Big Idea Ventures and Mars Petcare select three startups for the 2026 Next Generation Pet Food Program
In collaboration with AAK, Bühler, Givaudan, and Ingredion, the program advances innovative proteins, fats, and oils intended to reduce the environmental footprint of pet food ingredients.
NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Idea Ventures and Mars Petcare, together with partners AAK, Bühler, Givaudan, and Ingredion, have selected three startups for the 2026 Next Generation Pet Food Program. Now in its third year, the program identifies and accelerates breakthrough materials with the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of pet food, including alternative proteins, fats, oils, and novel ingredients.
This year's program attracted 83 applications from 33 countries. Nearly half came from the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting the program's deliberate expansion in Asia and the region's growing role in ingredient innovation focused on addressing sustainability challenges. This year's applicants faced stricter application criteria and delivered against the program's request for ventures with a higher level of commercial maturity. The cohort signaled an acceleration in alternative ingredient innovation and a transition from proof of concept towards supply chain readiness.
Over half of the applications focused on dry proteins, a third were geared towards wet proteins, and the remaining across fats and oils; produced through plant-based processing, fermentation, insect farming, and other emerging methods. After a multistage selection process evaluating innovation, scalability, potential sustainability benefits, and commercial potential, three companies were selected for this year's cohort.
The selected companies are:
- EcoBean — This Polish company valorizes spent coffee grounds from industrial production, creating high-value ingredients for cosmetics, food, and pet applications.
- Loopworm — This Indian insect biotech company manufactures, high-performance protein and fat ingredients from silkworms using proprietary technology.
- Space Ark Biomedical — This Taiwanese company upcycles okara and brewer's spent grain into functional protein ingredients, powered by enzyme technology and precision fermentation.
Together, the cohort demonstrates how side-stream valorization, insect biotechnology, and fermentation can unlock new sources of protein and functional ingredients for pet nutrition, each drawing on feedstocks that are abundant or underused in existing industrial supply chains.
Elisabetta Pierangelo, VP R&D, Mars Pet Nutrition said, "This program is a powerful opportunity to bring together ingredient innovators, scientists, manufacturers and industry experts around a common goal. Together, we're focused on accelerating innovation and turning promising ideas into scalable solutions that could help advance pet food systems with a lower environmental footprint and deliver high-quality nutrition."
"The next generation of pet nutrition will be shaped by technologies that have the potential to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining performance," said Andrew D. Ive, Founder and Managing General Partner at Big Idea Ventures. "What makes this program powerful is the ecosystem behind it. By bringing together breakthrough science, industry expertise, and strategic partners, we can help de-risk promising innovations, validate their commercial potential, and accelerate their path into real-world supply chains. Together with Mars Petcare and our partners around the world, we're helping build the capabilities needed to scale the future of pet food."
The startups will receive expert guidance, access to R&D facilities, tailored opportunities and a $15,000 cash prize to refine their solutions and accelerate their path to market.
The program will culminate at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore on October 27–29, 2026, where the cohort will pitch to an international audience of industry leaders, investors, and decision makers.
For more information about the Next Generation Pet Food Program, visit bigideaventures.com/pet-food-program.
About the Partners
Big Idea Ventures
Big Idea Ventures is building the bioeconomy by investing in breakthrough technologies across food, agriculture, and materials. Its mission is to support the world's best entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers to solve the world's greatest challenges.
The firm gives partners access to world-leading innovation through fund management, tech scouting, venture building, acceleration, direct investment, and global innovation challenges. Supported by Vevolution, Big Idea Ventures' digital platform connecting thousands of startups with investors and corporates, the firm delivers continuous deal flow, analysis, and ecosystem mapping — creating low-risk, high-insight opportunities to pilot technologies, form strategic partnerships, and demonstrate leadership in sustainable innovation.
With teams in New York, Paris, and Asia, and more than 160 investments across 30 countries, Big Idea Ventures helps solve real-world challenges — extending its partners the reach of R&D, strategy, and investment teams, enabling partners to accelerate the next generation of sustainable innovation.
To explore partnerships, pilots, or investment opportunities, contact Shruti Salkar at [email protected].
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. Based on combined Mars and Kellanova 2025 net sales, we are a $65bn+ family-owned business with 170,000 Associates, our diverse portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services serve pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delights millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, EXTRA®, Pringles®, Cheez-It®, and BEN'S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ deliver high quality veterinary care and ANTECH ™ offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics.
For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
AAK
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils and fats, the value-adding ingredients in many products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK's offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what Making Better Happen™ means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and deep knowledge of products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice, and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 16 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 19 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
Bühler
Bühler is driven by its purpose of creating innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of economy, humanity, and nature in all its decision-making processes. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler solutions. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. As a technology partner with this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to help unlock new pathways to profitable sustainability and, through its solutions and services, turn global challenges into opportunities.
For this reason, in 2019, Bühler committed to having the solutions ready to multiply that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. In 2025, it established that in 11 of the key 15 value chains, reductions of at least 50% are feasible in one or more key environmental dimensions. Across all value chains, savings of more than 35% are achievable in at least one category. The company is now focused on driving adoption and scaling these solutions further to multiply impact. In its own operations, Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1 & 2, against a 2019 baseline).
Bühler spends up to 5% of its turnover on research and development annually to improve both the commercial and sustainability performance of its solutions, products, and services. In 2025, the company employed 12,090 people who generated a turnover of CHF 2.8 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company with a history spanning 166 years, Bühler is active in over 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 105 service stations, 27 manufacturing sites, and research and training centers in 26 locations.
Givaudan
Givaudan is a global leader in Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing. We celebrate the beauty of human experience by creating happier, healthier lives with love for nature. Together with our customers we deliver food experiences, craft-inspired fragrances and develop beauty and wellbeing solutions that make people look and feel good. In 2024, Givaudan employed over 16,900 people worldwide and achieved CHF 7.4 billion in sales with a free cash flow of 15.6%. With a heritage that stretches back over 250 years, we are committed to driving long-term, purpose-led growth by improving people's health and happiness and increasing our positive impact on nature. This is Givaudan. Human by nature.
Ingredion
Ingredion Incorporated, headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in more than 120 countries. With 2025 annual net sales of approximately $7.2 billion, the Company turns grains, fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets.
Ingredion partners with pet food companies to advance sustainable nutrition solutions, supporting responsible sourcing, resource efficiency and environmentally conscious product innovation. With 30 Ingredion Idea Labs® innovation centers located around the world and more than 11,000 employees, the Company co-creates with customers and fulfills its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature, and technology together to make life better.
Media Contacts:
AAK:
Carl Ahlgren
Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communication
+46706810734
[email protected]
Big Idea Ventures:
Shruti Salkar
Email: [email protected]
Bühler Group:
Dalen Jacomino Panto, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 37 57
Mobile: +41 79 900 53 88
E-mail: [email protected]
Katja Hartmann, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Schweiz
Mobile: +41 79 483 68 07
Email: [email protected]
Givaudan:
Naheel Abdelall,
Regional Communications Head Taste & Wellbeing - South Asia, Middle East & Africa
Email: [email protected]
Ingredion:
Rick Wion, Head of External Communications
Email: [email protected]
Mars:
Alex Lloyd, Global R&D Communications Senior Manager
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Big Idea Ventures
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