Walk the New Product Showcase at Global Pet Expo 2026 with host Jordan Tyler and special guest David Perez, who has formulated thousands of pet nutrition products throughout his career and isn’t afraid to question what’s actually new versus what’s just good marketing. From bone broth chews and goat milk “ice cream” to protein-packed treats and longevity-focused formulas, this episode takes you booth by booth through one of the pet industry’s most talked-about New Product Showcases. Tune in for candid takes on why true innovation in pet nutrition can be hard to find—even in a sea of new products—and why balance, research, and regulatory clarity still matter more than the latest trend.

Helpful Links

📰 Get the scoop on what stood out at Global Pet Expo 2026—and what didn’t quite hit the mark.

🤠 Read more about the “Wild West” of pet supplements and check out our previous episode about pet supplements and the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC).

🐱 Learn more about more sustainable cat litter materials like wheat, corn, walnut shells, tofu, and more!

💡 Check out this expert insight from David Perez, which explores how overreliance on outdated marketing claims can actually slow progress toward true innovation in pet nutrition.

Show Notes

00:00 – Inside the Episode

01:22 – First Impressions

04:34 – The Protein Trend

08:22 – Longevity and Other Trending Functional Claims

13:44 – Don’t Forget About Felines! What’s New in Cat Care

22:08 – The Natural Spectrum

25:24 – Key Takeaways

00:12

Jordan Tyler

01:10

David Perez

Wait are you recording now? Just going live?

01:12

Jordan Tyler

Oh, yeah. We're going live. Yeah. Okay. Live in the new product showcase.

01:18

David Perez

This is exciting.

01:22

Jordan Tyler

So, I don't know, David, if you have experienced this, but I was kinda looking around and I haven't seen a lot of innovation in the nutrition segment this year. I've seen a lot of innovation in, like, durable goods and, like, lifestyle type products and, like, enrichment and, like, engagement and stuff like that. But nutrition, it feels pretty same-same to me.

01:44

David Perez

Yeah. And I've kind of felt that way over the past four or five Globals and SUPERZOOs. There's just a lot of copy and paste. Not a whole lot of true innovation. So, I'm right there with you.

01:54

Jordan Tyler

Alright. Well, it's good to know I'm not crazy.

01:47

David Perez

Well, not in that sense.

01:59

Jordan Tyler

That's true. That's true. There's always a chance. Alright. Let's see. Let's see. Okay. I saw these, and I thought that they were actually quite interesting. So, it's a bone broth, but it's like a hardened chew.

02:10

David Perez

Looks like it's injection… it could be injection molded.

02:13

Jordan Tyler

It's got to be, but it looks like a little honey stick kind of, but it's bone broth and it's like a durable chew, I suppose.

02:21

David Perez

Yeah. That's interesting. There's—it looks like there's not a ton of claims around it. It looks like they're soft claims though, so there's nothing really hard.

02:36

Jordan Tyler

It's not soft, so it's not hard. So…

02:42

David Perez

It doesn't look like there's a lot of hard claims on there. We would call some of these, you know, structure function claims like “supports” and stuff like that. So, I mean, it looks interesting.

02:55

Jordan Tyler

Does it smell like anything?

02:56

David Perez

Doesn't really smell great.

02:57

Jordan Tyler

Oh, it smells bad.

02:59

David Perez

It does smell bad, but doesn't smell great either.

03:01

Jordan Tyler

I'm not smelling anything, but I don't have a good sense of smell.

03:04

David Perez

That's a little sour to me.

03:06

Jordan Tyler

Sour? Oh, okay.

03:08

David Perez

But, so, “digestible by design,” “safe for daily use.” Bone broth reimagined as a chew. Yeah it's… it's looks interesting. I mean, that's slightly innovative, I would say. I haven't seen that before.

03:23

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, from a format perspective, I think it’s interesting.

03:27

David Perez

Mhmm. But from a claims perspective, nothing new.

03:29

Jordan Tyler

Nothing new? Alright. Moving on.

