BELOIT, WIS. — Kerry Inc., an ingredient supplier to the pet food processing industry, announced Oct. 13 its latest plant-based palatant, PurePal™, designed to deliver a flavor and aroma that meets both pet and pet owner demands.

“We see an opportunity for pet food brands to innovate around appealing to human senses while maintaining strong palatability performance,” said Ruben Santana, global research and development director at Kerry.

The company provided data collected over a two-year period through its Global Innovation Center in Beloit that shows its PurePal solution appeals to pets on the basis of smell, with a reported 19% increased overall liking of the product and a 24% increase in aroma preference.

Additionally, the study showed pet owners’ liking of PurePal-enhanced kibble increased by up to 33% compared to the kibble brand they were currently purchasing.

“With consumers increasingly associating the smell of their pet’s food with freshness and ingredient quality, enhancing aroma for consumers may help brands differentiate themselves on-shelf,” Santana said.

Kerry’s PurePal solutions is catered specifically to dogs, manufactured using the company’s proprietary smoke technology. The company shared its PurePal solution can increase intake ratios comparable to that of leading commercial palatability solutions. PurePal can also be used as a palatant enhancer to other off-shelf premium kibbles for dogs.

The solution comes as a bridge between pet and pet owner preferences for smell and pet parents’ demands for sustainably produced, human-grade, all-natural and plant-based offerings.

The company also stated its PurePal palatant solution can help processors mitigate unpleasant aromas during manufacturing, sediments that wear down processing equipment, shelf-life and food safety challenges.

Learn more about Kerry’s PurePal palatability solution in an on-demand webinar hosted by Santana and Chad Wethal, marketing manager for Kerry’s pet wellness and nutrition division.

Read more about product development, ingredients and formulation.