In this third installment of our Trends to Watch in 2025 mini-series, we’re delving into the microscopic world of biotic ingredients and their transformative impact on pet health and wellness. Tune in to learn how prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics work together to positively influence not just digestive health, but also mood, cognition, skin health, and overall wellbeing. Plus, learn about the science behind careful strain selection and why pet parents are increasingly turning to biotics to extend their pets’ healthspans.

Helpful Links

Understanding the Role of Prebiotics in Pet Food: https://bsmpartners.net/insights/prebiotics-in-pet-food/

Getting to Know the Gut—Prebiotics, More Than Just Fiber: https://bsmpartners.net/insights/getting-to-know-the-gut-part-1-prebiotics-more-than-just-fiber/

Taking Care of Your Pets’ Microbiome—The Gut to Mouth Connection: https://bsmpartners.net/insights/taking-care-of-your-pets-microbiome-the-gut-to-mouth-connection/

Pawsitively Powerful: The Multi-Functional Health Benefits of Probiotics for Pets: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pawsitively-powerful-multi-functional-health-benefits-probiotics-vtqic/

Recent Research on Pro- and Postbiotic Benefits for Pets: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-pro-postbiotics-have-similar-health-benefits-dogs-bsm-partners-e8osc/

Show Notes

00:00 – Welcome Back!

01:18 – Sustainability, But Make It Longevity

02:31 – Understanding Pre-, Pro-, and Postbiotics

04:46 – Bacteria: A 3.2 Billion-Year Legacy

06:04 – The Importance of Selecting the Right Bacterial Strain

10:45 – Gut Health and Preventive Care

13:09 – Biotics for Me, Biotics for Fido & Fluffy

14:25 – Room for Consumer Education

15:04 – Final Thoughts

Happy New Year and welcome back to our top trends to watch in

2025, in which we're sharing expert insights and opinions about the most

influential trends happening today in the pet nutrition space and how pet parents

can stay informed and engaged as these trends evolve this year and beyond.

In today's episode, we're going microscopic.

Not quite honey, I shrunk the kids, but more Ms.

Frizzle style shrinkage as we go inside the body to learn all about the tiny

microorganisms in our gut and how they influence the overall health and wellness

of not just us, but our dogs and cats too.

Keeping this intro short because I'm really excited to get into this trench.

So without further ado, let's get into it.

Welcome to barking mad, a podcast by BSM partners.

I'm your host, Jordan Tyler.

So far for this week's mini series, we've talked a ton about sustainability,

and it's obvious that sustainable initiatives are huge in PET right now,

as well as in many other consumer goods categories like in human food, health

and beauty, and plenty of others.

But let's take that term, sustainability, and flip it on its head for a minute.

So far we've been thinking about sustainability in terms

of environmental impact.

But what about in terms of longevity?

Like how can we sustain our pets lifespans, but more importantly

their health spans, for longer?

Adding not only years to their lives, but vitality to their day to days.

This idea of the health span is picking up speed as we, for ourselves and

for our pets, increasingly seek ways to not only stay alive for longer,

but to stay healthier for longer.

There are a number of individual trends under this theme.

New focus on the health span, but we'll be focusing on one category today

that is evolving rapidly and promising widespread benefits across the body.

This is Biotic Ingredients.

Biotics are tiny microorganisms responsible for moderating bacteria in

our gut, feeding the good bacteria and staving off the bad, while also improving

the gut barrier to prevent things like a leaky gut, which has been associated

with a range of subsequent health issues.

You've probably heard the terms prebiotics and probiotics,

but what about postbiotics?

To get a better understanding of what each of these biotics does inside

of a pet's body, and in our own bodies, really, we spoke with Dr.

Mark Franklin.

Global technical lead of additives for the pet and lifestyle divisions of Cargill.

So, in, in simple terms, I just describe it as prebiotics

really serve as food for those live microorganisms that are in the gut, right?

They're typically fiber sources, carbohydrate sources, and are

preferentially used by the good guys, the good bugs in the gut.

So, you know, they would be consumed, those bugs in the gut

would produce metabolites as they consume these prebiotics.

Thanks.

Probiotics, on the other hand, of course, would be supplying those live bugs.

We want those live bugs in the gut.

We want them to eat the prebiotics in the gut and produce

metabolites and have an effect.

Postbiotics really kind of shortcuts all that.

And so, we do that fermentation outside of the animal.

Where we take a probiotic organism and we feed it and we have the

production of those metabolites.

According to Dr.

Franklin, new products with a biotics claim launched between

2021 and 2023 were up by more than 300 percent on a three year basis.

