Enifer’s Debuts Pekilo Mycoprotein in Europe with HenArt’s Levendo Dog Food
Finnish startup Enifer’s Pekilo mycoprotein is making its European debut as the main ingredient in Dutch premium pet brand HenArt’s new semi-moist baked biscuit for dogs.
The pet food industry continues to embrace mycelium protein, with Enifer’s Pekilo ingredient forming the core of a new dog food product by Dutch company HenArt.
The premium pet food maker has launched Levendo, a semi-moist, gently baked biscuit for adult and senior dogs. It’s built around HenArt’s proprietary blend of complementary fermented proteins, with Pekilo mycoprotein at the centre of the formulation.
It ensures the product contains a highly digestible mycoprotein with all essential amino acids and naturally occurring beta-glucans. “Dog owners are looking for more choice in how they feed their pets, but they do not want to compromise on nutrition, quality or enjoyment,” said HenArt founder Henk Verhoeven.
“With Levendo, we wanted to create an everyday food that could meet those expectations in its own right. Pekilo was a key part of making that possible.”
HenArt develops fermentation blend in-house with Pekilo
Named after the fungal strain Paecilomyces, Pekilo’s roots date back to the 20th century. This strain was among more than 300 fungi selected for use in mycoprotein production for feed applications in Finland between 1975 and 1991. The microbes were fed on forest industry byproducts at the time.
Enifer, which spun out of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, revived the process in 2020 by adapting Paecilomyces to food and agricultural sidestreams to develop food-grade mycoprotein via a continuous submerged fermentation process similar to that used in brewing soy sauce.
After fermentation, most of the water is mechanically removed from the mycelium, which is then dried and milled into a fine powder. It has an optimal amino acid profile, strong water-holding capacity, neutral taste and colour, and high protein and fibre content, and is currently being tailored for three categories: pet food, aquaculture feed, and human food.
PekiloPet has over 60% protein and 22% fibre, along with smaller amounts of minerals and vitamins. Unlike animal protein, it has a low ash content (less than 8%), enabling high inclusion rates in pet food formulations. Plus, the low-fat and carbohydrate levels make it ideal for weight-loss and grain-free products.
It’s delivered to pet manufacturers as a dry ingredient suitable for standard storage and handling, and can be easily integrated into existing wet and dry manufacturing processes.
And in a recent 60-day feeding trial involving 16 dogs, PekiloPet showed high digestibility and palatability, no negative impact on stool quality, and biomarker changes linked to immune activity and oxidative balance, backing its potential as a functional ingredient in pet nutrition.
HenArt formulated Levendo based on complete and balanced diet guidelines from European pet food trade body FEDIAF. It developed the proprietary fermentation blend and recipe in-house, combining 11.5% mycoprotein with pea and potato proteins, hydrolysed yeast, algae oil, and other ingredients. Its production is handled by established European manufacturers.
Enifer eyes 2027 launch of commercial mycoprotein factory
Levendo is available through HenArt’s e-store and a network of distributors across Europe and the UK, and HenArt is opening it up to national pet retail chains and online retailers in the region too.
It’s set to be the first of several products built around its fermentation platform, with the company already developing wet food products pairing its fermented protein blend with its TenderCraft technology. The aim is to capture the 85% of pet parents who cite nutritional adequacy as the chief motivator for buying alternative proteins for their furry friends.
The product also marks Enifer’s first international consumer launch and a shift from ingredient validation into everyday commercial nutrition. It comes months after the startup unveiled a semi-moist dog treat in partnership with Rovio Pet Foods, which is relevant for white-label applications. It’s also producing test batches of a pet food product at Prima Pet’s facility in Nokia.
“We have spent years showing that Pekilo can deliver the nutrition, digestibility and palatability pet-food manufacturers need,” said Enifer CEO Simo Ellilä.
“Levendo is an important next step: it shows that Pekilo performs in formulation and production. That is a significant milestone in moving mycoprotein from promising ingredient technology into mainstream pet nutrition.”
Enifer currently operates a pilot line that produces 5-10kg of Pekilo daily, with periodic campaigns with contract manufacturers at 10 times that capacity. It’s now in the commissioning stage of a €33M commercial facility in Kirkkonummi, which would be able to produce 3,000 tonnes of Pekilo annually. It’s preparing for full-scale production in 2027.
Beyond pet nutrition, the firm has self-affirmed Pekilo as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for human food in the US, and notified the Food and Drug Administration of its determination in pursuit of a ‘no questions’ letter. It has filed for novel food approval in the EU, Singapore and the UK as well. Having raised around €49M in funding to date, it’s now working on a Series C round, expected to close by the end of the year.