Introduction: Expanding the boundaries of food ingredients has always been a major trend in the development of the pet food industry. In recent years, food technology represented by insect protein is quietly developing. Today, the company I want to introduce to you is the Oxfam brand under Lipei Company. It applies insect protein to pet food products and is also the first Chinese pet food brand to launch "insect protein food" in the country.

The first company in the industry to research and develop insect protein grains

“Healthy, nutritious and delicious” have become the key to users’ staple food selection

Oxfam Brand General Manager Liu Yonghua told Pet industry experts, from an industry perspective, actually the application history of insect protein in the pet food industry is not very long. Especially in the domestic market, the public’s understanding of insect protein is still relatively low, which is both a pressure and an opportunity.

Libei is the first company in the pet industry to research and develop insect pet food. The team used mealworms as protein sources and launched it for the domestic market in 2014 with the characteristics of "nutritional balance, gastrointestinal conditioning, and sub-regulatory function". Insect protein pet food with health and immunity-boosting effects.

With the boom in the global pet economy, in recent years, brands using insect protein as protein source have gradually begun to emerge in the pet market. Foreign brands such as international giants Nestlé and German Greenpeif are also actively deploying , launched on the market to develop environmentally friendly and healthy pet food using insects as a protein source.

Today, China's pet food market is still developing at a rapid pace, and product supply is becoming increasingly homogeneous. Manufacturers are accustomed to developing new products based on production thinking, while ignoring the real needs and potential needs of consumers, resulting in the emergence of new products. Release and promotion are entirely the brand's own pleasure, but consumers are indifferent to this and cannot establish effective connections. Naturally, consumers do not buy it.

In response to this current situation, the Oxfam team identified insect protein as a product with high functional value and built-in dissemination power, and chose to increase investment in scientific research to produce products with technical content without Follow the trend and follow the route of its own unique technology to provide healthy products for pets and meet consumers' health needs.

To this end, the Oxfam team also conducted long-term user research on the market and came to the following conclusions:

First, professionalization, focusing on healthier and safer food;

The second is targeting, emphasizing clear functions and meeting needs;

The third is delicious, not only healthy, but also delicious.

In response to the above three points, it was found that healthy pet food is the mainstream preference of pet owners. Especially in 2021, consumers will adopt a more positive attitude towards choosing healthy products. Eat well, have fewer diseases, and "health, nutrition, and deliciousness" have become the three points that pet owners pay more attention to when choosing pet food. Therefore, Oxfam Pet Food’s market strategy is to develop products based on common sub-health diseases of pets, analyze and professionally develop targeted product solutions.

Why is the Oxfam team so obsessed with insect protein?

Six competitive advantages of third-generation insect active proteins

Liu Yonghua introduced that insects are the largest biological group on the earth and a type of protein resource with great development potential. A large number of nutritional analysis results show that the protein content of many insect dry bodies is as high as more than 50%, and some even reach more than 80%. What's more important is that the proportion of amino acids in insect protein is relatively balanced.

More research data points out that scientific calculations have found that: for every 100 grams of insect active protein, polypeptides are equivalent to 1,200 grams of bird's nest; polysaccharides are equivalent to 400 grams of cordyceps; high-quality protein is equivalent to 1,900 cups Milk; free amino acids and trace elements are equivalent to 1,600 eggs.

Professor Shunji Natori of the University of Tokyo published a world-sensing paper at the International Life Forum as early as 1982 - "Insect antimicrobial proteins have powerful bactericidal and anti-cancer effects"; the Royal Society of Medicine of the United Kingdom "Insect active protein" is listed as the first choice drug for cancer prevention, anti-cancer treatment and health preservation; the United Nations Green Industry Expert Committee has determined that "insect active antibacterial protein" will have a profound impact on life and health. In the future, its development and utilization will contribute to solving the protein resource crisis in the food and feed industry.

According to the official introduction, the "third generation insect active protein" currently used in Oxfam pet food has six major competitive advantages compared with animal protein derived from general meat sources:

No. 1. High protein, low fat and low cholesterol. The protein content of insects is as high as 81%, 80% of termite dry matter is protein and fat, the protein content of pork is 13.2%, and the protein content of chicken is 23.3%.