03:32

David Perez

Veterinarian recommended. That is very interesting. So, typically, when we see that, you've got to get a panel of at least 300 to 500 vets and over half of them have to recommend the diet. So, if they truly went through all this to put that claim on there, good for them.

03:50

Jordan Tyler

It is a lot of work. And so, if it's substantiated, then they did that extra work. It's just the question of did they do it right? You know?

03:59

David Perez

That's correct. That's correct. We've done extensive research on the right way to do it. And if what we found is correct, good for them.

04:07

Rufus

Well, hopefully, it wasn't just the three vets who answered their email at 4:59 on a Friday afternoon. That would be suspicious now, wouldn't it?

04:18

Jordan Tyler

So you see, you know, pasture raised. You see a rainbow of produce. You see fermented seaweed. Like, these are all things that I see in, like, the human supplement and, like, the health foods aisle of the grocery store for, like, stuff that I buy. So, it's just very humanized, but it's obviously speaking to people.

04:34

Jordan Tyler

Okay. Can we… can we talk about protein?

04:36

David Perez

Sure, we can talk about protein.

04:38

Jordan Tyler

So, protein is everywhere. It's everywhere in the human space, but it's also trickled into pet. But, like, do we need all that protein, and do our pets need all that protein?

04:48

Rufus

Spoken like someone who doesn't even know their macros… I'm really trying to bulk up for the Scottish beach season. That's Rufus's summer goal, you hear?

04:58

David Perez

Well, you know, the body can only utilize so much protein at one time. And I wrote an article about this a while back, how that we're just kind of relying on these old claims and marketing. So, I mean, really, high protein is really not needed. It is the right balance of nutrients.

05:16

Jordan Tyler

Yes.

05:17

David Perez

For your pet.

05:18

Jordan Tyler

It's all about balance.

05:19

David Perez

Yep.

05:20

Jordan Tyler

Totally.

05:21

David Perez

So, yeah, a lot of these high proteins, you know, it's… it's great, but it's purely marketing.

05:27

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Nothing crazy. Nothing crazy.

05:30

David Perez

Yeah. Just a lot of wet food toppers, air dried toppers. So, they've made the most expensive… one of the most expensive products possible and then shredded it. Alright. It's cool.

05:50

Jordan Tyler

I am seeing a lot of bone broth. I think that the chew version interesting because everything else is liquid. Right?

05:56

David Perez

It's all liquid. It's all I mean, unless it's raw and they don't retort it. Yeah. It's just yeah. It's bone broth and put whatever inclusions or what we call “label candy” in there. To make, like I said, a lot of these structure/function claims are just, you know, I mean, high-protein. What does that mean?

06:14

Jordan Tyler

Exactly.

06:15

David Perez

“Rich in collagen.” What does “rich” mean?

06:17

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. It depends. You have to set the standard first, and then you can say, okay. This exceeds the standard so that it's rich in whatever.

06:23

David Perez

Correct.

06:24

Jordan Tyler

But we don't have, you know, across the board standards for things like this. So, again, marketing. Longevity.

06:34

David Perez

Oh, longevity, yeah. What does that mean? Rich in antioxidant, supports cellular health for adult and senior dogs, provides immune support… all very soft claims.

06:46

Jordan Tyler

This is something we talked about in our recent episode about pet supplements. How blurry the line can get between what David referred to as structure/function claims, which are totally cool for supplements, and actual drug claims, which are not cool for supplements. They're reserved for animal drugs, pharmaceuticals, you know, the hard stuff. There's a big difference. So, let's break it down really quick. Saying something like “supports joint health” or “helps maintain skin and coat:” that's what David means when he says structure function claim. These are fair game for a pet supplement. But when you start seeing things like “reduces inflammation” or “controls hairballs,” right, these are definitive statements that are saying we're fixing something. Now, you're getting into territory that technically requires a much higher level of evidence.

07:38

Jordan Tyler

And the reality is in the supplement space, a lot of brands are walking right up to that line and sometimes stepping over it, and pet parents are none the wiser. It doesn't necessarily mean the product doesn't work. It just means the marketing might be doing a little more heavy lifting than the actual science behind it.

