The Advanced Bioeconomy and the Pet Wellness Revolution

These days, we don’t call it algae, we call it nutritional superfood, and we don’t call our furry friends “pets”, we call them companion animals. So, it’s hot news in the world of the advanced bioeconomy when TerraVia and Nestle Purina Pet Care announced a joint development agreement targeting the companion animal market. The agreement, which spans multiple years, will leverage certain commercially available algae-based advanced nutrition ingredients that TerraVia has developed as well as additional innovative ingredients and product concepts in TerraVia’s development pipeline. And it’s not entirely coincidental that the incoming CEO at TerraVia, Apu Mody, was most recently head of Mars North America — and though many know Mars for its snack and candy businesses, their a huge player in the pet food market. Er, I meant companion animal nutritional wellness space.