And when you start to understand the widespread benefits a healthy

gut microbiome has on total health and wellness, it's easy to see why.

And that microbiome sort of has a master control, particularly

that gut microbiome has a master control.

How does that affect cognition, mood, skin, all those different

axes that we talk about, right?

Gut, brain, skin, even reproductive tract, right?

So, as we start to uncover some more of these things and look at

the synergies, I think there's a huge potential upside for us.

We also spoke with Dr.

Steve Lerner, senior scientific and business advisor for NovoNessus, a global

biosolutions company formed through the recent merger of ingredient manufacturers

Christian Hansen and Novozymes.

As Dr.

Lerner pointed out, these bacteria have been around for longer than

just about anything here on Earth.

And with modern science, we're able to harness the power of

these microscopic organisms to benefit gut health across species.

including for our dogs and cats.

I'm very fond of saying that bacteria have been on Earth for about 3.

2 billion years, and they have co evolved with all higher life forms.

So we may believe that we carry them around with us.

Us 40 trillion of them, but they simply find us a very elegant transport system.

We keep them by and large in the dark with low oxygen, very well fed.

We share them with reckless abandon among ourselves.

And if you're an animal, you put them back out into the environment and they,

let's say a nutrient rich material.

That some of us with pets pick up from our yard, but you know how this is, right?

That was maybe the greatest euphemism I've ever heard.

Now, according to Dr.

Lerner, novenesis owns the largest commercial bank of bacterial strains.

And it really is the strain that matters most when deciding which bacteria to

implement for specific biotic benefits.

The probiotic organisms available to us, by federal law,

everyone who puts them into a package must provide the genus and

species of those organisms only.

But in fact, It is strain of organism, which is an individual organism, and all

of its trillions and trillions of nearly identical clonal copies that's important.

So let me give you an analogy to illustrate this.

All dogs on planet Earth are canis lupus.

That's their genus and species.

Now, we give dogs a subspecies designation of familiaris, because, by and large,

we control the breeding of dogs.

When you consider the dogs, Canis lupus, and now you want, An

individual dog for a particular task.

Let's say this task is helping a team of rescuers in the Swiss Alps that are out

trying to find skiers that have gone down, perhaps buried in deep snow, and need

to be pulled out on a sled to be saved.

And they want to have a dog with them that can help them find those individuals.

Well, a choice might be a St.

Bernard.

A choice might be a Bernese Mountain Dog.

They're tall, double coat of hair, they love being in the cold, they're

usually very obedient, they're usually relatively stoic dogs, and maybe that

Canis lupus would be a good choice.

Or, another Canis lupus is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, or a Chihuahua.

They are the same exact genus and species as St.

Bernard's and Bernie's Mountain Dogs.

But you might immediately agree with me that some of the genetic

gifts conferred upon the St.

Bernard or Bernese Mountain Dog to make it better suited for the task at hand improve

its chances of success versus Cavalier, King Charles, Spaniels, and Chihuahuas.

The same exact scenario is true for Microbiological organisms, all Bacillus

subtilis organisms are the same genus and species by definition, but they vary

in their genetic gifts significantly.

Some are better at producing digestive enzymes.

Some are better at producing antimicrobial peptides.

Some are better at germinating out of spores.

They become active cells, whatever you can measure.

There's variation based on genetic gifts.

And we at NovoNessus have 90, 000 strains in our strain bank.

We identify individuals based on their genetic merit for a particular purpose.

We then test the expression of those genes, that's called phenotype,

in a various set of assays.

We call that high phenotype.

throughput screening to know on which sources of energy will they survive.

Will they survive going through an acidified gastrointestinal tract?

Will they act in a probiotic manner?

And then most importantly, will they play well with other organisms

that we might want to include?

Now Arm Hammer, yes, your favorite baking soda brand,

also has a robust collection of probiotic strains, according to Dr.

Sangeeta Jalookar, microbiologist, immunologist, and senior technical service

manager for Arm Hammer Animal Nutrition.

We leverage our extensive research on strain selection.

So on the probiotic side, we have a rich library of about

80, 000 probiotic strains.

So we leverage our research on the strain availability, uh, growth

conditions in our manufacturing process, our proprietary yeast processing

technology to develop these biotics.

Our yeast derived pre and post biotics are supported by over 50 plus publications.

So we, um, have a rich data set showing the benefits of our pre and post biotics.

It's also interesting to note what is motivating the growth

of biotic supplements for pets.