07:57

David Perez

Nothing unless they've got some substantiation somewhere. This particular product looks like it's just a standard… what's in it? Looks like it's just a standard topper of dehydrated fruits and vegetables.

08:13

Jordan Tyler

Oh, but there's shiitake mushrooms in there, so it must be good.

08:17

David Perez

It must be really good.

08:18

Jordan Tyler

Right?

08:18

David Perez

Mhmm. It's great.

08:22

Jordan Tyler

The longevity space is so nascent and new.

08:27

David Perez

Mhmm. It’s something I am seeing a lot of.

08:29

Jordan Tyler

Yeah.

08:30

David Perez

Longevity, longevity—but what does that mean?

08:33

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. I think a lot of people are taking it into, like, okay, not only length of life, but also quality of life, which I love. I love that approach. It's just a matter of does the science make sense? Have we done enough research into it to make sure that we're not doing harm? You know? And if you're going to sell something like this to pet owners, really, it ought to work. Because if you're looking for a longevity supplement, you know, anybody that's had a senior dog understands, you know, how stressful it is to just watch your dog deteriorate and not be able to do anything about it. So, I'd like to see some more research around these kinds of supplements and toppers.

09:09

David Perez

That's what we do at BSM Partners.

09:12

Jordan Tyler

Shameless plug.

09:14

Rufus

Of course, you people would want me to live forever. It's always about what you want and not poor Rufus.

09:21

Jordan Tyler

What about collagen? Collagen's been around in the industry for, I'd say, what, last five years or so?

09:27

David Perez

Yeah. I've seen a lot of collagen. Now, collagen is not an AAFCO approved ingredient.

09:31

Jordan Tyler

Really? Mhmm. Oh, I didn't know that. Is it GRAS?

09:36

David Perez

It is GRAS. It can be used in supplements, but it's technically not AAFCO approved ingredient. But as you can see, lots of people are using it.

09:45

Jordan Tyler

Lots of people are using it in chews and treats, it looks like. If it was in a complete and balanced diet because it's not approved by AAFCO, then I would have some questions.

09: 54

David Perez

Mhmm.

09:55

Jordan Tyler

But, yeah, people get away with all sorts of stuff in the treat, in the supplement category.

09:59

David Perez

The Wild, Wild West. You can say, like, “natural source of collagen” if it's coming in through another ingredient, but to actually add it to your formula, it's not AAFCO approved.

10:10

Jordan Tyler

Interesting. This is this is kind of fun. Yeah.

10:12

David Perez

Yeah, I do like this stuff. Yeah. The ice cream?

10:14

Jordan Tyler

Tell us what you see.

10:16

David Perez

Whatever freeze-dried ice cream. This is interesting. It's goat's milk ice cream.

10:23

Jordan Tyler

Okay.

10:24

David Perez

That's interesting.

10:25

Jordan Tyler

It's in, these little pellets. So it's like… it's kind of like cereal, it looks like, almost.

10:30

David Perez

But, yeah, it's pretty clean label.

10:33

Jordan Tyler

Clean and green.

10:35

David Perez

Mhmm. Protein's not too high. Fats, not too bad either. Yeah. I mean, it looks okay, but it's very interesting. And since there's no artificial ingredients, the color has got to come from the ingredients. Which I find very interesting as well. Good for them.

10:53

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Which is not easy to achieve, by the way.

10:55

David Perez

Tis not. Tis not.

10:57

Jordan Tyler

Tis really not. Okay. You just said, “pretty clean label,” but that's not a regulatory term either.

11:03

David Perez

No. That's very subjective. I apologize. I'm trying to be—

11:05

Jordan Tyler

Never apologize. I just want to know what your definition of a clean label is.

11:10

David Perez

Oh, I mean, there's not very, I mean, there's not a ton of ingredients. There doesn't seem to be any on any, artificial preservatives or additives.

11:19

Jordan Tyler

What about the mixed tocopherols?

11:21

David Perez

That's that is a natural preservative, so it's all-natural.

