CULT and JellaTech team up on animal-free collagen for pet food
The range will be marketed under CULT’s Indiana Pets brand.
Founded by Stephanie Michelsen, JellaTech focuses on making lab-cultured collagen. Produced that way, through cellular agriculture, the collagen breaks the cycle of relying on an “inefficient and unethical supply chain of live animals,” said the developer.
Producing collagen in a lab offers significant environmental benefits compared to traditional animal-based sources, claims CULT, a publicly traded Canadian company focused on the development and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products.
"[Animal-derived] collagen has a largely unregulated supply chain, in which the environmental damage caused by this product are unreported. But as we've seen from an independent investigation, the collagen craze in both pet and human products has been shown to be a major driver of Brazilian rainforest destruction,” alleged Joshua Errett, VP of product development, CULT.
Collagen has been shown to benefit dogs with mobility issues, including osteoarthritis, reported CULT. The ingredient has also been shown to promote gut health by strengthening the intestinal lining and reducing inflammation, it added.
"This high purity, tier-1 collagen, is formulated specifically for active and senior dogs. As pets age, they may experience joint pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility,” said the Toronto-headquartered company.
Cell-based bovine collagen
JellaTech is a venture backed company which includes investors CULT Food Science, Yellowdog, Big Idea Ventures, Bluestein Ventures, and others.
It recently announced that it had successfully developed a full length, triple helical, bio-identical, and functional human collagen made from its own proprietary cell line. That announcement came eight months after Jellatech's showcase of cell-based bovine collagen.
