Great partnerships lead to innovation: bringing potato-based proteins to the pet food market with ProtaSTAR®

September 09 2026 - Blog

Collaboration is the key to the quality and innovation we offer our customers. Our partnership with Royal Avebe is a good example. When we signed an exclusive partnership agreement in the summer of 2024, we did so to bring premium potato protein solutions to the pet food market. In this blog, I’ll tell you what makes this partnership so successful.  

With Avebe’s ProtaSTAR® potato protein, we help develop the plant-based protein market in pet food. This innovative ingredient makes this collaboration a perfect match for us. Avebe is a strong and innovative Dutch company with renowned expertise in the development of potato-based ingredients, a demonstrated commitment to sustainability, and more than a century of experience in the food industry. Joining forces with them allows us to combine their technical expertise on potato proteins with our focus on the pet food market.  

Growing demand for plant-based protein
Given the ever-growing demand for alternative plant-based protein sources in the pet food market, we believe the industry is more than ready to embrace quality potato ingredients. Scientific research shows that the potato indeed serves as a very good alternative protein source, as shown in this ADM report. By leveraging our extensive network, we bring ProtaSTAR® to numerous European pet food brands and manufacturers. 

Healthy farming practices
Avebe’s sustainable solutions and healthy farming practices also make the company a natural fit with IQI. Just like us, Avebe focuses on SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production). It triggered us right away that the company develops its own potato varieties for higher yields and disease resistance, and that it sources only local potatoes before processing them in its own factories, giving the company full control over the supply chain. This results in a trusted, high-quality plant-based protein resource with a much lower carbon footprint than animal protein sources. 

ProtaSTAR®: innovative potato protein 

To get the most out of the potato as a naturally rich source of protein, Avebe developed a patented process with an additional step for purification and refining. ProtaSTAR®, outperforms most other concentrated plant protein sources, such as soybean meal, pea, and corn, in terms of digestibility. Its relatively high protein content of 80% and high efficiency ratio (PER), combined with a complete amino acid profile, create a unique plant-based protein source. Research shows that the digestibility and protein quality of ProtaSTAR® even match traditional animal-based ingredients, such as beef, pork, chicken, and salmon. 

Good palatability 

ProtaSTAR®’s good palatability is another key feature for the ingredient to succeed in the pet food market. It has a significantly lower content of total glycoalkaloids (TGA’s) as compared to regular potato protein, with the typical difference being as much as a factor 10. As TGA’s are typically bitter due to their high solanine content, their reduced presence in ProtaSTAR® gives the product a neutral taste and good palatability, which is particularly welcome in cat food. For applications aimed at dogs, which are known to become ill from elevated TGA intake, ProtaSTAR®’s low TGA content makes it safe to use in higher doses. If you want to know more about the product’s specifics, our product leaflet on ProtaSTAR® offers further technical explanation. 

Get in touch 

Are you curious about how ProtaSTAR® or IQI’s other plant-based protein solutions can serve you as a pet food brand or manufacturer? Get in touch with Chloé Champion or with IQI’s innovation manager Geert van der Velden to discuss the possibilities.