Customer Marketing Manager
August 20, 2025
The importance of sustainable pet products with purchasers is expected to increase over the next few years. Now is the time for manufacturers and pet food brands to explore how supply chain partners like Scoular can deliver ingredient solutions that help support increased transparency around ingredient sourcing and meet the growing demands of pet owners seeking complete diets and treats with a sustainable angle.
Pet owners are already more willing to pay for sustainable versions of products for their pets than they are for themselves, with 54% of consumers open to paying a moderate premium for sustainable products.¹
From 2023 to 2024, new pet food product launches in North America with a sustainability claim rose by 18.4 percent.²
Sustainably-sourced ingredients may:
With 30+ years of pet food supply chain expertise and a global sourcing network, Scoular can supply both sustainable-certified ingredients and options that are sustainably sourced or upcycled to help support your sustainability story.
To provide for consumers seeking high transparency, consider options certified by the MSC, such as pollock meal, mackerel meal and krill meal. We source material from all over the world and can offer these and other products, such as frozen fish, that adhere to MSC certification.
Upcycled ingredients can support waste reduction and reduce environmental impact. Upcycled proteins are created by ensuring that the byproducts of preparing marine or animal proteins for human consumption are fully utilized to create ingredients suitable for other diets. For example, the frozen fish products created at Scoular’s processing facility in Burlington, WA.
With sustainable resources and water usage among the top five most important factors affecting purchase decisions¹, products that can support low-waste stories may matter more to pet owners.
Additional upcycled options for pet food formulations could include frozen meats, animal meals or fish meals, broths and other specialty ingredients that can help support label claims. Upcycled ingredients can cater to flavors that pets enjoy most, such as chicken and beef, and are nutritious additions to pet food and treats.
Brown seaweed and fermented dried seaweed are two sustainably-sourced kelp options that can help add vitamins into formulations, and support common health concerns such as skin and coat, digestion and immunity, among many other label claims.
Additional marine ingredients may also be considered sustainably sourced with responsible harvesting, such as krill. In the past 15 months, krill meal interest surged as high as 1,850% domestically.³
Likewise, interest in high quality fish oil for dogs, such as marine oils like wild Alaskan pollock oil and wild Alaskan salmon oil, have surged more than 4,000 percent. Both are good options for pet supplements and formulations looking to include omega-3’s claims.
By choosing upcycled ingredients, including alternative protein sources, or supporting suppliers and producers going above to meet criteria for sustainable certification, pet food manufacturers are better able to tie their products to environmental stewardship. Scoular can help supply a variety of sustainable-friendly ingredients. Contact our team to explore our full portfolio of options.