PET Food Processing - December 2018 - 14

TRENDS

"If there's a huge spike in demand for a
specific ingredient, there isn't always enough
supply readily available to meet the human
food demand as well as the pet food demand."
Lexie Berglund, The Pound Bakery

Brands turn to The
Pound Bakery for
not only all-natural,
limited-ingredient
pet treats but also
marketing services to
help products stand
out in a crowd.
The Pound Bakery

trends constantly following human trends, it is sometimes challenging to source enough of the on-trend ingredients because The Pound Bakery is competing with
human food manufacturers for those same ingredients.
"If there's a huge spike in demand for a specific ingredient, there isn't always enough supply readily available
to meet the human food demand as well as the pet food
demand," she says.
Organic ingredient sourcing in high-volumes can be
challenging as well. "Oftentimes, organic ingredients
need to be contracted out before planting. If a brand
comes to us and wants to place a high-volume order for
an organic treat, we often need to know ahead of time
to get those contracts in place to ensure we will have
enough of the necessary ingredients," Berglund adds.
"This can make it difficult to react quickly to new consumer trends in that area."
Unfortunately, there are some functional ingredients
that are just not possible to add into treats that require
a baking or extrusion process. Berglund explains some

probiotics or other nutrients cannot withstand the heating process and lose their functionality. Because of this,
trying to formulate a baked or extruded treat with specific functionalities is not always possible.
"Luckily though, over the past few years, we've seen
improvements made to specific ingredients, like encapsulated probiotics," she says. "Some of these improvements have made it possible for us to use these ingredients in our treats without the heating process affecting
the functionality."
Three Dog Bakery is unique in that, unlike its shelfstable packaged items, the treats produced on-site at
each local bakery are created to be eaten within a week.
"This is a challenge compared to the majority of the
treats industry, but this allows us to connect with pet
parents who want a fresh, hand-baked option," Gasper
shares. "In terms of specific ingredients, carob can create
a challenge. This is used for decorating in our bakeries,
but we only use the unsweetened variety. Not only is it
a somewhat rare ingredient compared to the sweetened
alternative, but when personalizing celebration cakes, it
must have the right melting characteristics."

Looking ahead
In the future, Berglund anticipates continued growth in
demand for treats made with superfoods, functionality
and sustainable ingredients. "Pet owners want to feed
their pets treats that are healthy and beneficial to them,"
she says. "With increased consumer knowledge, the demand for health in the pet industry is only going to continue to grow."
Humanization has moved beyond just being a trend
and is, instead, the cost of entry into the market for
many of today's brands and products, Gasper says. "In
general, this currently seems to apply most closely to ingredient selection and ingredient quality," she says. "At
Three Dog Bakery, we think this will continue to stretch
beyond just ingredients and carry over to product shapes
and forms as well as packaging."
Treating pets to special snacks made of 'real foods'
similar to how a pet owner might treat themselves offers
a rewarding way for people to indulge their pets. PFP

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PET Food Processing - December 2018

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