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 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 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 Salt, smoke, cold: 5,000 years of not letting meat spoil Key Takeaways ▸ Meat preservation is a 5,000-year fight against spoilage and decay. ▸ Salting and drying gave meat its first real shelf life around 3000 BC. ▸ Nicolas Appert perfected canning in 1809,... Food Innovation Logistics & Shipping Jul 17, 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 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
Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World Umami for dogs: the science of palatants Key Takeaways ▸ A palatant is a flavour system built from real animal protein and sprayed on kibble. ▸ Extruded kibble comes out essentially flavourless; the palatant is applied last. ▸ Enzymatic hydr... Innovation Pet Food Jun 26, 2026
Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World The word 'protein' turns 187 Key Takeaways ▸ The word 'protein' was coined in 1838 by Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius. ▸ Dutch chemist Gerardus Mulder popularised the term the following year, in 1839. ▸ It derives from the G... Food Innovation Jun 19, 2026
Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World Purina's half-billion bet on Italy Key Takeaways ▸ Nestle Purina is investing CHF 520 million in a new Mantova, Italy plant. ▸ The plant is dedicated to super-premium wet lines for cats and dogs. ▸ Production is slated to begin in 2029... Europe Innovation Pet Food Prices & Markets Jun 16, 2026
Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World Dogs, wolves and 30,000 years of shared dinner Key Takeaways ▸ Wolves began scavenging at human camps roughly 30,000 years ago. ▸ Clear evidence of domesticated dogs appears about 15,000 years ago. ▸ A 2013 genome study pinpointed starch-digestion... Innovation Pet Food Jun 12, 2026
