WANPY® Chicken Jerky wins 2026 Pet Innovation Award as measurable standards redefine premium dog treats

WANPY® Chicken Jerky has been named the 2026 “Jerky-Style Dog Treat of the Year” by the Pet Innovation Awards. This product-level recognition marked an important milestone for WANPY® and was later followed by the brand’s receipt of the 2026 WPA International Excellence Award. 

Together, the two honors highlight how WANPY® connects its broader commitment to quality and innovation with clearly defined standards for individual products.

The Pet Innovation Awards is an independent global recognition program dedicated to identifying products, services and companies helping shape the future of pet care. Entries undergo an in-depth evaluation by industry professionals from fields including pet care, veterinary science and consumer goods. 

Submissions are assessed across multiple dimensions, including originality, practical impact, safety and quality, benefits to pets and owners, and their potential influence on the industry, giving the recognition significance beyond commercial popularity or brand visibility alone.

A move toward greater transparency

The award comes amid continued growth in the global pet-care industry, driven in part by owners increasingly treating pets as family members and making more considered decisions about their health, nutrition and everyday well-being.

In the United States alone, the pet industry reached $158 billion in 2025, according to figures cited by the Pet Innovation Awards, with spending expanding across food, wellness, healthcare, grooming and other areas of pet care.

Within this growing market, food and treats have become key categories in which consumers are seeking greater transparency. As more products compete using claims such as “premium,” “natural,” “high protein” and “real meat,” pet owners are increasingly looking for clear evidence behind those messages, including ingredient percentages, nutritional attributes, formulation standards and production methods.

The dog treat category illustrates this change particularly clearly. Treats are purchased as rewards and for the enjoyment they provide, but they also form part of a pet’s overall diet. In meat-based products such as jerky, the relationship between meat content, protein, digestibility, texture, aroma and processing is therefore becoming increasingly important to product differentiation.

It is within this changing category landscape that WANPY® Chicken Jerky has received one of the pet industry’s notable product recognitions for 2026.

Turning premium claims into measurable standards

The significance of the award extends beyond the recognition of a single product. The attributes highlighted in the judging rationale closely reflect the direction in which premium pet treats are evolving: toward more clearly defined and measurable product standards rather than reliance on a single marketing proposition.

WANPY® Chicken Jerky is developed according to the WANPY® 345 Formula, a proprietary quality system created specifically for premium jerky products.

The formula establishes three measurable product benchmarks:

• 90%+ real meat
• 40%+ protein
• 93%+ digestibility

It also defines four formulation standards:

• Zero Artificial Preservatives
• Zero Artificial Colors
• Zero Grains & Gluten
• Zero Added Sugar & Attractants

These standards matter because a broad claim such as “high protein” communicates only one aspect of a product. Meat content, protein level, digestibility and formulation each describe a different dimension of quality, while manufacturing processes influence the physical characteristics that owners and pets experience during feeding.

Production processes designed around product quality

WANPY® supports these formulation standards through a series of clearly defined production processes, including Precision Fat Trimming, Gentle Tumbling, a 5D Freshness Lock and 24-Hour Low-Temperature Baking.

These processes are designed to preserve the texture of real meat, retain its natural aroma and create a satisfying chew.

The same combination of measurable nutrition, defined formulation standards and specialized processing was reflected in the comments surrounding the award.

Travis Grant, Managing Director of Independent Innovation Awards, identified WANPY® Chicken Jerky’s high meat inclusion, nutritional density, digestibility, clean formulation standards and processing technologies as key factors distinguishing the product within the jerky category.

Product innovation recognized on an international stage

The 2026 Pet Innovation Awards attracted thousands of nominations from around the world across categories spanning food and treats, health, personalized and functional nutrition, sustainable products, retail and services, and other areas of pet care.

Against this broad and competitive field, the recognition of WANPY® Chicken Jerky reflects the relevance of its measurable nutritional benchmarks, defined formulation standards and specialized production processes to the direction of today’s pet-care market.

For manufacturers, this evolution raises the standard for premium positioning. Products still need an appealing ingredient story and a strong sensory proposition, but these elements increasingly need to be supported by clear nutritional, formulation and manufacturing standards.

For consumers, the result is a market in which “premium” can be assessed through more than branding alone.

Jerky is particularly well positioned to demonstrate this shift. Real meat content is directly relevant to the product’s identity. Protein provides a measurable nutritional attribute. Formulation clarifies what has been included or excluded, while processing influences the physical product that ultimately reaches the pet.

WANPY® Chicken Jerky brings these elements together in a single product example. Following this product-level recognition, WANPY® went on to receive the 2026 WPA International Excellence Award, which recognized the brand’s broader performance in product quality, innovation, R&D, quality control and international market development.

Together, the two honors recognize different but closely connected dimensions of WANPY®: the Pet Innovation Award demonstrates how the brand’s capabilities are translated into a specific product, while the WPA International Excellence Award recognizes the broader systems and strengths behind the brand.

As the pet industry continues to grow and owners become increasingly intentional about nutrition and wellness, this connection will become more important. The next stage of premiumization is unlikely to be defined by a single ingredient or marketing phrase. Instead, products that connect their claims with identifiable nutritional, formulation and manufacturing attributes will be better positioned to demonstrate why they belong at the premium end of the category.