Fats and animal proteins are now driving pet food ingredient volatility. In 2026, poultry by-product meal rose about 17% in a single month.1 Each swap that follows brings nutrition, palatability and label checks, and margin absorbs the gap until formulas catch up.
In this Petfood Industry webinar, Annette Lundeen, Head of Product at Datacor Animal Nutrition, walks through a planned approach: refresh least-cost runs on current prices and test alternate ingredients ahead of time, so procurement has usage forecasts and breakpoints before it buys. She works through 2026 examples in chicken proteins and soybean oil, then takes audience questions.
How one ingredient price move changes cost per ton and the buying plan across your products
What it takes to qualify an alternate before a supplier shorts a load, with label claims held in place
Which inputs to lock in first, using forecasts from the same formulation data
Annette Lundeen is Head of Product for Datacor Animal Nutrition (formerly Format Solutions), where she leads product strategy focused on operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making in formulation and production. She has more than 30 years of experience in the feed industry, began her career as a formulator, and holds a degree in animal science from the University of Minnesota.
A parametric study steps an ingredient's price, a constraint or a nutrient across a range and re-runs least-cost formulation at each step. The results show which alternates enter the formula, at what price and volume, and in which products, so procurement has the answer before it commits to a buy.
Yes, if they're chosen carefully. An alternate protects margin only when its price moves differently from the ingredient it replaces. In 2026, fishmeal and feathermeal rallied with poultry meal, so a salmon-for-chicken swap that pays in a normal year may not pay now. Re-running breakpoints with every alternate at current prices, and modeling related ingredients together, shows which swaps still pay.
Build the label into the product design as constraints. A formula can require a minimum for a key ingredient or a set ingredient order, and the optimizer only returns formulas that stay inside those limits. Anything outside them is flagged as infeasible and can't be saved or released to the plant until the cause is resolved.
No. Forecasts run in a separate sandbox and never overwrite a production formula. Procurement receives usage by ingredient, breakpoints and cost impact, and formulas reach the mill only when your team releases them under its own procedures.
Pet food producers most often refresh monthly or quarterly, and the right cadence is a business decision. A regular schedule matters, and a sharp market move warrants an early re-check. Stretching the cycle through a large swing can give away margin.
Talk with a Datacor expert about how parametric studies and regular least-cost runs would work on your own products.
See how Datacor supports pet food producers from formulation through production.
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1 Fastmarkets, Sep 15, 2026 (poultry by-product meal, pet food grade, Aug 10 to Sep 9).