'Pet Food' Functional Feed Patent Applications Increase 37% Yearly

Graph of application trends by functionality for 'functional pet food' from 2011 to 2020. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] As pet food diversifies and becomes more premium, patent applications for functional pet food that considers the health and nutrition management of companion animals are rapidly increasing.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 27th, the total number of patent applications related to animal feed from 2011 to 2020 increased by an average of 10% annually.

In particular, during the same period, patent applications related to functional pet food showed an average annual growth rate of 37%, leading the increase in patent applications in the animal feed sector.

The proportion of patent applications for functional pet food within the total animal feed patent applications also gradually increased from 18% in 2015 to 27% in 2017 and 33% in 2019.

Patent application trend data for the entire animal feed sector and the functional feed sector for companion animals. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

By detailed technology, patent applications for functional pet food were highest in feed ingredients at 51%, additives (food factors) at 22%, customized feed for individual animals at 14%, feed formation and processing technology at 13%, followed by feed preservation technology.

Regarding the form of feed, dry feed with excellent storability accounted for an overwhelming 76% of the total, while semi-moist feed and wet feed each accounted for 12%.

By functionality, the order was immune improvement at 28%, obesity prevention at 25%, palatability enhancement at 11%, odor prevention at 11%, nutritional supplementation at 10%, health maintenance at 8%, skin and coat health improvement at 6%, and intestinal function improvement at 3%.

By applicant type, individuals accounted for 41.1%, small and medium-sized enterprises 33.1%, foreign corporations 9.22%, and educational institutions (universities) 7.57%.

The proportion held by individuals significantly exceeded the average proportion of individuals in all patent applications at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, which is 19.8%.

This is interpreted as an effect of the increase in single-person pet households, leading to a rise in startups by one-person companies and small and medium-sized enterprises based on patented technologies.

Kim Jeong-hee, an examiner at the Food and Biological Resources Examination Division of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “Considering the growth potential of the domestic pet care market, the upward trend in patent applications related to companion animals, such as functional feed, is expected to continue.”

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