Chicago, August 22, 2024 – Innovafeed is excited to announce 2 strategic partnerships with toprenowned US pet food companies Jiminy’s and Arch for the rollout of its Powered by Hilucia™ co-branding on Jiminy’s Good Grub Dog Food and Arch’s Insect and Plant Recipe Dog Food. These new collaborations, launched at Superzoo, North America’s premier pet retail event, mark a significant milestone in Innovafeed’s journey.
Products featuring the Powered by Hilucia™ label will be available on Jiminy’s and Arch’s websites, Amazon, and throughout major pet food retailers. Specific retailers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Powered by Hilucia™ becomes a new label, a guarantee of quality and sustainability
Hilucia™, a portmanteau of Hermetia illucens, the scientific name of the Black Soldier Fly, is Innovafeed’s brand for sustainable and performant ingredients for animal and plant nutrition that was soft-launched earlier this year. It represents the convergence of Innovafeed’s pioneering industrial technology combined with the natural properties of an incredible insect that bring high-qualitative nutrition.
The Powered by Hilucia™ label is therefore becoming a seal of performance, sustainability, and precision. The front-of-pack label is designed to raise awareness about the benefits of Innovafeed’s model, including the lower environmental impact —requiring at least 50% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional protein and oil sources—and the superior nutritional profile of the Hilucia™ Protein and Oil for Pets products, which contain 60% protein and essential fatty acids for optimal pet health, respectively.
“Our consumer research shows that simple education is crucial for the adoption of insect-based pet food, and once pet parents overcome that initial hurdle, they keep coming back. The Hilucia™ brand has been a way for us to both meet consumers where they are by using the new brand as an educational focal point, as well as providing us the ability to refer directly to Innovafeed’s uniquely pioneering industrial model within our partners’ value proposition to consumers as opposed to insect farming more generically. We believe that rolling out these consumer-facing brand partnerships will further contribute to promoting the adoption and growth of the insect pet food industry, and we couldn’t have found more forward-looking partners to kick things off with than Jiminy’s and Arch.”
Sean Madison, Director of Global Pet Food & North American Growth at Innovafeed
The Beginning of a Broader Initiative aimed at educating customers about these new high-qualitative ingredients
In addition to the front-of-pack label, the partnerships are aimed at providing clients with pedagogical contents on the quality of the ingredients and their benefits for their pet animals. Consumers will be able to find detailed explanations on the back-of-pack, educating them about the advantages of choosing products powered by Hilucia™ ingredients.
Educating pet food consumers is vital. Our consumer survey conducted in October 2023 with 509 US-based dog and cat owners revealed that after brief and simple educational prompts, the percentage of owners completely or very likely to feed their pets food with insect protein increased from 23% to 32%, while those not at all likely fell from 43% to 22%.
This collaboration with Jiminy’s and Arch, both pioneers in the pet food industry who have built their reputation on their commitment to quality and innovation, is just the beginning, and Innovafeed is actively working on expanding its partnerships, with more brands set to join the Powered by Hilucia™ initiative soon.
Beyond On-Pack Cobranding
The collaboration between Innovafeed and its Powered by Hilucia™ partner brands goes beyond the on-pack label. Together, they will leverage a variety of marketing and consumer-oriented collateral, including dedicated stories across websites, social media platforms, and in-store activations, to engage with pet consumers directly about the benefits of Hilucia-powered products.
The collaboration provides significant advantages for all partners involved and for the budding insect pet food industry more broadly. Jiminy’s and Arch will benefit from Innovafeed’s expertise in insect-based ingredients, research investments, and other strategic initiatives such as the Hilucia™ Pet Council—a regular meeting of the minds gathering brands, academics, and other experts to share best practices and ideate on the next phase for the industry. The result of all of these efforts will support the brands in their mission to meet consumer needs for sustainable and high-quality pet food, all while creating a compelling story for brands both new and old to join the insect pet food movement.
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Innovafeed and are committed to going beyond traditional on-pack co-branding. One dynamic way we’ll achieve this is by creating engaging educational content for social media, including TikTok. This will elevate our consumer conversation, fostering meaningful, informative engagement with our audience.”
Anne Carlson, CEO of Jiminy’s
“We’re beyond excited to partner with Innovafeed and to benefit from their expertise, high-quality products, and positive impact to create an insect-based pet food that redefines pet nutrition for the betterment of both the pet and planet.”
Gabriel Huertas del Pino, Co-Founder and CEO of Arch Pet Food
About Innovafeed
Innovafeed is an ag-tech company (B Corp, Most Innovative Company 2024, PSC accredited) and a global leader in insect production (Hermetia illucens – Black Soldier Fly) for animal and plant nutrition. Created in 2016 driven by the ambition to find innovative and disruptive solutions to the challenges faced by the global food system, it develops disruptive technologies that replicate natural processes on an industrial scale. By building a circular, waste-free food chain that replicates the natural role of the insect, Innovafeed reinvents our way of life with increased quality, sustainability, and resilience for all.
Its wide range of products includes: Hilucia™ Protein and Oil for pet food; Hilucia™ Protein for aquaculture; Hilucia™ Oil for monogastrics; and Hilucia™ Frass for plants, a 100% natural fertilizer made from insect excrement.
Innovafeed has over 350 pragmatic dreamers for whom performance and positive impact must go hand in hand to shape the world we will leave to future generations. To find out more: https://innovafeed.com/en.
About Jiminy’s
At Jiminy’s, we’re passionate about pets and the planet. We use insect protein to create sustainable dog food and treats with gut health, allergy relief, and essential nutrients in every tasty bite. Jiminy’s products nourish our pets and promote long-term stewardship of the earth. Our mission is to be a positive force for change, making sustainable and humane choices while mindful of the bigger picture. For more information, please visit www.jiminys.com.
About Arch
Arch is a pet consumable company bridging sustainability and your pets’ wellness. Arch takes the guesswork out of the equation for new pet owners by offering an alt-protein treat and food that is food-allergen friendly, highly nutritious, and sustainable. Better for the dogs, better for the planet, better for everyone. For more information, please visit: https://archpetfood.com/.
