At the forefront of the greener pet food movement, Jiminy’s CEO Anne Carlson took the stage at Impact Unleashed, the annual event hosted by the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC). This gathering brings together industry leaders, innovators, and pet parents to explore sustainable solutions that benefit pets and the planet.
In this video, Anne shares her unique perspective on how insect protein — a cornerstone of Jiminy’s mission — can be both nutritionally complete for dogs and significantly more sustainable than traditional animal proteins. She discusses why sustainability matters, how businesses can take meaningful action, and what the future of pet food could look like when we prioritize both healthy pets and a healthy planet.
Whether you’re a pet owner curious about eco-friendly nutrition or an industry professional seeking insights on sustainable innovation, this talk brings clarity and inspiration to the conversation. Let’s dive in.
Transcript:
Hi everyone, I’m Anne Carlson, the founder and CEO of Jiminy’s. At Jiminy’s we make sustainable dog treats (and soon dog food).
What makes them sustainable? We substitute traditional protein, like cows & chicken) with cricket protein!
I’m going to tell you a bit more about the product in a sec, but first let’s talk about why we did this.
There are over 89 million dogs in the US who consume more than 32 billion pounds of protein a year.
Our dogs are active, they’re athletes and as such they need high quality protein to stay healthy.
BUT 32 billion pounds of protein is an enormous amount – and the traditional source for this protein is just not sustainable.
So, at Jiminy’s, we replace traditional animal protein with cricket protein. It’s delicious, nutritious, sustainable, humane and gut friendly! Let’s unpack that.
Cricket protein is sustainable. It uses exponentially less land, water and emits far fewer greenhouse gases.
In fact, if you take this one bag of our treats and compare it to the same size bag of traditional treats, we save 220 gallons of water! WITH THIS ONE BAG.
It’s also nutritious. It’s a complete protein with all of the essential amino acids. But it also has fiber, iron, vitamin B2 & 12 and the list goes on and on. It really is a superfood!!
Even though we know the cricket protein contains all of these great nutrients, there was still a question as to whether the dogs could digest the protein. We decided to answer that question. Jiminy’s partnered with Iowa State to take a deep dive into digestibility and the great news is that the cricket protein scored as high as chicken and beef. It’s a high quality, digestible protein source.
Since we were already doing this intensive study with the dogs, we decided to add in a few steps to look at the impact of the fiber in the cricket protein powder AND we got more good news. That fiber feeds the good bacteria in the dog’s gut –or in other words – it’s pre-biotic!
It’s Delicious! This was really important – one of the first questions I had was “will dogs like this?” so I ordered some crickets and gave them to my dogs. Well, the drool came fast, they loved it. We combine the cricket protein powder with other purposeful ingredients to make a delicious treat! (I know, I’ve eaten my fair share of them.) And you can see from this picture, beside my own dogs – now all of the dogs on the dog friendly beaches get in line for treats!
So, we know the dogs like it, and good news again – their owners do too! We’ve got a great following on social media with over 40K fans! In fact, all of these images came from influencers who are super fans of the product! We’re also starting to get press outside of pet – BuzzFeed just published an article where we were called a “life-changing” product that helps combat climate change.
We’ve thought a lot about where consumers will find Jiminy’s. We focused initially on Independent Pet Specialty Stores and we’re now in over 400 stores across the US. We’re also selling on our own website and Amazon.
Jiminy’s resonates with Millennials and Millennials have become the biggest pet owning cohort – they prefer to shop online so the online channel is definitely important for us!
Building a company like Jiminy’s is a journey. We launched with dog biscuits and recently introduced a soft and chewy training treat. We’re already working on Dog Food and plan to release it this summer.
I’ve worked in this industry for over 25 years.
I love working with the dogs and I think pets are the best category within Consumer Packaged Goods.
It’s been super interesting as well. One of the things I’ve seen during that time is the emergence of several successful platforms in pet – Science, Natural, LID, Grain Free. As I think about the future, I believe that it is time for a change in the conversation and a new platform to emerge
Nutrition and taste are still key, however humane and sustainable now need to be part of the solution. I believe that this new platform will be a “better world” (it needs to be) AND, we’re building a Brand that will anchor that new category.
We’d love to have you join us on this journey.
You can feel good about this product. Pet parents love it, the dog’s love it, and it’s good for the earth – wagging tails all around!!!!
Thank you very much.
FAQ
1. What is Impact Unleashed and who hosts it?
Impact Unleashed is the annual sustainability event hosted by the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC), bringing together business leaders, scientists, and pet parents to explore environmental and social sustainability in the pet industry.
2. Who is Anne Carlson and what was her role at the event?
Anne Carlson is the founder and CEO of Jiminy’s, a sustainable pet food brand using insect protein. At Impact Unleashed, she spoke about sustainable pet nutrition, innovation, and the environmental impact of pet food choices.
3. What key sustainability topic did Anne Carlson address?
Anne focused on how insect protein can reduce the environmental footprint of pet diets while still providing complete, nutrient-dense nutrition — positioning it as a scalable solution for sustainability in the pet food sector.
4. Why is insect protein considered a sustainable pet food ingredient?
Insect protein requires significantly less land, water, and feed compared to traditional livestock proteins like beef or chicken, and it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions — making it a low-impact protein alternative for pet diets.
5. How does Jiminy’s mission align with the goals of the Pet Sustainability Coalition?
Jiminy’s mission to provide nutrient-rich, environmentally friendly pet food directly aligns with PSC’s focus on reducing environmental impact and advancing sustainability within the pet industry.
6. What makes insect protein nutritionally complete for dogs?
Insect protein offers all essential amino acids, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and digestible nutrients comparable to traditional animal proteins — proving that sustainability and pet health can go hand-in-hand.
7. Who attends Impact Unleashed?
Attendees typically include pet industry leaders, brand founders, sustainability experts, researchers, retailers, and engaged pet owners — all focused on reducing environmental impact and sharing best practices.
8. Why does sustainability matter in pet food?
Pet food production contributes to significant resource use and emissions globally. Sustainable ingredients like insect protein help reduce water and land demand and lower carbon footprints — making everyday pet diets a part of climate-positive solutions.
9. What was a key takeaway from Anne’s talk?
A central insight from Anne’s presentation was that innovation — especially insect protein — can address both pet health and ecological health, demonstrating that sustainable pet nutrition is not only possible but impactful.
10. How can pet parents support sustainability in pet food?
Pet parents can support sustainability by choosing diets with eco-efficient proteins (like insect or alternative proteins), reducing waste, and staying informed about environmental impact when selecting pet food brands.
