Petfood Forum 2026

The most talked-about theme at this year's forum was one that's been building for a while: the role of AI and data in pet food production. Carmen Sook, our Director of Customer Solutions, led a session at Petfood Essentials titled "From Nutritionist to Operator: AI as Your Trusted Copilot." And the conversation in that room was one we won't forget quickly. 

Carmen opened by polling the roughly 150 pet food manufacturers in attendance. The results painted a revealing picture: 

• 93% had used an AI tool like ChatGPT at some point 
• But only 12% said they were very confident that what comes off their production line matches what their formulator designed 
• 58% said somewhat confident, 21% said not very confident, and 9% admitted they don't measure the gap at all 

In other words: almost everyone in the room has touched AI. Almost no one has full confidence in the production-to-formulation alignment it's supposed to support. 

When asked what holds them back from using data and AI more effectively, three answers came up again and again: 

1. Our data isn't clean enough.. Or it lives in silos 
2. We don't trust it with our formulas yet 
3. Leadership hasn't prioritized it 

Notably absent from that list? "The technology isn't good enough." The tools exist. The blocker is the data underneath them. 

Carmen shared a case study that illustrated exactly what becomes possible when the data foundation is solid. A predictive model was tested against four years of production data that operators were already logging as part of their normal QC routine. No extra effort, no new systems. The data was simply sitting there, untapped. Results: 87% of predictions within tolerance, compared to roughly 60% when operators worked without the model. Projected savings: $567K across two lines, with almost 70% of that coming from a single, unexpected source: formulators pulling back their safety margins once moisture consistently hit target. 

The room was ready. They just weren't sure their data was. 

That's precisely the challenge BESTMIX is built to address. AI doesn't replace your expertise. It amplifies it. But only when it has reliable, connected data to work with. 

Beyond the sessions, some of the most valuable moments at Petfood Forum happen in the aisles and at the booths. This year was no exception. Our team had in-depth conversations with production managers, formulators, and procurement leads from across the industry, all grappling with the same core challenge: doing more with less margin for error. 

Topics ranged from raw material variability and procurement optimization to labeling compliance and ERP integration. What became clear, again and again, is that efficiency in pet food production isn't just about speed. It's about precision at every step: from the moment an ingredient arrives to the moment a bag leaves the line. 

If you missed us at Booth 1226, you can catch up on what we were sharing on our website, including how BESTMIX supports end-to-end pet food production for more than 1,000 producers worldwide. 

One of the best parts of Petfood Forum is that it isn't just an industry event. It's also a launching pad for the researchers and scientists who will shape this industry's future. This year, students from Iowa State University stopped by our booth to share what they'd been working on and presenting in the Student Research Program. The depth and relevance of their research was genuinely impressive. 

We also want to take a moment to congratulate Rachel van Ruiten on winning Best Research Presentation at the Petfood Forum 2026 Student Program. A well-deserved recognition, and a great reminder of the caliber of talent coming up through animal nutrition programs across the country. 

At BESTMIX, we're actively building partnerships with universities in the U.S. and beyond. Engaging with students and academics isn't just good for the industry, it's good for everyone who depends on it. If your university is interested in bringing BESTMIX into the classroom or exploring a research partnership, we'd love to hear from you.

Petfood Forum 2026 reinforced something we believe deeply: this industry is at an inflection point. The tools to transform pet food production are here. The data to power them is often already being collected. What's needed now is the infrastructure to connect it all. And the confidence to act on what it reveals. 

That's what BESTMIX is here for. And it's something we've been building toward for over 50 years. 

Since the early days of nutritional software, BESTMIX has grown alongside the feed and pet food industry. Five decades of continuous development, shaped by close collaboration with producers at every scale, have produced something that no other software provider can claim: a single, fully integrated platform that connects every department in your operation. Procurement, formulation, quality control, labeling, logistics, ERP. Not as a patchwork of third-party integrations, but as one coherent system, built from the ground up to work together. 

That integration is what makes the AI story possible. When your purchasing team, your formulators, your QC lab, and your production floor all work from the same data — when there are no silos, no exports to spreadsheets, no version mismatches — predictive models have something real to work with. The $567K savings case study Carmen shared at Petfood Essentials didn't happen despite the data existing. It happened because the data was already there, clean and connected, waiting to be used. 

Today, more than 10,000 users across feed and pet food companies worldwide rely on BESTMIX to run their operations. They range from regional producers to global multinationals, operating on-premise or in the cloud. And what they share is the confidence that their software will grow with them.  

The industry is ready for what comes next. At BESTMIX, so are we. 

We'll see you next year.