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Clif Bar & Company, producer of energy snacks and drinks, has dipped its toes into the vegan pet food market for the first time.
The company will soon welcome plant-based jerky for dogs to its lineup. The meat-free jerky will be available in the US in early 2022 under the new Clif Pet label.
The snacks are available in three varieties: Sweet Potato & Blueberry, Pumpkin & Apple, and Butternut Squash & Cranberry.
Each jerky flavor is made from just seven ingredients, and helps boost pets’ digestion, Clif Bar says. If all goes well, the company has assured it will introduce more animal-friendly treats in the near future.
Clif Bar is no stranger to the plant-based scene; most of its products are vegan-friendly, bar a handful which contain whey protein from milk or honey.
‘The category is exploding’
The launch of Clif Pet is part of the company’s recently announced Trailblazers Incubator program. The initiative was launched to select and develop promising business ventures with the potential to disrupt the status quo – for the better.
Greg Log, incubator senior director, believes the pet sector is thriving and ready for new players.
“With more than 11 million US households bringing a pet home during the last 18 months of COVID, the category is exploding and ripe for new offerings,” Lok said, according to Pet Food Processing.
“What makes this launch unique is the combination of speed and discipline to bring an innovative, relevant product to market during a global pandemic. We are truly blazing new trails by applying best practices from tech start-ups to our expertise in consumer insights and packaged goods – it’s a winning combination.”
Chief innovation officer Rizal Hamdallah shared similar sentiments with Forbes.
“The segment for plant-based, better-for-pets treats is growing and there’s more evidence that this is a space for us to go after,” they explained.
Indeed, the vegan pet sphere is becoming increasingly crowded, as more people than ever choose to feed their dogs plant-based diets.
The concept has long proven controversial, but an ever-expanding bank of research suggests dogs can thrive on animal-free diets.