Marlena Hidley, Director of Marketing and Innovation for Arm Hammer

Specialty Products, mentioned much of the interest can be attributed

to a shift toward preventive

healthcare for pets.

Today's consumers are taking proactive measures to maintain

their pet's healthspan.

We like to use the word healthspan because they're truly looking to improve

the quality of life of their animal.

And we see consumers turning to food and treats to enhance the

nutritional value of their pet's diets.

We also see gut health claims really rising in popularity with pet parents.

A recent Nielsen data report showed that product sales with gut health

claims were up 213 percent year over year, which is tremendous.

But it's not surprising, given the latest FMCG Guru's report, which noted

that 56 percent of pet parents seek products that help aid digestive health.

So it is quite aligned with the market trends that we see.

And with the humanization of pets trend expanding, we do

see a clear focus on nutrition.

From a more technical perspective, I think one

of the reasons why the use of biotic ingredients is gaining popularity is

because of the general accepted theory and understanding that many health

challenges in pets originate in the gut.

So any gut imbalance can lead to food intolerances, allergies,

digestive health challenges.

Poor gut microbiome can lead to chronic conditions such as IBD or obesity also.

So, as the demand for pet foods with digestive health benefits continues

to rise, I think pet parents, pet food and supplement manufacturers

are seeing evidence based solutions to support animal wellness.

Pet parents, I think, use and have experienced the power of

biotic supplementation, and they want to extend that same benefit

to their furry companions.

And that makes sense because there is a 63 percent similarity in microbiota

between dogs and humans compared to 33 percent for pigs and mice.

So it is natural for pet parents to seek and extend that benefit from

a more healthier microbiome and biotics are known to provide that.

Interestingly, Dr.

Lerner pointed out pet parents who purchase biotic supplements for

themselves are more likely to purchase them for their furry companions.

When you look at who among our pet parents is providing these type

of supplements to their fur babies, uh, we see a significantly greater

proportion of pet parents who themselves are taking probiotics and are perceiving

the benefit of taking it themselves, well, if it's good for them, then it's

unethical to not provide it to your pet.

Now, maybe unethical is a strong term, but you get my point.

So I believe we're going to see this continued positive trend.

I believe every individual, every day, should be on an effective probiotic.

That you, your family, your loved ones, your children, and all of the animals

in our care, every day, should be on something that positively impacts

the micro Organismal life in their bodies, their microbiota, and you

know I believe it's in probiotics.

So there you have Dr.

Lerner's recommendation.

While health savvy consumers are picking up on these benefits and applying them

to their pets, education remains a key opportunity to help more pet parents

understand the benefits of biotics.

Well, I think there's certainly room to educate consumers on

the benefits of biotics for their pets.

Interestingly, a lot of these consumers are taking probiotics themselves or

familiar at least with pre and post biotics, but only 22 percent actually

recognize the health benefit of probiotics for their companion animals.

So really a true push for education becomes really important here.

Emerging ingredients like biotics aren't the only thing that

could benefit from consumer education and companies are having to learn a

thing or two as well, particularly when it comes to the fourth trend

we'll be discussing as part of our Trends to Watch in 2025 series.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, though.

First, it's time to unshrink ourselves and wrap up the episode.

As evidenced through the topic experts we heard from today,

and coming back to what Dr.

Lerner said about bacteria being here for 3.

2 billion years, it seems we're starting to catch up to what these

microorganisms have known all along.

That a healthy gut microbiome is key to overall health and wellness.

And just as we can leverage biotic ingredients to improve our own

gut health, we're now discovering the benefits of biotics on our

furry family members as well.

Tomorrow, we'll explore our fourth trend of 2025.

Sustainable pet food and treat packaging.

You won't want to miss a lively discussion about how the pet industry is working

to reduce the environmental pawprint of its packaging, as well as a critical

analysis of our current recycling infrastructure, and a conversation

about the barriers currently standing between pet parents and more readily

recyclable pet food and treat bags.

Until then, thank you for tuning in to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners.

If you'd like to learn more about us, please visit our website at www.

bsmpartners.

net.

Don't forget to subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

And if you enjoyed today's episode, share it with a fellow

pet lover and leave us a review.

Lastly, be sure to stay tuned for more insights this week from our Trends

2025 miniseries, as well as future episodes on pet care innovation,

sustainability, and other hard hitting topics you won't want to miss.

We'd like to thank our dedicated team in support of this episode, Adamiette

Thomas, Neely Bowden, Kate Wright, and Dr.

Katie Miller.

A special thanks to Leanne Hackerty and Michael Johnson.

Happy New Year and see you next time.