11:25

Jordan Tyler

But it's a preservative, David.

11:26

David Perez

It is. You need…

11:29

Jordan Tyler

Hahaha… I'm devil's advocate!

11:31

David Perez

You are. Yeah. You need preservatives to ensure the product stays fresh over time. Lots of people don't understand that. Preservatives are not the enemy.

11:38

Jordan Tyler

They are not. They are keeping our food safe. Otherwise, it would spoil and make our doggies sick.

11:44

David Perez

It wouldn't smell bad, too.

11:45

Jordan Tyler

And it would also smell bad. Nobody wants that.

11:47

David Perez

Mhmm. And there's a lot of functional formulas coming out that I have seen that leads to the longevity thing that you were talking about earlier. Sensitive stomach, hip and joints. Seen a lot of that in all the different forms: wet, dry, freeze dried, air dried. That's… everybody wants their pets to live longer.

12:08

Jordan Tyler

Absolutely. Yeah. I think it's interesting. The function is, yeah. I don't think that's ever going to go away. And I mean, we might get to a point where everything's functional. Like, you can't even get something that doesn't have a functional claim tied to it.

12:19

David Perez

Yeah. I know we—I, at least, haven't been a part of any product that hasn't had some kind of structure or function claim in a long time.

12:27

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Lots of, like, treat like, human-esque treat things.

12:32

David Perez

Not human not humanized, right?

12:34

Jordan Tyler

Humanized, I guess, would…

12:35

David Perez

That's a no…

12:36

Jordan Tyler

…definitely be the word that I was looking for. But, like, yogurt bites. Right? So, like, the freeze-dried ice cream, like, you could buy that at the store. This is something that I would eat as a snack, and now I can give it to my dog.

12:50

David Perez

Correct. Because we all want to eat same thing our dogs do, and that's because we have the same nutritional requirements.

12:55

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. It's so weird, how that works. Yeah. Totally not like that at all. Alright. Let's go over to cat. So we're starting to see were just talking about functional. And I think, you know, cats have always kind of come second to dogs in terms of product innovation at least. And now we're really starting to see, like, the cat category explode with this function type of thing. Would you agree?

13:21

David Perez

Yeah. I do. Yep.

13:23

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. We're like, we're catching up.

13:24

David Perez

Cats are definitely catching up. Yeah. I'm allergic, but that's fine.

13:27

Jordan Tyler

Oh, look. High protein.

13:29

David Perez

High protein. 43%. That's a lot of protein.

13:33

Jordan Tyler

Okay, but so cats are obligate carnivores.

13:34

David Perez

They are.

13:38

Jordan Tyler

So… do they need more protein, or is it still really about balance?

13:41

David Perez

It's still about balance. Still about balance.

13:44

Jordan Tyler

I was afraid you'd say that. Oh, you know what? I have noticed a lot of cat calming. So, this is some durable goods. It's like a little… which I there's no way I could get my cat into that thing. I'm just telling you. It's like a little vest. And then you have a safe little cone, and then you have a little donut if you don't want to use the cone. But it's all to help calming. There's like pheromone products as well. I just think that's really interesting because it's been so much about dog calming and, like, now it that's also shifted into cats.

14:15

David Perez

Yeah. This is pretty interesting. I yeah. I couldn't I mean, I don't have cats.

14:19

Jordan Tyler

Well, but there's I mean, come on. My cat would tear the crap out of me.

14:22

David Perez

I don’t think you could get any cat in that.

14:24

Jordan Tyler

That's what I mean!

14:26

David Perez

Or keep it in the cone.

14:28

Jordan Tyler

Godspeed, if you can. But think it's just interesting because cats are, like, known for being skittish and timid and, like, cat-like. And now all of a sudden, we're like, “Oh, my cat's anxious.”

14:41

David Perez

So, maybe we're trying to fight their natural state here.

14:45

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Yeah. Maybe we should just leave them alone. I don't know. This is all conjecture.

14:50

David Perez

Hairball control. Now that is interesting.

