1C) Yes, raising and caring for our pets as true family members has naturally helped people become better informed about their pets’ nutrition, optimal wellness, and factors affecting the quality of their healthspans (1). With the rise of AI, people can now easily ask and get answers to sophisticated questions about their pets’ health challenges. While doing so raises the bar on people’s expectations for transparency, integrity, and quality in the ingredients they feed to their pets, it doesn’t have to risk disappointment so long as ingredient providers transparently provide peer-reviewed science backing claimed benefits and prove the purity and integrity of their supply chains. Such standards are basic to building and maintaining consumer trust. In omega-3 nutrition, every cell in the mammal body (human, dog, horse) requires these polyunsaturated fatty acids for proper cell membrane function, hormonal balance, and inflammation response/signaling(2). Delivering a stable balance of these fatty acids without any risk of contaminants or rancidity, proven by robust certificates of analysis, empowers consumers to expect the same quality in their pets’ diets as for their own.

1L)  Supporting healthy ageing for pets — keeping them active, fit, alert, flexible, and joyful — is a trend in itself, with innovation occurring in delivery formats (soft chews, sprays) and some ingredients that affect ‘whole body’ vs organ-specific support. Maintaining cardiovascular, mental, joint, skin (coat), and gut wellness (including healthy weight) are 5 key domains of healthy ageing. They are linked by hormonal signaling, glucose control, and stress response mechanisms inherent in every cell. Trending ingredients with natural anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory, and mitochondrial support address ‘unhealthy ageing’ at its roots. This is when acute and systemic low-grade inflammation combine to impair any of these systems to a point beyond recovery through diet and lifestyle changes.

As recent research in biological vs chronological aging has shown, maintaining certain elevated intakes of nutrients like omega-3’s and vitamin D3 with exercise can measurably slow the body’s biological aging clock(4). Many individual legacy pet ingredients are aimed at symptomatic relief associated with aging — for example glucosamine/chondroitin for aging joints(5), blueberries or turmeric for oxidative stress, or pumpkin/beet fiber for constipation(6). Other trending ingredients support essential or rate-limited cellular function at every age, including NAD+(7), astaxanthin(8), and full-spectrum omega-369 fatty acids such as Buglossoides oil(9)— providing ‘building blocks’ for better energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, and a wider array of anti-inflammatory substrates supporting whole-body cell/tissue regeneration.

2C) We see a shift towards pet owners seeking multi-active functionality from the least amount of inactive carriers or excipients, using natural high purity ingredients that trace back to whole food sources. Rather than seeing long lists of inactive ingredients with chemical names, consumers want nutrient dense whole-form active ingredients. For example, Buglossoides arvensis seed oil, the richest source of plant-based ALA, SDA, and GLA fatty acids(10), is a single ingredient that serves as a multi-active blend. We also see a shift towards pet food contract manufacturers, many of whom were burned by the closures of the Peruvian anchovy harvest season in 2023-24, seeking to de-risk and simplify their supply chains to avoid both climate-induced and geo-political supply chain risks in conventional omega fatty acid sources. If a single plant-based omega-369 can functionally replace a multi-ingredient blend of fish, flax, and borage oils, it can avoid costly episodes and frustrated brand partners while reinforcing consumer brand loyalty.

2E) People want their pets to get key benefits associated with omega-3 supplementation: heart (fitness), joint (mobility), brain (mood/focus), and skin (coat luster) health. People want their pets to experience optimal active healthspans. Improved omega-3 status undoubtedly plays a role(2). However, many pet owners are also concerned about contaminants affecting omega-3 supplies from ocean sources and their sustainability in meeting global omega-3 demand(11).

Plant-based, regeneratively farmed omega-3 sources have an important complementary role to play. An innovative and relatively new entrant in pet nutrition is Buglossoides arvensis seed oil, which is nature’s richest omega-3 source (65%)(12). Buglossoides oil has the highest levels of omega-3 SDA and contains comparable anti-inflammatory GLA levels as evening primrose oil. It also has low levels of omega-6 linoleic acid, comparable to avocado and olive oils. SDA and GLA are not significantly present in fish or algal omega-3 oils. Buglossoides oil naturally contains more than twice the omega-3 content of natural fish oil. In head-to-head comparisons of Buglossoides oil to fish oil in research trials investigating anti-inflammatory effects (for example in joints(13) and on insulin sensitivity(14) or in mitochondrial respiration, Buglossoides oil’s unique fatty acids performed comparably to or better than fish oil.

Exciting new research in humans and animals is helping to explain why. This research effectively challenges the conventional view that marine EPA/DHA sources are superior to plant-based sources. For decades, veterinarians and nutritionists have understood that humans and pets gain better cardiovascular and cognitive health benefits from raising intakes of omega-3 EPA and DHA, omega-3’s found in fish oil. This is because plant-based sources traditionally only contain ‘precursor’ omega-3 ALA which although recognized as essential (the body cannot make it so it must come from the diet), does not raise circulating EPA and DHA levels as effectively as ‘preformed’ fish or algal sources. However, new highly sophisticated analytical techniques can now measure how quickly different plant sources of omega-3 convert to EPA/DHA in the tissues where omega-3’s matter the most: brain, liver, adipose. The new research shows that ALA’s actual conversion rate to DHA (thought to be <1% using blood-based measures) is at least 10 times higher in animals and humans than previous estimates(16). This means that omega-3 rich plant sources like Buglossoides oil, which provides the highest amount of naturally occurring ALA and SDA, can match fish oil for gaining typical omega-3 intake benefits, while offering more anti-inflammatory and hormonal balance benefits than can occur from flaxseed oil which contains no GLA.

4A) Key success factors are the same as for the human supplements sector:

• Trust, integrity, and transparency in supply chains — with no recalls
• Relevant peer-reviewed research backing claimed benefits for humans and animals
• Sustainable and regenerative production that doesn’t cost the Earth
• Free from chemical solvents, heavy metals, microbial pathogens
• Convenient, shelf stable, and palatable delivery forms that meet pets where they are
• Innovative, zero waste and/or upcycled ingredients and packaging
• Ingredient suppliers and consumer brands telling authentic origin stories that connect emotionally to why people love their pets and want to sustain their healthspan journeys in the first place