Innovafeed has introduced its new “Powered by Hilucia™” label through co-branding partnerships with US-based Jiminy’s & Arch, insect-based pet food leaders. As part of the partnership, products featuring the new label will be available on Jiminy’s and Arch’s websites.
One of the global leaders in insect production, Innovafeed has announced two strategic partnerships with the US pet food companies Jiminy’s and Arch for the rollout of its Powered by Hilucia™ co-branding on Jiminy’s Good Grub Dog Food and Arch’s Insect and Plant Recipe Dog Food. According to Innovafeed’s statement, these new collaborations, launched at Superzoo, one of North America’s premier pet retail events, mark a significant milestone in the company’s journey.
Products featuring the Powered by Hilucia™ label will be available on Jiminy’s and Arch’s websites, Amazon, and throughout major pet food retailers.
POWERED BY HILUCIA™ BECOMES A NEW LABEL
Hilucia™, a portmanteau of Hermetia illucens, the scientific name of the Black Soldier Fly, is Innovafeed’s brand for sustainable and performant ingredients for animal and plant nutrition that was soft-launched earlier this year. According to Innovafeed, Hilucia™ represents the convergence of the company’s pioneering industrial technology combined with the natural properties of an incredible insect that bring high-qualitative nutrition.
The Powered by Hilucia™ label is therefore becoming a seal of performance, sustainability, and precision, the company claims. The front-of-pack label is designed to raise awareness about the benefits of Innovafeed’s model, including the lower environmental impact —requiring at least 50% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional protein and oil sources—and the superior nutritional profile of the Hilucia™ Protein and Oil for Pets products, which contain 60% protein and essential fatty acids for optimal pet health, respectively.
“Our consumer research shows that simple education is crucial for the adoption of insect-based pet food, and once pet parents overcome that initial hurdle, they keep coming back. The Hilucia™ brand has been a way for us to both meet consumers where they are by using the new brand as an educational focal point, as well as providing us the ability to refer directly to Innovafeed’s uniquely pioneering industrial model within our partners’ value proposition to consumers as opposed to insect farming more generically. We believe that rolling out these consumer-facing brand partnerships will further contribute to promoting the adoption and growth of the insect pet food industry, and we couldn’t have found more forward-looking partners to kick things off with than Jiminy’s and Arch,” says Sean Madison, Director of Global Pet Food & North American Growth at Innovafeed.
THE BEGINNING OF A BROADER INITIATIVE
In addition to the front-of-pack label, the partnerships are aimed at providing clients with pedagogical contents on the quality of the ingredients and their benefits for their pet animals. Consumers will be able to find detailed explanations on the back-of-pack, educating them about the advantages of choosing products powered by Hilucia™ ingredients.
Educating pet food consumers is vital. Innovafeed’s consumer survey conducted in October 2023 with 509 US-based dog and cat owners revealed that after brief and simple educational prompts, the percentage of owners completely or very likely to feed their pets food with insect protein increased from 23% to 32%, while those not at all likely fell from 43% to 22%.
Innovafeed points out that this collaboration with Jiminy’s and Arch, both pioneers in the pet food industry who have built their reputation on their commitment to quality and innovation, is just the beginning, and the company is actively working on expanding its partnerships, with more brands set to join the Powered by Hilucia™ initiative soon.
BEYOND ON-PACK CO-BRANDING
The collaboration between Innovafeed and its Powered by Hilucia™ partner brands goes beyond the on-pack label. Together, they will leverage a variety of marketing and consumer-oriented collateral, including dedicated stories across websites, social media platforms, and in-store activations, to engage with pet consumers directly about the benefits of Hilucia-powered products.
The collaboration reportedly provides significant advantages for all partners involved and for the budding insect pet food industry more broadly. Jiminy’s and Arch will benefit from Innovafeed’s expertise in insect-based ingredients, research investments, and other strategic initiatives such as the Hilucia™ Pet Council—a regular meeting of the minds gathering brands, academics, and other experts to share best practices and ideate on the next phase for the industry. The result of all of these efforts will support the brands in their mission to meet consumer needs for sustainable and high-quality pet food, all while creating a compelling story for brands both new and old to join the insect pet food movement.
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Innovafeed and are committed to going beyond traditional on-pack co-branding. One dynamic way we’ll achieve this is by creating engaging educational content for social media, including TikTok. This will elevate our consumer conversation, fostering meaningful, informative engagement with our audience,” says Anne Carlson, CEO of Jiminy’s.
“We’re beyond excited to partner with Innovafeed and to benefit from their expertise, high-quality products, and positive impact to create an insect-based pet food that redefines pet nutrition for the betterment of both the pet and planet,” expresses Gabriel Huertas del Pino, Co-Founder and CEO of Arch Pet Food.
