- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Q&A
Healthy weight remains a significant challenge for companion animals, with an estimated 50–60% of dogs and cats currently overweight. Although healthy weight is strongly associated with longevity, many existing solutions require pet parents to recognize the problem, change diets, measure portions precisely, and consistently manage feeding behavior. These requirements create barriers to adoption because feeding routines are closely connected to convenience, established habits, and the pet-parent bond.
Current weight-management products commonly rely on high-fiber, high-protein formulations combined with L-carnitine. While these approaches can support weight management, they generally require the entire diet to be formulated around that single benefit. As a result, pet parents may need to replace the pet’s regular food with a dedicated weight-management product rather than gaining the benefit through familiar foods already used in the pet’s routine. Success may also depend on calculating and weighing precise portions based on body weight, activity, and individual needs.
As a global pet care and nutrition company, we see an opportunity to incorporate novel active ingredients into familiar pet nutrition products to deliver physiologically meaningful benefits for dogs and cats in the pursuit of healthy weight.
We are looking for functional ingredients or ingredient-based technologies that have demonstrated, or are scientifically expected to deliver, meaningful healthy-weight benefits in humans, other animals, or in vitro systems. Relevant effects may include appetite or satiety support, improved body condition, fat loss with lean-mass maintenance, or increased activity. Our ultimate goal is to adapt suitable solutions for incorporation into a range of pet diets, including wet food, dry food, and treats, while fitting seamlessly into a pet’s normal feeding routine. Although pet-specific clinical validation is not required at this stage, proposals should provide credible supporting evidence or a strong scientific rationale justifying further evaluation in companion animals.
- Novel active ingredients that support healthy body condition, weight maintenance, or weight reduction
- Actives promoting appetite control, satiety, or reduced food-seeking behavior
- Solutions that promote fat loss while maintaining lean muscle mass
- Ingredients that support energy expenditure, metabolic efficiency, or nutrient partitioning
- Bioactive compounds that enhance physical activity, mobility, or other factors associated with healthy weight maintenance
- Ingredients that influence GLP-1 signaling or other physiological pathways related to appetite, satiety, energy balance, or nutrient utilization
- Probiotics, postbiotics, synbiotics, microbial metabolites, or other microbiome-derived solutions
- Other innovative ingredient-based approaches that deliver measurable benefits aligned with the healthy-weight challenge
- Evidence demonstrating an effect on at least one healthy-weight outcome, such as body weight or fat reduction, body condition improvements, food intake reduction, satiety, reduced energy expenditure, or lean-mass retention, supported by in vitro (minimum), human (acceptable), animal (acceptable), or pet (preferred) data.
- A clear mechanism of action linking the solution to the stated healthy-weight outcome, supported by experimental evidence, published science, or a strong and testable biological rationale.
- No known unacceptable effects on nutrient intake, gastrointestinal tolerance, lean mass, palatability, or overall animal health.
- Evidence or a technically justified basis that the solution can retain stability, activity, and functionality through the relevant manufacturing process (100-140 °C, up to 60 mins) and intended shelf life in an ambient environment (product moisture ranges from 8-80% depending on the final application).
- Existing regulatory acceptance for pet consumption or a clear, feasible strategy to achieve approval/compliance for the intended applications and markets, mainly in the USA and EU.
- Demonstrated efficacy in dogs and/or cats through feeding trials, clinical studies, or other relevant in vivo research.
- Multiple complementary health benefits beyond healthy weight management (e.g., digestive health, mobility, healthy aging, metabolic health, or vitality).
- A clear pathway toward scalable manufacturing, reliable supply, and commercial deployment.
- Existing regulatory acceptance, market presence, or prior use in food, feed, or pet nutrition applications.
- A sustainability benefit, such as reduced environmental footprint, resource efficiency, circularity, or utilization of upcycled/by-product streams.
- Conventional weight-management approaches, primarily based on increased fiber, increased protein, and/or L-carnitine supplementation.
- Complete diet reformulation without a novel active ingredient or ingredient-based technology.
- Feeding devices, smart feeders, portion-control systems, or other automated feeding solutions.
- Wearable devices, activity trackers, or digital monitoring technologies.
- Diagnostic, screening, or weight-assessment platforms.
- Exercise, training, or lifestyle interventions that do not involve an ingredient-based nutritional solution.
The Q&A is now closed.
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