Everyday factors — stress, too little exercise, advancing age and long-running health problems — can push the oxidation process in a pet’s body higher than normal. When free radicals form in excess, cells become vulnerable to damage, the body weakens more quickly, and pets face a higher risk of premature aging. For many owners these changes are hard to spot until they appear as a dull coat, low energy or slower recovery.

Recognising this gap in everyday pet care, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) approached the problem through its core expertise in shrimp-derived ingredients, where naturally occurring antioxidants can be recovered and put to practical use in a natural astaxanthin for pets.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) turns shrimp-derived astaxanthin into AstaPal

AstaPal contains natural astaxanthin sourced from shrimp — a carotenoid singled out for its exceptional antioxidant strength. Thanks to its particular molecular structure, astaxanthin can help neutralise singlet oxygen and free radicals, protect cell membranes, and limit the damage caused by oxidative stress. VNF describes three complementary modes of support in AstaPal: neutralising singlet oxygen and free radicals to help slow oxidation; protecting cells to help limit damage in the brain, eyes, skin, joints and other organs; and supporting overall health by helping maintain energy, focus and vitality.

The antioxidant case for natural astaxanthin is backed by published research. An in vitro study reported that natural astaxanthin was a far stronger antioxidant than several common compounds — roughly 6,000 times that of vitamin C, about 800 times CoQ10, around 560 times EGCG, about 500 times vitamin E, and roughly 50 times synthetic astaxanthin (Capelli, Bagchi & Cysewski, 2013). For Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF), that evidence underlines why a shrimp-derived, natural source of astaxanthin sits at the heart of AstaPal.

Field use across Vietnamese vet clinics points to everyday value

Beyond the laboratory, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) has used and monitored AstaPal on more than 90 pets across over 20 breeds of dogs and cats, working alongside more than 20 veterinary clinics in Vietnam. The product has been observed in healthy animals as well as pets that were off their food, recovering from injury, or dealing with coat and skin, eye or respiratory concerns. Extracted from shrimp and dosed simply by dropping it directly onto daily food, AstaPal is designed to fit into an ordinary feeding routine rather than a clinical one.

Interest in antioxidants such as astaxanthin is growing as pet owners look for preventive, science-informed nutrition rather than reactive treatment. By recovering a high-value carotenoid from shrimp and channelling it into AstaPal, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) connects its circular-economy work in shrimp by-products to a fast-expanding pet-care market — a reminder that natural astaxanthin for pets can be both a wellness ingredient and an example of turning marine by-products into everyday value.

Across many farming regions, cultivated land is becoming increasingly depleted and degraded, a decline that feeds directly into lower crop yields and poorer produce quality. When the soil loses its structure and its living microbial balance, plants struggle to take up nutrients and hold water, and farmers face rising costs to keep output stable.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) approaches this problem by focusing on two levers that are often overlooked: restoring balance to the soil’s microbial community and returning organic nutrients to the ground. The company sees the combination of shrimp protein and indigenous microorganisms as a practical route to rebuilding soil fertility rather than simply adding more chemical inputs.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) combines shrimp protein with indigenous microbes in a three-part biological system

At the centre of VNF‘s biological soil improvement solutions are three complementary products. Ecovital EM is a biological preparation containing Bacillus spp. together with 2,000 indigenous microbial strains; these microbes compete with pathogens for nutrients and living space and form a biological gel that makes the soil looser, more porous and better able to retain water.

PeptiBlossom, a hydrolysed shrimp protein, supplies peptides and amino acids that feed these microorganisms, driving stronger microbial activity and improving both soil structure and fertility. ChitoBlossom, based on chitosan and its derivatives, chelates minerals to raise nutrient uptake, increases soil porosity, and forms a protective biofilm around plant roots. Together, the three products of Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) work as a system — feeding the soil, activating its microbes, and protecting the root zone.

Field trials and international research support the approach

Evidence for the approach comes from both local trials and international studies. In a trial at Xuân Lộc, Đồng Nai, combining Ecovital EM with organic matter tripled the density of cellulose-decomposing microorganisms and raised the level of readily available nitrogen by close to two times. An international study conducted between Germany and Iran on dry loam soil found that chitosan markedly improved soil structure, increased usable water retention, and stimulated microbial activity — reinforcing the role of ChitoBlossom within VNF‘s system.

What began as shrimp processing by-products — heads and shells once treated as waste — has been turned by Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) into biological soil improvement solutions that leave soil looser, richer in nutrients, and better able to support healthy crops. The wider significance is a circular-economy model in which a coastal seafood industry’s residues become inputs for more sustainable farming, an example of how Vietnamese companies can add value along the whole agricultural chain through biotechnology.

Pet food formulators face growing demand for palatability, digestive support and health benefits drawn from natural sources rather than synthetic additives. At the same time, shrimp processing generates large volumes of heads, shells and by-products that, if left unused, add cost and environmental pressure. This combination — a need for high-value functional ingredients and a stream of under-used raw material — is the gap that Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) set out to address in the pet nutrition market.

Building on positive results achieved since 2025, VNF returned to Thailand to meet customers and partners and to continue promoting shrimp-based functional ingredients derived from Vietnamese shrimp in the food and pet nutrition industries.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) presents shrimp-based functional ingredients at an expanded Pet Workshop

The highlight of the trip was a Pet Workshop that Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) co-organized with strategic partner CF Chem (Cinnamon Group of Company). Following the success of the earlier program, this edition was expanded in scale, drawing more than 40 R&D and technical experts from the pet nutrition industry. Participants discussed market needs, challenges in product development and the potential to apply shrimp-based solutions in Thailand.

