Chosun University - Marine Biology Education Center Develops Pet Food Using Seaweed

Launch of Monitoring Dog Owner Group... Official Sales After 3rd Revision Based on Feedback and Results

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Chosun University Link Plus Project Group and the Marine Biology Research and Education Center have succeeded in developing and producing a prototype pet food using seaweed (brand name: Geonganghage Meongmeonghaejo). Alongside the launch for sale, a 'Monitoring Dog Owner Group' has also been established to provide feedback for the second and third rounds of improvements.

According to Chosun University on the 6th, 20 dog owners attended the launch ceremony held on the 3rd at the Wando Industry-Academia Cooperation Hub Center, where a one-month supply of pet food made primarily from Wando-produced kelp and sea mustard was also delivered.

Based on the opinions and results from the monitoring dog owner group, the second and third rounds of improvements will be carried out before producing the official pet food for sale.

This project was conducted to discover and foster Wando as the seaweed capital and to promote the excellence of seaweed.

The Chosun University Link Plus Project Group and Marine Biology Research and Education Center planned the production of pet food using seaweed in response to the increasing number of pets and the high proportion of imported pet food.

According to the 'Public Awareness Survey on Animal Protection' announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the proportion of households raising pets was 27.7% as of last year.

The pet food market was approximately 1.26 trillion KRW as of 2019 (according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute), with imported food accounting for 70% (800.9 billion KRW) of the market.

In this pet food market, the introduction of functional pet food made from Wando seaweed is expected to establish a new foundation for fostering Wando's future growth engine and potentially change the landscape of the food market.

Professor Kim Jongwon said, “We are fully prepared to cause a stir in the pet food market, where imported brand foods dominate, not only with the domestic market launch but also through exhibiting at the Wando International Seaweed Expo to be held in April next year.” He added, “Following the dog food ‘Geonganghage, Meongmeonghaejo,’ we will produce cat food ‘Geonganghanyang, Nyaonghaejo’ to nurture it as a representative product of ‘Wando, the seaweed capital.’”

Kim Chunsung, the project general manager, stated, “We will promote Wando’s excellent seaweed and spare no effort or support for the success of the Wando International Seaweed Expo.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.