14:52

Jordan Tyler

Why?

14:53

David Perez

Because to make a hairball claim, technically, I believe you're supposed to do an official study and go through the FDA.

15:01

Jordan Tyler

Really? Because it's seen as a, like, a health disorder?

15:04

David Perez

It's seen as that or a drug. I know that is for urinary, and I believe it's for hairball control, as well. I think you have to do a study and put it in front of the FDA.

15:16

Jordan Tyler

Hmmm… yeah. We talk all the time about how expensive research is and how—

15:21

David Perez

Urinary health, that’s a big one.

15:23

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. That is big.

15:25

David Perez

Definitely, yeah. Shame on you.

15:29

Jordan Tyler

Shame on me?!

15:30

David Perez

Not you, this. Unless the research has been done, then I do applaud.

15:36

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Backed by safety…

15:40

David Perez

Ooh, skin and hair.

15:41

Jordan Tyler

Skin and hair?

15:41

David Perez

That's close.

15:42

Jordan Tyler

What say you?

15:44

David Perez

That's really close to hairball. That implies hairball control.

15:47

Jordan Tyler

Okay… Is this yogurt too? It's yogurt! Lactose free, digestive health, collagen, Omega-3, prebiotics… Skin and hair. That's interesting. Maybe a clever way to get around some of the regulatory around that.

16:04

David Perez

Correct. Yeah.

16:051

Jordan Tyler

Hey. Real recognize real, you know—Oh! This is what I was like, “There's just no way.”

16:10

David Perez

That's amazing.

16:11

Jordan Tyler

So, it's a line of cat food. And they have three SKUs. Well, they have more than three skews, but their main three skews are complete and balanced diets made in Europe. But they're for red cats, white cats, and dark cats. And they're claiming here that it “enriches your pet's coat.” It will make your white cat more white. It will make your dark cat, you know, more true dark.

16:38

Rufus

So… we’re just repainting cats now? But now that you mention it, I’m starting to look a wee little gray in some spots... Bring me back a sample please, Jojo!

16:51

Jordan Tyler

And there's a lot of other functional claims here too. So it's like, whenever you see all these claims, you’ve got to ask, okay, like, what's giving?

16:59

David Perez

Lots of good promises here!

17:00

Jordan Tyler

There are lots of good promises. Is this even though, like is this even I mean… Possible?

17:06

David Perez

I know that you can definitely improve skin and coat health. I don't know if you can…

17:16

Jordan Tyler

Make a white cat whiter?

17:17

David Perez

I mean, you might be able to. I'm not going to say no because…

17:21

Jordan Tyler

Because maybe you can! So, we took this back to the team and learned from our zoological nutritionist, Dr. Jen Parsons, that it's been done for alpacas, whose fur is harvested for textiles. So, probably it can also be done for pets. If it works, and if it's safe and complete, I don't know! Could be true innovation here.

17:43

David Perez

Yeah, it doesn't look like there's anything in here that could make your cat's red coat more red, but… I'm not a doctor. I did sleep in the Holiday Inn Express last night. That's a very dated reference. You can just take that out.

18:01

Jordan Tyler

We're going to leave it in. This is kind of interesting. They also have a SKU for sterilized cats, so cats that have been spayed or neutered. And there actually are metabolic consequences of fixing a pet. You know, their metabolism slows. Right?

18:17

David Perez

I think it was just if it wasn't so front and center, I might trust it more.

18:22

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Yeah. But they're vet approved.

18:26

David Perez

It's very true.

18:27

Jordan Tyler

Which actually, isn't that one of the vet claims that you're not supposed to be able to make?

18:32

David Perez

That's correct.

18:33

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. Vet-recommended is pretty much the only one, and it's still, you’ve got to jump through some hoops.

18:37

David Perez

A lot of hoops. Yeah.

18:42

Jordan Tyler

Alright. That's fun. That was though the craziest thing I've seen. So, if that tells you anything, it's just like there's just not a lot of standout stuff.

