Who’s Who 2023: Natalie Asaro, nutrition manager, Petcurean Pet Nutrition

Although only at the start of her career, Natalie Asaro, nutrition manager at B.C.-based Petcurean Pet Nutrition, has already had a significant impact in the pet nutrition sector.

One way in which she demonstrates this is through her thorough and dedicated approach to research. In 2018, she graduated with a master’s degree in companion animal nutrition from the University of Guelph, Ont.

“During my last year of a general biology degree, I stumbled across a pet nutrition course, which was a relatively new offering to the university,” she explains. “I signed up for it and a few days in, I realized that pet nutrition was a passion. I decided to do a master’s degree focusing on energy metabolism in cats. We researched a way to estimate the net energy density of cat foods and were the first to publish research on this topic.”

Not only did Asaro impact the sector through publishing several scientific papers on her research, but also, with the support of Petcurean, this research is going to be continued. 

“With matching contributions from an NSERC Alliance grant, Petcurean is partnering with the University of Guelph to support further discovery research into feline energy metabolism,” she shares. “Petcurean has always been involved in research and sharing results that will benefit the whole industry and research community. It may sound cliche, but it’s a company that puts pets first, no matter what. I’m so pleased to be part of this continued support of research and it’s exciting that the work that was started during my graduate studies will be developed further.”

The value of mentorships

Asaro is also making her mark on the pet food industry through her continued education and outreach activities. She spends a lot of time on knowledge translation directly to customers at events and directly to the media through conferences, radio shows, industry publications, and podcasts.

In 2022, Asaro was featured in the inaugural edition of the ‘Women in the Pet Industry’ series in Pet Food Processing Magazine. This recognition is very important to her, she says, not only on a personal level, but also because hearing about her career can motivate other young women within, or not yet in, the industry.

This leads us to mentoring. Although she has had limited opportunities so far to mentor others, Asaro is eager to do so because of her own positive experiences. 

“Dr. Jennifer Adolphe, who had my position at Petcurean prior to me, was a wonderful mentor,” she says. “She helped me build my knowledge, skills and confidence and I was therefore ready to fill that position when she moved on in 2021. Some of my team members who report to me are also my mentors, as are others outside the company, and I will actively mentor others throughout my career. I love what I do and it’s a wonderful industry. We all have the same goal of trying to make life the best we can for pets.”

Speaking of pets, in her role overseeing Petcurean’s Go Solutions and Now Fresh product lines since 2021, Asaro has been instrumental in extending Go Solutions with two new formulas: one weight management and joint care formula and another for digestive health. 

“We are very pleased to have these available to pet parents,” she says. “They address the top two concerns that pets are facing in terms of their health.”