Europe
- Benevo – UK
- Yarrah – Europe
- Wainwrights – UK
- V Dog – USA
- Halo – USA
- Scrumbles – UK
- Edgard Cooper – UK
- Wild Earth – USA
- Petaluma – USA
- V Planet – Globally
Coming soon – fermented proteins for pets
Further to all of the above animal-free pet food products already on the market, Colorado-based fermented protein producer Bond Pet Foods recently shipped its first two metric tons of protein produced via fermentation, enabling renowned global pet food manufacturer Hill’s Pet Nutrition to begin formulating prototypes for regulatory review and market assessment.
Bond Pet Foods’ proprietary fermented proteins mirror the nutritional profile of conventional meat but without the environmental drawbacks. The collaboration between the two companies was originally initiated in late 2021 to develop an alternative to one of Hill’s most used meat proteins. Just last month, the two companies revealed a second joint development agreement to explore additional sustainable animal proteins for Hill’s product line.
Dave Baloga, Executive Vice President of Science & Technology at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, commented, “Hill’s is known for its leadership in precise, complete and balanced, science-based nutrition. We are excited to continue our relationship with Bond and support their truly novel approach to [producing] animal proteins in a more sustainable way that meets our high-quality standards.”