At the workshop, VNF introduced three functional ingredients from Vietnamese shrimp. Shrimp Peptide enhances natural palatability and supports digestion. Chitosan helps control phosphate absorption and maintain kidney health. Astaxanthin acts as an antioxidant and supports immunity. In addition, RetriV was presented as a solution that recovers nutrients from production wastewater, helping pet food manufacturers reduce the burden of wastewater treatment while creating additional value from otherwise lost nutrients.

Shrimp-based functional ingredients open new value for regional pet nutrition and the circular economy

As sustainability shapes purchasing across the food and feed industries, ingredients that combine functional performance with responsible sourcing are increasingly in demand. By turning shrimp by-products into Shrimp Peptide, Chitosan, Astaxanthin and recovered nutrients through RetriV, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) offers pet nutrition manufacturers a route to differentiated products and a lower environmental footprint at the same time.

VNF thanked CF Chem and its representatives — Ekachai Laohaphand, Jiraphan Sanongsuk, Duangkamon Thuppaman and Wareerak Paralux — for their partnership in connecting, preparing and hosting the program, and thanked the customers, partners and experts who took part.

Beyond a single event, the workshop reflects a broader shift in which shrimp-based functional ingredients from Vietnam move deeper into regional and global value chains. It shows how a circular-economy approach — recovering value from what was once treated as waste — can support both product innovation and sustainability across the pet nutrition industry.

Many owners judge their pet’s health by one thing — whether it finishes the bowl. As long as the animal eats, everything is assumed to be fine. Yet appetite alone is a narrow measure. A coat that has lost its shine, stools that vary from one day to the next, small shifts in weight, or the odd refused meal can all appear while a pet is still, on the surface, eating normally.

These signs are easy to dismiss and easy to miss. Refusing food, in particular, is often read as fussiness when it can be the body reacting to a diet that no longer suits it. Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) frames the issue plainly: a ration that once fit a pet does not stay right forever, and the earliest evidence of that mismatch tends to be subtle.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) turns everyday observation into a pet-nutrition habit through Tôm Chuyên Gia

Through the “Tôm Chuyên Gia” (Shrimp Expert) program, hosted by Dr. Ngô Hồng Phượng, VNF encourages owners to watch a handful of everyday indicators — coat condition, stool consistency, body weight and appetite — and to treat them as a running read on pet nutrition. A pet’s body changes over time, and when its diet does not keep pace, the first evidence usually shows up in exactly these small signals.

The practical message from VNF is to check regularly and adjust deliberately. Has the coat grown duller lately? Is the stool genuinely stable from one day to the next? Has the ration gone unreviewed for a long stretch? Asking these questions turns vague worry into specific observation, and specific observation into a diet that can be corrected before problems set in. Rather than reacting only once a pet is visibly unwell, owners learn to respond to the earliest cues.

Reading body signals reshapes how owners approach pet nutrition

The shift Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) is describing is one from feeding by routine to feeding by observation. Instead of assuming a fixed ration is permanently correct, owners are invited to see pet nutrition as something that evolves alongside the animal.

That approach mirrors a wider move across pet care toward preventive, evidence-led nutrition, where subtle body signals guide decisions long before a clinic visit is needed. By making these signals easier to read, VNF and its “Tôm Chuyên Gia” program point owners toward a more attentive, more responsive standard of pet nutrition — one built on watching closely and adjusting in time.

The gut is one of the most influential systems in an animal’s body. Research suggests that around 70% of the immune system resides in the intestine, and that the gut produces most of the body’s serotonin — the hormone associated with feelings of wellbeing. In other words, the digestive tract is closely tied to how a pet defends itself against illness and how it feels day to day.

When the gut loses its balance, the consequences reach well beyond digestion. Pets may become prone not only to digestive upsets but also to weakened immunity, poorer nutrient absorption, and a gradual decline in overall health. For pet owners, gut health is therefore best understood as a foundation for long-term wellbeing rather than a narrow digestive concern. Recognising this, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) turned to shrimp raw material as a source of bioactive ingredients that can address the problem at its root.

Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) pairs shrimp-derived Peptides with Chitosan to act on three fronts

From shrimp raw material, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) developed its Peptides & Chitosan duo to support pet gut health through three main mechanisms. Peptides provide an easily absorbed source of hydrolysed protein that helps optimise digestion and limit the formation of harmful substances in the gut. Chitosan, in turn, helps balance the microbiome, keep harmful bacteria in check, and strengthen the protective barrier of the intestinal lining.

Scientific literature points to the combined value of the two ingredients. In studies on dogs and cats, Chitosan was reported to increase beneficial bacteria by up to 18 times, reduce harmful bacteria by up to 70%, and cut damage to the gut barrier by nearly 50%. In a separate study, Peptides supported a 50% rise in antibodies and improved immune-activating cytokines by up to 200% — contributing to better gut health and stronger overall health in pets.

Gut-focused nutrition points to healthier pets overall

Taken together, these findings show that Peptides & Chitosan act not only within the gut but also help improve a pet’s overall health, working through three foundations: a balanced microbiome, a reinforced intestinal barrier, and optimised digestion. As pet owners increasingly look for nutrition backed by evidence, ingredients that support the gut are moving to the centre of how the industry thinks about animal wellbeing.

With more than a decade of experience developing shrimp-derived biological ingredients, Vietnam Food Joint Stock Company (VNF) continues to pursue science-based nutrition solutions aimed at sustainable pet health. Readers can explore more in-depth content on shrimp-derived nutrition solutions such as Peptides and Chitosan on the VNF website.