18:50

David Perez

I mean, I'm sure you could. I just don't know if like you could… I know you can improve and I'm I know you can improve color and text, not…

19:00

Jordan Tyler

Like, smoothness? Textures. Yeah. Yeah.

19:03

David Perez

But I don't know if it's gonna change the color of your cat.

19:04

Jordan Tyler

Right…

19:05

David Perez

Like, definitively. This is just anecdote, but a friend of my wife's, their dog is such a picky eater like, they were feeding it pop tarts.

19:14

Jordan Tyler

I mean, just get something in the dog. Right?

19:17

David Perez

Yeah. And it lost all its hair.

19:18

Jordan Tyler

Oh, no. What kind of dog was it?

19:22

David Perez

It was a, I think it was like a little bitty… I don’t know what it was. It was one of those tiny, little bitty frou-frou dogs.

19:29

Jordan Tyler

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

19:30

David Perez

But yeah. I just wouldn't eat. They would feed it pop tarts. They would feed it chicken nuggets just to try to get it to eat. And it lost all it's hair.

19:41

Jordan Tyler

Poor buddy.

19:44

David Perez

But it's getting it back because I was like—

19:46

Jordan Tyler

Did you do some consulting?

19:47

David Perez

Yeah! I was like, put down food that's complete and balanced, and eventually, it will eat.

19:53

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. It’s going to get hungry enough to eat. That's what I'm doing with my cats right now. We're trying to lose weight. So, we transitioned diets. And one of my cats is like, “Fine. This is fine.” The other cats aren't going on a hunger strike. And I'm like, “Alright, honey. There's two ways you can lose this weight. And one of them is by not eating. Have fun.”

20:08

David Perez

Yeah. Dogs and dogs and cats will not starve themselves when there's food.

20:11

Jordan Tyler

They won't. They won’t, yeah. I've also seen a lot of litter. We did the cat litter episode a while ago, and we talked about a lot of different, alternative substrates. But I saw two this year that I hadn't seen before. It was cassava, and then the other one was green tea.

20:30

David Perez

That's interesting.

20:31

Jordan Tyler

Which I thought the green tea, I was like, I would have never thought of that.

20:35

David Perez

That is interesting. There’s more of your calming bites. Calming for cat.

20:38

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. A lot of gut claims too. I do want to talk a little bit about Blussel, which is a blue lipped mussel

that they fish off the… I believe off the coast of Chile. Right?

20:54

David Perez

Yes.

20:55

Jordan Tyler

In South America. And it's kind of becoming something that can potentially replace green lipped mussel, which is way more expensive to source, which drives up the cost of products that have green lift mussel in them. But it's become so popular because it has all these great functional health benefits for pets. So Blussel is kind of like, “Okay. We can still give you all these health benefits, but it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg.” Which I think is, you know, it might not seem like a trend, but in an industry where everybody seems to be racing to the highest price point, I would call this innovative.

21:30

David Perez

I would too. And they have done the research to back up that it is as efficacious as green lipped mussels.

21:35

Jordan Tyler

Wow!

21:36

David Perez

So, we've seen the research. We've looked at it. We have validated it. And, yes, and to be honest, I think blue mussel sounds better than green mussel. Yeah. Maybe it's because I've just seen green mussel for so long, and it's something different and new.

21:49

Jordan Tyler

You're like, green mussel? Get out of here. Blue mussel? Now that's sexy.

21:55

David Perez

I don't know about sexy… It's different, and it's new. They've got a really cool product.

22:02

Jordan Tyler

Actually, here, let's go over to natural pet.

22:05

David Perez

Alright. Okay.

22:08

Jordan Tyler

It's kind of like holistic. Right? We talked about in previous episodes: holistic exists on a spectrum. So, you just don't know what you're getting. You know?

22:13

David Perez

That's correct. Some of these have very strong claims.

22:17

Jordan Tyler

Let's talk about them.

22:19

David Perez

So “reduces… informa—” haha, information.

22:22

Jordan Tyler

This product will make you stupider.

22:26

David Perez

Yeah. So “reduces inflammation.” That sounds like a drug claim to you.

