Prairie AquaTech, a developer and producer of fermented plant-based ingredients, has changed its operating name to Houdek.
The company was co-founded in 2011 by South Dakota Innovation Partners and South Dakota State University professors to use fermentation technology to create high-quality plant-based protein ingredients for aquafeeds. In 2019, the company began production of its signature aquatic and terrestrial feed ingredient brand, ME-PRO®, at its Volga manufacturing facility. ME-PRO has since made a big splash in the global aquaculture industry, winning international awards in addition to its inclusion in fish and shrimp diets worldwide.
The company continued to advance its proprietary processes in order to meet specific standards of the pet nutrition and human health markets. In October 2022, the SQF Institute (SQF) certification was achieved at its manufacturing facility, allowing the company to launch Protéger, a fermented plant-based protein ingredient for the pet food industry. With this new certification, the company became South Dakota’s first SQF pet food ingredient manufacturing facility.
“Because of our team members’ innovation and relentless focus on market needs over the past decade, it is important for our name to reflect the impact we are having in aquaculture and beyond,” stated co-founder and CEO, Mark Luecke. “In order to better communicate this impact and our vision to the broader market, we created Houdek as a way to articulate our unique value proposition in each important, but a very different, market segment.”
The name Houdek was chosen as it is the official soil of South Dakota, the foundation of the crops that are grown by our farmers and used in the company’s fermentation process. Simply put, Houdek’s technology uses fermentation to create high-quality products by upcycling abundant agricultural processing by-products, such as soybean meal and dried distillers grain. Houdek’s fermentation process is highly sustainable and allows feed, food, and other product manufacturers to reduce the need for less functional and less sustainable ingredients.
Luecke added, “Houdek reflects our deep roots while supporting our vision for the future which is solving global challenges, such as food and environmental security. Our fermentation technology has opened doors to new opportunities for a better life, everywhere.”
Houdek will have more announcements in 2023 relating to product development, strategic partnerships, and expanded production.
Find more information at www.HoudekNature.com.
