EIT Food partners with Mars for an Open Innovation Challenge to transform fibre for petcare
Germany – EIT Food, the world’s largest innovation community supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union; in partnership with Mars Petcare, a global leader in veterinary care, nutrition, and breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing, and pet welfare; have announced the launch of an Open Innovation Challenge to identify innovative solutions to transform fibre into protein and sugar, with the aim of developing more sustainable pet food ingredients.
Through engaging EIT Food’s far-reaching network, which includes food industry, startups, research institutes and universities, this initiative aims to transform byproducts from agricultural processing (e.g. straw from crop harvesting, waste from peeling and chopping vegetables) into nutritious ingredients for pet food by improving its digestibility for pets – offering a unique and significant opportunity for agrifood stakeholders.
“Agricultural byproducts often comprise of high-quality proteins but come with high levels of insoluble fibres that limit usage in pet food due to being difficult for pets to digest. Transforming the insoluble fibre fractions into materials that can be effectively digested in the gut of a dog or cat would allow the usage of what would otherwise be a waste material as a valuable and more sustainable option for pet food.”
“This Open Innovation Challenge with EIT Food represents a significant step forward in our mission to drive more sustainable food solutions for pets. We believe that we have a lot to offer when it comes to open innovation approaches and are excited to tap into this using the ecosystem and know-how of EIT Food.”
The Open Innovation Challenge provides an exciting opportunity for organizations harnessing cutting edge technologies to work with the global leader in pet care, with potential to scale innovations rapidly. The top 10 solutions will be invited to a virtual demo day and up to two of the finalists will be supported by Mars Petcare to develop a joint PoC (Proof of Concept).
Applications are open for startups, academia, research institutes, or established organisations. The deadline for applications is September 22nd, 23:59 CEST, using the link here.
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For more information and interview enquiries, please contact communication@eitfood.eu.
About EIT Food
EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all.
Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, we invest in projects, organisations and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.
We are one of nine innovation communities established by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.
Find out more at www.eitfood.eu or follow us via social media: X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.
For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
