The Overlap No One Talks About: Human and Pet Nutrition
The human supplement industry and the pet supplement industry have historically operated in silos. Different brands, different distribution channels, different regulatory frameworks. But the underlying science — bioavailability, nutrient requirements, quality control — is the same.
Asher Tyberg built SmartyCeuticals around a different premise: what if one company applied the same quality standards and formulation philosophy to both human and pet products? Not by slapping a human formula into a pet-sized dose, but by developing species-appropriate formulations with the same rigor.
In this conversation with Nour Abochama, Asher shares how that vision works in practice — and why pet supplements deserve the same testing and transparency that human supplements do.
Why Pet Supplements Are an Afterthought (And Why They Shouldn’t Be)
The pet supplement market has exploded. Dogs and cats are increasingly considered family members, and owners are willing to spend on their health. The result is a crowded category with wildly variable quality.
“Pet supplements have historically been held to a lower standard than human supplements,” Asher explains. “There’s less consumer awareness, less regulatory scrutiny, and less expectation of testing. That creates an opportunity for brands that choose to meet a higher bar.”
The regulatory reality: In the US, pet supplements are generally regulated as animal feed or animal health products, depending on claims. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine oversees some aspects, but the framework is less prescriptive than for human dietary supplements. That means quality is largely brand-driven — and brands that test, verify, and document have a structural advantage.
Formulation Differences: Human vs. Pet
Dosing a supplement for a 150-pound human is different from dosing for a 15-pound dog or an 8-pound cat. But the differences go beyond body weight.
Metabolic differences. Dogs and cats have different nutrient requirements, absorption profiles, and sensitivities. For example, cats cannot synthesize taurine and must obtain it from diet; deficiency causes serious heart and eye problems. Dogs have different vitamin D requirements than humans. Formulating for pets requires species-specific knowledge, not just dose scaling.
Palatability. Pets won’t swallow a pill because you tell them it’s good for them. Delivery format — chewables, powders mixed into food, liquids — matters enormously for compliance. SmartyCeuticals has focused on formats that animals will actually consume consistently.
Toxicity considerations. Some compounds safe for humans are toxic to dogs or cats (e.g., xylitol, grapes/raisins, certain essential oils). Formulators need to avoid ingredients that are species-inappropriate.
Quality Standards: What Should Apply to Both
From a laboratory perspective, the testing that human supplements undergo should apply equally to pet supplements:
Identity testing — confirming the ingredient is what the label claims. Adulteration and mislabeling occur in the pet supplement supply chain as well.
Potency testing — verifying the active ingredient is present at the labeled amount. Under-dosed products fail to deliver benefit; over-dosed products can cause harm.
Heavy metal testing — lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury. Pets are often more sensitive to heavy metal toxicity than humans on a weight-adjusted basis. Contaminated ingredients (especially botanical and marine-derived) pose real risk.
Microbiology testing — confirming absence of pathogens. Salmonella in pet products can infect both the animal and the humans handling the product. The FDA has issued multiple recalls for Salmonella-contaminated pet supplements and treats.
Stability testing — ensuring the product maintains potency and safety throughout shelf life. Pet owners may use a product over many months; degradation matters.
Asher: “We test our human and pet products to the same standards. If we wouldn’t put it in our own body, we won’t put it in a product we sell for humans. And if we wouldn’t give it to our own pets, we won’t sell it for pets. The bar is the same.”
Innovation in Delivery: Making Supplements Actually Usable
One of SmartyCeuticals’ differentiators is delivery format innovation — for both humans and pets.
For humans: Dissolvable strips, gummies, and other formats that improve compliance compared to traditional pills. (This overlaps with the Diso conversation — the industry is moving toward formats that people — and pets — will actually use.)
For pets: Chewables, powders that can be mixed into food, and liquids that can be added to water. The goal is eliminating the daily struggle of pilling a cat or coaxing a dog to swallow a capsule.
“The best supplement in the world is useless if the animal won’t take it. We’ve spent as much time on format as on formula.”
The Transparency Question
Asher is direct about what brands owe consumers — and pet owners: “If you’re selling a product that goes into a body, you should be able to explain what’s in it, where it came from, and how you’ve verified it. That’s true whether the body is human or animal.”
SmartyCeuticals publishes Certificates of Analysis for their products and makes ingredient sourcing information available. The philosophy: trust is built through transparency, and the industry has under-invested in both.
Key Takeaways
- Pet supplements have historically been held to lower quality standards than human supplements; brands that apply the same rigor have a structural advantage
- Formulating for pets requires species-specific knowledge — metabolic differences, toxicity considerations, and palatability — not just dose scaling from human products
- Identity, potency, heavy metal, microbiology, and stability testing should apply to pet supplements as they do to human supplements
- Salmonella and other pathogens in pet products can infect both animals and humans; microbiology testing is non-negotiable
- Delivery format innovation (chewables, powders, liquids) is as important as formulation for pet supplement compliance
This article is based on Episode 40 of Nourify & Beautify with Asher Tyberg of SmartyCeuticals. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen on Podbean.
