Insights | 4D World

35 Articles

Pet Food ×

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Europe is pouring half a billion into wet pet food

Key Takeaways Nestle Purina committed CHF 520 million to a wet pet food plant in Mantova, Italy on 20 July 2026. Vafo Group took 12 hectares in Slupsk, Poland for a EUR 14 million pouch line, live by ...

Europe Innovation Pet Food Sustainability

Aug 11, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Spain's €2.18 billion pet food year belongs to cats

EUROPE PET FOOD WATCH N 13 Spain just posted a 2.18 billion pet food year and almost every euro of the growth came from one animal. Dog food barely moved. Cats did the work. Key Takeaways ▸ Spain's pe...

Europe Pet Food Prices & Markets

Aug 4, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Freeze-dried & fabulous: how removing water conquered the treat aisle

Key Takeaways ▸ Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, removes water by sublimation under vacuum. ▸ Frozen ice turns directly into vapour, skipping the liquid stage entirely. ▸ It preserves nutrients, arom...

Innovation Pet Food

Jul 31, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

China's $24bn pet boom and Europe's ingredient math

Key Takeaways ▸ China produced 1.9 million tonnes of pet food in 2025, up 17.9%. ▸ Chinese pet-food sales rose roughly sixfold between 2014 and 2024. ▸ China's pet market is estimated at around US$24 ...

China Europe Pet Food Prices & Markets

Jul 28, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Why is premium pet food obsessed with the wolf?

Key Takeaways ▸ Ancestral-diet marketing sells the wolf, but dogs are adapted omnivores. ▸ Dogs carry extra copies of a starch-digesting gene wolves lack (Axelsson, 2013). ▸ Domestication reshaped dog...

Innovation Pet Food

Jul 24, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Premium Pets, Premium Proteins: The $64 Billion Ingredient Race

Key Takeaways ▸ The pet food ingredients market is projected to approach US$64.5 billion by 2036. ▸ Pet humanization pushes owners toward higher-quality, human-grade protein ingredients. ▸ Named prote...

Pet Food Prices & Markets United States

Jul 21, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

France's hidden gate: the Arrêté 2006 certificate

Key Takeaways ▸ France requires one extra certificate beyond the standard EU CAT 3. ▸ The attestation is bilingual, in French and Portuguese, travelling with the consignment. ▸ It declares no prohibit...

Europe Pet Food Regulation

Jul 15, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Deal season: the pet-food M&A that defined H1 2026

Key Takeaways ▸ Pet-food M&A held a steady pace through the first half of 2026. ▸ Zoetis paid US$160 million for Neogen's animal-genomics assets. ▸ The Umios-Pet World International distribution deal ...

Europe Innovation Pet Food Prices & Markets

Jul 14, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Kibble was born from a cannon: the story of extrusion

Key Takeaways ▸ Extrusion forces a grain, protein and water dough through a heated pressurised barrel. ▸ The pressure drop at the die makes kibble expand, cook and shape in one pass. ▸ Extrusion cooks...

Innovation Pet Food

Jul 10, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The three trends reshaping pet nutrition in Europe

Key Takeaways ▸ Three forces reshape European pet nutrition: natural/raw, sustainability and preventive health. ▸ Natural, raw and human-grade formats keep taking European shelf space. ▸ Demand for na...

Europe Innovation Pet Food

Jul 7, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Foreign-body control: the discipline behind premium protein

Key Takeaways ▸ Foreign-body control layers defences rather than relying on a single check. ▸ HACCP starts by designing out contamination: guarded blades, no glass on the floor. ▸ Rare-earth magnets p...

Food Safety Nutre Meat Pet Food

Jul 4, 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The Maillard reaction: why kibble and steak smell so good

Key Takeaways ▸ The Maillard reaction occurs when amino acids meet reducing sugars under heat. ▸ It creates hundreds of new aroma molecules, brown colour and roasted flavour. ▸ French chemist Louis-Ca...

Food Innovation Pet Food

Jul 3, 2026

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