2025 Presentations

Tuesday, April 29

Opening keynote

Macro-economic outlook and what it means for pet food companies and pet owners — Ernie Tedeschi, Budget Lab at Yale Law School

Concurrent sessions

Career development

• Connectivity and leadership — Karen Jones, NextUp

Pet food market

Market data, health and wellness deep dive

• 2025 pet economy report — Diana Rosero-Pena, Bloomberg Intelligenc
• How perceptions of health and wellness impact US pet owner attitudes and pet food spending — Shannon Landry, Packaged Facts
• Leveraging a ‘foodback’ loop to integrate real-world pet health data into recipe design, product innovation — Tara Zedayko, Ollie Pets

Ingredients trends and consumer perceptions

• Pet food ingredient trends: Insights from 2024 sales — Lara Moody, Institute for Feed Education and Research
• Novel proteins and today’s pet parent: What’s next? — Nicole Hill, Nextin Research by MarketPlace
• Insect protein in pet food: Assessing consumer perceptions, knowledge and willingness to pay — Lonnie Hobbs, Ph.D., and Aleksan Shanoyan, Ph.D., Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics

Pet food nutrition

Focus on senior pets

• Bioavailability and effects of collagen hydrolysates using an in vivo to in vitro approach for canine osteoarthritis — Niels Blees, MSc., DVM, Utrecht University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• Enhancing muscle health and longevity in aging canines with HMB supplementation — Shawn Baier, TSI Group Co.
• Flavor preference in cats across life stages — Ana Rita Monforte, Ph.D., AFB International

Obesity, life stages, nutrient profiles

• Unraveling the myth of dietary carbohydrates and feline obesity: A meta-analysis and study findings — Hannah Godfrey, BSc.H., MSc., University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College
• Innovating pet nutrition: Combating the pet obesity epidemic with new food approaches and ingredients — Kathy Gross, Ph.D., Kansas State University Pet Food Program
• Time to reconsider NRC and AAFCO guidelines for amino acid requirements in dogs? — Claire Timlin, Ph.D., Four Rivers Kennel

Pet food ingredients

The pet microbiome and functional ingredients

• Biotics in pet food and modulation of feline gut microbiome by diet and biotic supplementation — Jeff Alix and Brian Klein, Ph.D., dsm-firmenich
• Repeatability of the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic on gut fermentative metabolites and microbiota in dogs — Jan Suchodolski, Ph.D., Texas A&M University Gastrointestinal Laboratory
• Safety and functional benefits of a cultured protein for use in dog food formulations — Anne Ballou, Ph.D., SIWA; Matt Longshaw, Ph.D., Calysta Ltd.; Wendy Vandersteen, BSc., MSc., Ph.D., Taplow Ventures Ltd.

Sustainable ingredients

• Exploring fresh African game meat in pet food for novel, sustainable approach to nutrition — Angelique Myburgh, Montego Pet Nutrition
• Harnessing blood-derived proteins from the meat industry for sustainable pet nutrition — Roger Gerlach, APC
• Sustainability and nutrition considerations for supplementing omega-3s in companion animal diets — Alexandra Rankovic, MSc., Ph.D., University of Guelph

Pet food technology

AI focus areas

• Transformative potential for AI in pet food innovation, sales creation and sustainability — Rajan Lukose, Cambridge Technology
• AI is transforming marketing: What are the benefits, challenges and applications for pet food? — Hana Bieliauskas, Inspire PR Group
• Understanding AI to streamline pet food manufacturing — Matt Lueger, Northwind Technical Services, and Bill Ward, Northslope Technologies

New processing technologies

• New methods in high-moisture extrusion for creating innovative, diverse and nutritious wet pet food — Jenni Harrington, Buhler Group
• Starch gelatinization in extrusion cooking of pet foods: Balancing quality and sustainability — Ed de Souza, Wenger Process Solutions
• Optimizing microbial control in pet food: Understanding traditional and innovative methods — Daniela Soto Castro, Hiperbaric