Blog

Anmerkungen zu alternativen Proteinen, Palatabilität und der Petfood-Branche, von unserem Schreibtisch.

Unsere Fachartikel erscheinen auf Englisch.

A lipid freshness clock: one continuous oxidation axis, from the fresh-kill signal at one end to rancidity at the other.

Palatability | 12. August 2026

Petfood Palatability: Why Fat Is the Signal Alternative Proteins Forget

Protein research dominates alternative protein development, but fat is the only nutrient that carries its own timestamp, and animals read it.

A freshness-clock timeline: the biochemical stages meat passes through after death, from the fresh-kill signal to spoilage.

Palatability | 6. August 2026

Petfood Palatability: Why Replacing Meat Is More Than Replacing Protein

A legume may provide the vocabulary of nutrition. Meat provides the grammar of recognition, and species identity lives in the phospholipids.

An editorial illustration: aroma rising from a bowl resolving into the skeletal structure of the molecule trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal.

Palatability | 30. Juli 2026

Petfood Palatability and the Fresh-Kill Signal Cats Read as Prey

Why the cat at the bowl is not smelling meat. It is smelling a fresh kill, and the single molecule that tells it so is one the flavour industry has spent twenty-five years trying to bottle.

A dog's paws waiting beside a full bowl of kibble, seen from above

Palatability | 24. Juli 2026

Petfood Palatability in the Age of Alternative Proteins

Five questions about what animals actually recognise as food, and why we keep measuring the wrong thing.

Football match under floodlights at Priestfield Stadium, players in blue and red kits on the pitch, a stand full of spectators in the background.

Alternative Proteins | 22. Juli 2026

The curtains have fallen on the FIFA World Cup: Lessons for Alt-Prot

Eight lessons from ninety minutes of football, for a movement that mistook fundraising for progress, and forgot the crowd.

Interzoo 2026 in Nuremberg drew approximately 2,400 exhibitors from around 70 countries

Events | 22. Mai 2026

Alternative proteins commercialisation in petfood: Learnings from Interzoo 2026

Five commercial milestones in ten days pushed alternative proteins from a sustainability side-conversation to a named, dated product category inside the USD 140 billion pet-food market.

A scientist in a white coat working at the controls of a JEOL scanning electron microscope, with a monitor displaying a micrograph at the right.

Analysis | 4. Mai 2026

Headwinds in the Alternative Protein Space

More than 40 alternative protein ventures shuttered or merged between late 2024 and early 2026. An analysis of the structural failures, and what might actually work.

A speaker in a brown blazer at a microphone, addressing an audience with a blue presentation screen behind.

Speaking | 3. Juni 2025

Presentation at re:publica 2025 in Berlin on Diaspora Remittances

Our CEO spoke at re:publica 2025 in Berlin on transforming African diaspora remittances from “Black Tax” to “Business Capital”.

Interview | 23. April 2025

Interview: 10 questions for… Sinonin Biotech by ZEST

This article was first published on https://zest-project.eu/interview-10-questions-for-sinonin-biotech/ This section seeks to introduce each beneficiary, explain their sector, and describe their...

Events | 23. April 2025

Honoured at the Inaugural Jamhuri Diaspora Awards Ceremony, 2024

When I learnt about a Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH programme called hashtag#WIDUAfrica, I didn’t know it was going to take me this far. I was merely driving...

Events | 3. Oktober 2024

#ZESTProject official launch

The #ZESTProject, co-funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) initiative, has kicked-off!! Learn more about this new four-year project undertaken by twelve partners from...

Events | 3. Oktober 2024

#ZESTProject Executive Board Virtual Meeting

The #ZESTProject held its first executive board meeting last Monday. During this hour-long online gathering, representatives from the organisations that support the European initiative went...

Events | 3. Oktober 2024

Seronei visits WIDU.africa offices

Our CEO Visited the WIDU.africa programme HQ and had a sit-down with the Kenya Cordinator, Fridah Kibuko

Interview | 30. Januar 2023

Our CEO Interview with the Future of Protein Summit Organiser Nick Bradley

Full Interview here A seasoned protein chemist and serial entrepreneur, Dr Seronei Chelulei Cheison has invaluable experience in the pet food industry where he worked for MARS Petcare and led...

Insects | 30. Januar 2023

Approval of fourth insect as a Novel Food by the EU

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approved a fourth insect early January vide the Regulation 2023/58 authorising the placement of frozen, paste, dried and powder forms of (Alphitobius...

Insects | 11. Dezember 2022

Insects used in Aquafeed

Eight important insect species used in producing meals to replace fishmeal in aquafeeds. 1. Silkworms (Bombyx mori), 2. Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), 3. Housefly (Musca domestica), 4....

Insects | 15. Oktober 2022

Why are insects considered sustainable? A Protein production inputs resource justification

Resource requirements by insects and farm animals Everything comes down to the cost of inputs vs the benefits obtained from the outputs. Farm animals require feed and water, That feed is grown or...

Insects | 3. Oktober 2022

Insects in a circular economy

To appreciate the role of insects in a circular economy, we probably should start by defining what “circular economy” is. “A circular economy is defined as an alternative to the current linear...

Alternative Proteins | 3. Oktober 2022

Global protein demand: Pressure from a healthy and wealthy population that continues to grow

A growing global population, combined with factors such as changing socio-demographics, will place increased pressure on the world’s resources to provide not only more but also different types of...

Technology | 3. Oktober 2022

Fermentation or Pharmentation? A proposal to disambiguate biomolecule “metabolism” from alternative protein production using precision technology

The other day I was asking for some specific fermentation products for a customer. Some of the answers I received pointed me to bioreactor products attempting tp produce animal and plant proteins...