INTERVIEW 60 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE June 2025 lightbulb moment — a fully vegan protein source that’s also complete and highly digestible. We launched MicroBell a few months ago, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. This isn’t about replacing insect protein — it’s about offering an additional high-quality, sustainable solution for a different consumer segment. Specifically, for dog owners who follow a vegan lifestyle or are deeply invested in sustainability. Fuhrmann: The vegan pet food market is bigger than we anticipated. In the UK, for example, there’s strong demand for vegan nutrition — not just for humans, but for their animals, too. Before launch, we conducted nine months of feeding trials. Our formulation is not only proven through practical use but also backed by science. We've also secured GRAS approval in the United States, allowing FeedKind to be used as a feed ingredient. And we’re proud to say that Professor Andrew Knight, one of the leading figures in vegan veterinary nutrition, is now promoting the product in countries like Thailand, Mexico, and the U.S. Can you share more details about the trials and the effect of FeedKind on dog health? And will there be a version for cats? Hoffmann: Right now, we’re focused on dogs. We’re already working on wet food and snack formats. Cats are a bit trickier due to their selective palates and specific nutritional needs, so that development will take longer. Fuhrmann: We’ve run some initial tests and results were promising — but to stay 100% vegan, we can’t use chicken or salmon oil as flavor enhancers, which makes things more complex. That said, we’ll follow a similar path to what we did with insect protein — one step at a time. What’s great about FeedKind is its naturally high glutamic acid content. This gives the food a strong umami flavor — and dogs love it. So far, we haven’t seen any dog reject it. MicroBell is currently available only as dry food. Can we expect other formats soon? Hoffmann: We’re currently in the development phase, so I can’t share too much just yet. But our plan is to launch a wet food version later this year, also based on FeedKind and, of course, fully vegan. As always, we don’t just want to put out a “marketing product.” We aim to deliver complete, balanced nutrition. Once we’re confident in the formulation, we’ll be ready to go to market. Sustainability is a major concern for modern consumers. How do your products contribute to environmental goals? Hoffmann: Neither insect protein nor FeedKind “The world doesn’t need another chicken-based pet food. We want to be different. Our goal was to develop a truly vegan, nutritionally complete, everyday food — and with MicroBell, we believe we’ve achieved that.” Adobe Stock | #229822169
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