Alternative proteins gain ground: THE PACK Co-Founder calls for industry unity

Competition in the burgeoning alternative protein market for the pet food space could help expand the market for everyone.

Damien Clarkson has been speaking to GlobalPETS following the recent brand acquisition plant-based protein firm THE PACK Prefera Petfoods.

With more participants looking to gain an early advantage in the alternative proteins market, with solutions such as insects, Clarkson is keen for the industry to work together.

“I see what we do as part of the mix, and I see the insect side as part of the mix,” he says. “It’s hard to say who will win. Maybe there doesn’t need to be a winner, or there could be winners as long as the market kind of grows.”

The plant-based protein business he co-founded recently collaborated with Meatly for the world’s first artificial meat product for dogs in the UK.

Recent developments also include the development of a cultivated mouse-meat mousse by BioCraft and Nasekomo, claiming a new industry benchmark for insect bioconversion profitability.

Dominating the market

Citing a specific example of something that may seem counterintuitive for a business seeking to dominate the market, Clarkson says that when UK firm Lily’s Kitchen began promoting its own range of plant-based pet food, he considered it a positive for THE PACK.

“They promote on their social media. This is great for us because it opens up the market, you know, they’ve got a massive reach,” he notes.

“It’s about pushing this to the mainstream kind of audience. This could only be good to challenger brands. The growth of all these different areas is going to be really beneficial for each other. So we’re all in unison, hopefully.”

Growing demand

As for the demand for alternative proteins, Clarkson recalls the plan to launch the Chick Bites product with Meatly, which was only for a limited 750 pouches in a single Pets at Home store, rather than launching online.

“I knew that if it went online, it would just go ‘like that’ because it’s so unique, obviously a world first, everyone wants to try it, even if you’re just curious,” he says. “I think what it means going forward really is that we’re going to do more stuff in the cultured meat space with Meatly.”

Clarkson is also anticipating collaboration with BioCraft, which is also working with Prefera.