HenArt launches fermented-protein dog food with Enifer

EUROPE – Dutch pet-food brand HenArt has launched LEVENDO™, a complete dog food for adult and senior dogs, formulated around fermented proteins and featuring Finnish biotechnology company Enifer’s PEKILO® mycoprotein as a core ingredient.

The product is gently baked rather than extruded and is formulated to meet the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) guidelines for complete and balanced nutrition. 

Its formulation includes mycoprotein, which contains all essential amino acids and naturally occurring beta-glucans.

HenArt developed the recipe and its proprietary fermentation blend in-house, with established European manufacturers handling production.

LEVENDO™ is available through the company’s online store and specialist distribution partners across Europe and the UK. 

HenArt is also opening the product to national pet-retail chains, online retailers and grocery partners.

HenArt founder Henk Verhoeven says the product was developed to give dog owners another everyday feeding option without compromising nutritional quality or palatability.

The launch marks PEKILO®’s first international consumer product introduction, moving the ingredient from research and validation into a commercially available pet-food formulation.

Enifer has highlighted research supporting the ingredient’s use in canine diets.

A feeding study reported high protein digestibility and improved gut-health indicators, while a separate 60-day study examined digestibility, palatability, stool quality, and potential immune-support effects. 

These findings support further investigation of the ingredient’s nutritional applications.

Enifer is preparing to scale production by commissioning its 3,000-tonne PEKILO® factory, with full-scale production planned for 2027. 

The company sees the HenArt launch as a step towards wider use of mycoprotein in commercial pet nutrition.

The product is the first in a planned LEVENDO™ range. HenArt is developing wet-food products using its TenderCraft™ technology alongside the proprietary fermentation blend, potentially extending the ingredient platform into additional formats.

The launch comes amid continued demand for differentiated products in the global dog food market, which Grand View Research estimated was worth US$48.1 billion in 2025. 

Nutritional adequacy remains a key consideration for alternative-protein diets: a 2025 international survey of more than 2,600 dog owners found that 85% of respondents considering alternative diets cited nutritional adequacy as the top factor influencing purchase decisions.

The launch marks a step toward bringing fermented proteins into everyday pet-food products, and further product development and manufacturing scale-up will likely shape how widely the ingredient is adopted.

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