Second, high digestibility and amino acid balance. The digestibility of insect protein is 70%~98.93%, which is close to or exceeds the digestibility level of meat and fish. Insect protein is a type of high-quality animal protein whose essential amino acid content is close to or higher than the amino acid pattern proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Thirdly, it has high content of 8 essential amino acids for the body, reasonable nutritional structure, low meat fiber and easy absorption.

Fourthly, after biological enzymatic fermentation, almost all of it becomes small molecule protein peptides.

Fifth, the fat content of insect active antibacterial protein is low, 70% of which is precious unsaturated fatty acids.

Sixth, because it contains antibacterial proteins, it is naturally antiviral. It has no food safety risks such as bird flu, foot and mouth disease, hormones, genetic modification, etc. It is purely natural, has no side effects, and is safe and reliable.

This year, 12 new Oxfam Lucky Series functional foods have been launched

The "first meal after surgery" series of functional foods have been launched

According to Liu Yonghua, the Oxfam brand Focusing on the sub-healthy dog ​​and cat group in the incremental market, focusing on the core value of insects and promoting healthy diet, the Oxfam Insect Protein Food Lucky Series functional food products will be launched in 2021.

At present, Oxfam’s insect protein red luck functional food product series has 12 SKUs in the first phase, including intestinal care dog food, tear stain care dog food, muscle building and bone building dog food, intestinal Nursing cat food, urinary care cat food, eye care cat food, etc. Among them, intestinal care dog and cat food specially adds meat cream and hawthorn cream, so that fussy dogs and cats can achieve a 98% eating rate.

At the same time, Oxfam has also created a new functional food product series of "first meal after surgery". It is understood that the products include the first post-operative meal for cats and the first post-operative meal for dogs, which are mainly targeted at post-operative and sick dogs and cats with low appetite and weak immunity, filling the gap in hospital consumption demand. It uses high-quality insect protein sources and adds glutamine, lysozyme and immunoglobulin to effectively solve the health recovery of dogs and cats after surgery. In addition, the product name "First Meal after Surgery" and product packaging design are more in line with professional and rigorous aesthetic concepts and consumer preferences.

In terms of investment in technology research and development, the company signed a strategic framework agreement with the Zhongbo Institute of Insect Science and Henan College of Animal Husbandry Economics to cooperate in the development of edible insects for pet health products. Since the cooperation, the two parties have achieved phased results in solution development, talent training, and academic exchanges in the pet food field.

Accelerate the development of channel cooperation and continue marketing investment

To be the “No. 1 brand of insect protein products” in China’s pet industry

In terms of brand marketing, Oxfam has Come and continue to sponsor the "Good Dog Travels the World" large-scale dog travel event. During this period, Oxfam, as the official designated food, participated in the 60-day romantic journey with good dogs, covering a mileage of 6,000 kilometers. The dogs experienced different environments of mountains, grasslands, and high altitudes, and completed the journey with healthy companionship. The brand uses programs to effectively reach target consumer groups, works with partners to promote pet health, and integrates scientific feeding knowledge into every happy moment, further enhancing the brand's influence among the younger generation of consumer groups.

In terms of channel development, while consolidating the existing market foundation of pet hospitals, the Oxfam team is also working hard to develop incremental markets for pet stores and other channel platforms. In this regard, Liu Yonghua pointed out: "Currently, Oxfam has established an independent team to operate various Internet platforms and new media marketing promotions. In the future, it will rely on its own team's rich local promotion experience, online promotion capabilities, brand building capabilities and strong execution capabilities to accelerate Channel expansion, empowering partners. "It is worth mentioning that currently, Oxfam's Insect Protein Red Lucky Functional Food product has been on the market for 90 days, and has cooperated with 600 pet hospitals.

When talking about future development, Liu Yonghua said: In this era of rapid change, we are ushering in one outlet after another. At the forefront of the trend, some companies have fallen while others have risen rapidly. Some companies become disruptors, and some companies are disrupted. Since its establishment, Oxfam has determined to take the road of technology-based brands and become the "number one brand of insect protein products" in China's pet industry.

For Oxfam, while maintaining its own advantageous products, it will enter new markets with greater capacity in the future, refine its products around different consumer groups and consumption scenarios, and refine its existing products. Deeply, lay out pet health food with core competitiveness and value, and realize the transformation of insects from universal products to functional products; adapt to the new situation in marketing communication methods, keep up with new communication means and communication platforms, and effectively disseminate content, etc. Communication, vigorously deploy new media, Internet celebrity planting, short video live broadcast, etc.