Today’s buyers of pet foods and nutritional products are consciously researching and asking where the ingredients in their products come from and which ingredients are delivering meaningful value for their dollar and their pet. As the industry rapidly shifts to connect with these consumers through increased transparency and value, the segment of nutritional omega-3 oils and food “toppers” is one worthy of critical review. While there are many oil sources used in the nutritional toppers segment, salmon oil seems to overwhelmingly dominate the space with combinations of fish, flax, hemp, borage, and algae oils making up the rest of the market. However, there seems to be a severe lack of transparency around salmon oil and how these products are marketed to consumers.

 

The Good

Wild Alaskan salmon oil offers meaningful total omega-3 levels ranging from 20-30%, along with messaging around sustainably managed fisheries. Wild Alaskan salmon populations are on the decline causing supply gaps and higher pricing for this raw material, but so long as this is managed through sustainable fisheries, this is still considered the higher quality salmon oil within the pet industry. Brands using this raw material have the advantage of communicating nutritional and traceable messaging points to their consumer base while delivering benefits which consumers can recognize in their pets. As a source that is also strongly represented in the human nutritional market, wild Alaskan salmon oil is well validated to be a good quality source of nutritional omega-3s for consumers and their pets. But are these products being negatively shadowed by other salmon oils in the marketplace? 

 

The Bad

Farmed salmon oil is often sold to consumers generically as “Salmon Oil” and lacks nearly all of the consumer messaging benefits of wild Alaskan salmon oil. Since farmed salmon are often fed high omega-6 plant seed oils and lower levels of omega-3s, the resulting salmon oil nutritional quality can be greatly reduced, for example total omega-3 level as low as 8% is common, along with a higher representation of omega-6 than in natural wild salmon. This negates many of the functional benefits of feeding salmon oil traditionally used for its higher omega-3 delivery, and raises the question of whether farmed salmon oil is delivering the value that today’s consumer expects for their pets, or if this is simply an outlet of a low-cost, low-quality byproduct of the farmed salmon fillet industry. 

 

The New!

When it comes to brands seeking to deliver nutritional oils with meaningful health and wellness benefits, tangible sustainability metrics, and unique consumer messaging points, Ahiflower® oil is a new and exciting option for pet parents. As Nature’s richest source of omega-3, Ahiflower oil astoundingly outperforms farmed salmon oil with total omega-3 levels of approximately 65%. While directly addressing the goal of delivering high levels of omega-3, Ahiflower offers much greater benefits for things like skin and coat, joint, inflammation, and mobility support. Only 500mg – 2500mg is needed to deliver benefits depending on the animal size, and the oil offers cleaner sensory which avoids “fishy breath” or potential palatability concerns. Unlike salmon oil, Ahiflower also contains GLA (as found in borage seed oil) which further helps with skin, coat and joint health. For sustainability benefits, brands can talk to consumers about positive carbon capture, supporting pollinators like bees and butterflies, and the avoidance of contaminant risk like heavy metals, mineral oils, microplastics, and of course the reduced fishing pressure this puts on our oceans.

 

What Does the Future Hold?

As consumer concern around ocean conservation grows, so does the awareness around the unsustainability of marine-based omega supplements. It is fundamental for the pet nutrition industry to recognize that globally, we have reached the maximum capacity of fish harvests and therefore, the maximum available supply of fish oil to meet omega-3 demands around the world. The global pet supplement omega-3 market is estimated to be $1.28 billion with a 7.9% CARG, reaching $2.29 billion by 2034. As the pet nutrition industry continues to grow, it must adopt sustainable terrestrial omega sources to cater to this growing demand. Options like Ahiflower oil, algae oil, and the two oils in combination are helping provide a turnkey solution for brands formulating for the future.

 

Here is an example of how Ahiflower oil compares to common nutritional oils in the pet sector:

 

A unique opportunity exists to deliver consumers products like omega-3 toppers for pets which use clean, natural, and sustainable ingredients, supporting the health of our soil, our oceans, and our pets, without compromising on the quality or nutritional benefits expected within this category. For companies looking to differentiate from conventional offerings and engage consumers with new and exciting offerings, please reach out to jburt@naturescrops.com.