22:30

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. I agree.

22:32

David Perez

That that is a drug claim.

22:34

Jordan Tyler

If it said, “supports the reduction of inflammation,” would that be…?

22:38

David Perez

I think that’s pushing it. Possibly, maybe, “supports anti-inflammatory health” might be better.

22:51

Jordan Tyler

What about “increases circulation”? That also sounds like a drug claim to me.

22:54

David Perez

That does as well. This all sounds like a drug. But this is I mean, these aren't…

22:59

Jordan Tyler

Not complete and balanced.

23:00

David Perez

Yeah. Is this NASC?

23:03

Jordan Tyler

I don't think they are.

23:04

David Perez

I don't think they're… I don't see the seal.

23:06

Jordan Tyler

So again, coming back to the supplement episode we did recently, but this is where the NASC or National Animal Supplement Council seal becomes really helpful because it gives pet parents a way to navigate what's honestly kind of like the wild west of supplements. Again, it doesn't mean the product is perfect, but it does mean it's gone through some additional quality checks and accountability that you're not always guaranteed otherwise. We've linked that episode in the show notes for today. Go check it out.

23:39

Jordan Tyler

Some questionable claims.

23:41

David Perez

I was telling you, the Wild, Wild West is our supplements.

23:45

Jordan Tyler

Okay. Here this is interesting, actually. This we can maybe end on this note. We're kind of coming full circle to protein here. But we have a brand that looks like okay. A protein pick me up is the marketing language here. And all the products are like, okay. So, we have “Chicken Kettlebells.” We have “Gobble Gains.” We have “Pork Press.” We have “Beefin' Up.” Right? These are all workout terms. Terms for, like, building muscle, lean muscle mass. But like… these are treats.

24:19

David Perez

These are treats.

24:21

Jordan Tyler

Right?

24:22

Rufus

Can’t wait to skip leg day with this one. It’s going to pair really well with my creatine!

24:26

David Perez

This is implied nutrition.

24:29

Jordan Tyler

So, like, why does everything have to be tied to…

24:33

David Perez

Protein?

24:34

Jordan Tyler

Protein!?

23:34

David Perez

That's a great question. I think that pet food companies have been feeding us “more protein is better” for so long that it's going to be really hard to move past that.

24:44

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. It's all about balance, people.

24:47

David Perez

All about balance.

24:49

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. But ultimately, I mean, humanization sells. That's kind of what we've seen across the board here is when we're humanizing claims and we're humanizing marketing messages to feel like there's something we would see in a product or make us buy something. Because again, you know, the dog's not picking this stuff out. Cat's not picking this stuff out. It's us.

25:08

David Perez

Nope. That's correct.

25:09

Jordan Tyler

So in a way, it's smart marketing.

25:13

David Perez

It is extremely smart because, yeah, you are marketing to the pet parent, not the pet.

25:17

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. But, you know, we’ve got to keep—just got to keep the best interest of the pet in mind. We can't take it too far.

25:23

David Perez

That's correct.

25:24

Jordan Tyler

So after all that walking, talking, and label parsing, what's the verdict? There's no shortage of creativity in this industry. That's for sure. But whether it's longevity supplements, protein packed treats, or the latest quote unquote miracle ingredient, the gap between innovation and marketing is still very real, and it's widening. At the end of the day, the fundamentals haven't changed. Balanced nutrition, solid research, and a healthy dose of skepticism will take you a lot further than the trend of the week. And if you enjoyed this boots-on-the-ground breakdown from Global Pet Expo, let us know. What trends are you buying into? And which ones are you not buying at all?

26:07

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Barking Mad. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at www.bsmpartners.net. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite leading podcast platform or share it with a friend to stay current on the latest pet industry trends and conversations.

26:30

Jordan Tyler

We'd also like to thank our dedicated team: Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Bowden, Kait Wright, Cady Wolf, Anna Guilfoyle, and Jacob Parker. A special shout out to Lee Ann Hagerty and Michael Johnson in support of this episode, and to David Perez for our original music in the intro and outro. See you next time!