Proteine Resources Debuts Hybrid, Dual-Action Gut Health Ingredient at Interzoo 2026

Proteine Resources sp. z o.o. has launched VELI – a line of functional wet pet foods built on EntoPro, a hybrid alternative protein developed over eight years – at Interzoo 2026 fair earlier this month in Nuremberg, Germany.

The launch targeted a documented gap across the EU, U.S. and Canadian pet food markets: gastrointestinal and skin conditions are the leading cause of veterinary visits across all three regions, yet no wet food brand has positioned a hybrid alternative protein ingredient as a clinically oriented gut health solution at accessible price points.

What is EntoPro? EntoPro combines insect-derived protein with functional bioactive compounds extracted from mushroom cultivation by-products, creating a single ingredient platform that delivers protein, prebiotic fiber, and bioactive compounds in one matrix. The ingredient is backed by eight years of cumulative R&D: six and a half years developing the hybrid protein platform, followed by 18 months of VELI-specific recipe architecture and flavor profiling.

The University of Agriculture in Krakow (URK) has conducted large-scale in vitro studies on EntoPro, demonstrating exceptional functional properties of the ingredient. Formal in vivo holistic testing with URK is now launching, marking the transition from internal field validation to institutional clinical-grade verification.

Internal field tests place VELI in the same performance tier as premium fresh-cooked pet foods across multiple dog cohorts – by internal assessment, the highest palatability benchmark currently available in the wet food segment. The result is significant for the alternative protein category, where palatability has historically been the primary commercial barrier to adoption by mainstream brand partners.

Ingredient buyers evaluating alternative proteins assess performance across four dimensions: palatability, pricing competitiveness against conventional options, functional benefit profile, and sustainability credentials. Most single-source alternative proteins satisfy one or two of these criteria. EntoPro was formulated to address all four simultaneously – the hybrid architecture avoids the performance trade-offs that have limited adoption of cricket-only, algae-only, or mycoprotein-only ingredients in wet food applications.

Companion animals face a growing incidence of chronic low-grade inflammation, immune dysregulation, and food sensitivity – conditions with a documented dietary component across all major markets. Peer-reviewed research confirms that 20–30% of companion animal veterinary visits involve vomiting or diarrhoea – cited in Jergens & Heilmann, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2022). In Europe, digestive sensitivity formulas are the leading therapeutic pet diet category by revenue, representing 18.5% of the EU pet diet market (Mordor Intelligence, 2024), across a population of 299 million companion animals (FEDIAF, 2025).

In the U.S., a 2023 article published in Veterinary Practice News found that digestive and skin conditions account for more than half of all annual veterinary visits, affecting over 60 million cats and dogs. In Canada, intestinal upset was the most frequent insurance claim category for cats in 2023 (Nationwide, 2024), in a market of 7.2 million dogs and 8.2 million cats (Canadian Animal Health Institute, 2024).

VELI addresses gut health at the ingredient level through a dual-action formulation. The first mechanism is prebiotic. Chitin-derived fiber naturally present in EntoPro may support beneficial shifts in gut microbiota. In dogs, insect-based diets have been shown to maintain healthy gut microbiome diversity, while studies on consumption and chitin-rich insect ingredients indicate prebiotic potential, including increased abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium (Jarett et al. (2019, PeerJ).

The second mechanism in VELI’s formulation is postbiotic. Added postbiotics – defined by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) as preparations of inanimate microorganisms or their components that confer a health benefit – support restoration of gut barrier integrity by promoting tight junction proteins between epithelial cells and reducing local inflammation. Critically for wet food applications, postbiotics are thermostable: unlike live probiotics, they retain functional activity through the retort sterilization process standard in commercial wet pet food production.

Disrupted gut barrier integrity has consequences that extend beyond digestion. Peer reviewed research in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (2019) and MDPI Animals (2024) on the canine gut–brain axis indicates that gut dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability can contribute to systemic inflammation, altered HPA-axis signaling, and changes in neuroactive microbial metabolites such as SCFAs, GABA and serotonin-related pathways. Canine-focused reviews support the relevance of these pathways for dog health and behavior.

The downstream effects include not only persistent digestive symptoms but anxiety-like behaviors, impaired immune response, and, in older animals, accelerated cognitive decline. VELI’s formulation targets this cascade at its dietary origin.

“We decided to show the market what a model formulation for alternative proteins might look like. Every VELI recipe went through a barrier function threshold before it was accepted into the range. We were not asking whether the food was nutritionally complete – that is table stakes. We were asking whether the formulation actively supports the gut lining under conditions of existing dysbiosis. That framing changed the way we approached ingredient selection entirely,” said Bartłomiej Roszkowski, Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Proteine Resources.

For brand partners, the VELI model eliminates the need to develop functional ingredient IP independently – a process that took Proteine Resources eight years and €11.8 million to complete. Partners access a portfolio of ready-to-use functional recipes based on EntoPro™, with low minimum order quantities enabling market testing before full commitment, and a documented path from concept to retail shelf in three months. Proteine Resources is seeking D2C brands, retail chains, and private label manufacturers interested in the functional wet food segment.

Prospective partners and early-adopter consumers can register for the VELI product testing program ahead of and after the official market launch at velipet.com. EntoPro ingredient certification for the Canadian and U.S. markets is planned for later in 2026.