On September 13, 2023, Symrise unveiled a dry pet food pilot production facility in Elven, France. The facility aims at bolstering the global leadership of Symrise in pet food by producing high-value solutions that enhance the well-being of pets and the satisfaction of pet owners. The pilot production line is equipped to meet internal research and development requirements while also assisting customers with their own processes.
With this new capability, Symrise brings customers comprehensive support that includes market insights, R&D, an understanding of dry pet food production process, measurement of palatability performance, and laboratory studies. This setup provides flexibility, allowing for the exploration of a wide range of factors. The experts can study how the kibble production process and the matrix itself impact pet food palatability, pet nutrition and the efficiency of pet food protection solutions.
The project sets itself apart by the conception of the pilot plant. It integrates the entire dry pet food production chain – from raw material preparation to coating, extrusion, and kibble drying. At every stage of production, Symrise can employ cutting-edge equipment to study a wide variety of parameters that influence kibble formulation and the production process. For instance, the batch preparation process and the modularity of equipment offer great flexibility to reproduce any industrial scenario. The instrumentation of the equipment can also collect a wide range of data to better understand the factors that impact the kibble and its performance.
Alexis Peuto, Innovative Technology R&D Manager Symrise Pet Food, emphasized the significance of this facility, stating: “From an R&D perspective, this new facility brings additional possibilities for our teams. They can directly study the kibble matrix and its production process. This way, they get a full understanding of how our palatability, pet nutrition and pet food solutions interact with kibbles of standard to premium to super premium positionings”.
Beyond its focus on research capabilities for larger-scale replication, the dry pet food pilot production line first and foremost serves as an invaluable research tool for pet food manufacturers. It offers them insights into using new ingredients, recipe formulation changes, and process conditions. They can draw on the pilot line to fully pursue their research projects while saving time and capacity. The line flexibility extends to the study of other coextruded products giving them the ability to also study treats.
With this latest addition to its capabilities in Elven, Symrise can deliver a comprehensive overview of the pet food market ecosystem. This applies to the full dry pet food production process for both internal R&D needs as well as customer support. It complements existing unique capabilities in terms of product development and application. It also includes a palatability pilot line and laboratory studies conducted both on palatability and pet food protection. It also extends to the knowledge of pet feeding preferences and behaviors from its expert measurement center Panelis. Lastly, it aligns with pet owners’ expectations coming from the social pet owner platform Yummypets. All these elements set the company apart as the industry leader in pet food palatability, pet nutrition and pet food protection. It also makes Symrise the partner of choice for pet food manufacturers to achieve their product and brand positioning objectives.
Bertrand de Launay, President at Symrise Pet Food concludes: “We now offer the greatest flexibility and instrumentation we know of. Our dry pet food pilot production line forms the final addition to the set of capabilities we offer pet food manufacturers. We are helping them to design future foods for pets that meet the challenges of today and tomorrow”.
