May 30, 2019 - The Split company Hedera has developed 100 percent natural dietary supplements for dogs made from bee products - propolis and pollen - under the name Apipet. Such products have not existed on the pet market until now. 

Dalmatinski Portal spoke with 23-year-old Ivan Radić, head of Hedera's marketing department, about the innovative technology behind Apipet and how they decided to bring these unique products to the world.

Producing nutritional supplements made from propolis for dogs. How did the idea come about?

“For over 15 years, the core of our business is food supplements based on bee products (propolis, pollen, and royal jelly) for humans. The owner of Hedera, my father Saša, a chemist, then developed a special innovative technology that allows us to keep bee products in their native form without adding chemicals, alcohols, or any other solvents. Having such a product that has powerful medical effects and no adverse side effects, has allowed us a wide range of applications, so we decided to make Apipet - the only propolis in the world for dogs.

Specifically, the whole line of products based on the technology above was created by my brother Božo, otherwise a gastroenterologist, but very actively involved in the innovation and development of the company. I actually just extended my hand to these two geniuses and I have full responsibility for the success and failure of Apipet with just one job. I have to let every dog owner know about Apipet.”

The product is unique in the world.

"There are no nutritional supplements for dogs based on bee products in the world just because no one has developed a technology that allows the use of chemical resources. Namely, if you use alcohol, it automatically excludes dogs as end-users of the product.

Aside from that, it sounds good. '100 percent natural' is important because not even a single percent is artificial. Propolis in the bee community serves as a protection from external and internal influences. The bees cover the hive, literally sticking it to the walls, and its function is killing parasites, viruses, bacteria, strengthening the immune system of young bees and preventing disease. Now, if you dissolve propolis in some chemical agent, about 30 percent of its properties are lost and its effectiveness is no longer the same because it decreases. That is why our product is modest, but objectively the best in its category because it remains unchanged - like the hive itself, it is the same in our product.”

What are the effects of propolis for dogs and what do all the products offer?

“They are very similar to humans and other living beings. It kills viruses, bacteria, parasites, acts on the immune system and prevents the development of many diseases. In addition, it raises the immune system, acts on tumor cells, suppresses oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals, and studies even show that it protects from the effects of radiation.

We created five products for the five most common problems that dogs encounter: Apipet Immuno for strong immunity, Apipet Flexi for healthy joints and cartilage, Apipet Gastro for healthy digestion, Apipet Skin for healthy skin and shiny hair, and Apipet Senior for aging dogs.

Each product adds one active ingredient that acts on a specific problem, but of course, the base is propolis and pollen. For example,  Flexi has glucosamine and chondroitin, Gastro has ginger, Skin has biotin, and Senior - green tea and ginger.

And they even worked with the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS).

“Yes, and it was a very successful and instructive cooperation. As I said at the beginning, special technology has enabled us to apply a wide range of applications, so we made a special formula called ApiComplex that can be added to dog food.

We divided the dogs into two groups: the first was fed food containing ApiComplex, while the other was on the same diet only without ApiComplex. Dogs ate the food with ApiComplex for four months, and once a month, they had training when we measured the effects of ApiComplex. Before and after the training session, we examined the dogs, collected their blood and measured the various parameters that eventually showed us the movement of blood sugar, muscle recovery after intensive training, liver health, kidney, etc.

The study concluded that food supplemented with Apicomplex prevents hypoglycemia, that is, a decrease in blood sugar, leading to smaller lactate (a fatty acid that leads to fatigue), reduces muscle damage, improves recovery and generally prevents the intense effort that occurs when searching for people.

The role of dogs in the HGSS service is irreplaceable and their importance in the pursuit of people in distress is really great. I do not even have to say how important it is for HGSS that the dogs are healthy and rested at the height of a task.

In addition to propolis for dogs, they produce dietary supplements based on propolis intended for human beings.

“That's still basically the business basis for us. We started this in 2003 and have since developed nine products for people based on the same technology, which is broadly used. The most famous and long-lasting product is Native Propolis.

So, how do you find their products?

“The products for people are available in almost all pharmacies in Croatia, but also via our website at hedera.hr. Apart from Croatia, we are available in Germany, Austria, France, Japan, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The dog products are available through www.apipet.eu and can be found in Hungary and France, and we hope very quickly in Australia.”

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