Dog food brands Australia control 50% of the market.

Let me start by saying that ALL of the dog food companies making dry and wet dog food in Australia are complicit in feeding ALL dogs a HIGH GRAIN diet. We are only talking about the first two companies here because they own over 50% of the market, and both of these companies own MANY  brands, that happen to all have similar grain levels !

But before we consider dog food, does anyone remember the big clothes label scandal last year in Australia after Bangladesh was found to be making many of the clothes our best labels were selling at ridiculous mark ups and how besides the poor working conditions that child labor was also ‘allegedly used’.

Are you surprised that a similar scandal has turned up in the confectionary companies too?

The only difference is that these confectionery companies also happen to control 50% of the dog food market in Australia, so there is a strong chance you have tried one of their brands at some stage in your dogs life.

The seven multi nationals alleged to have breached global child slavery laws (2016) are said to be: Nestlé, Hershey, Mars, Kraft, ADM Cocoa, Godiva, and Fowler’s Chocolate (ref 1)

In Australia  IBIS says that the top two companies in the $1.6B /yr industry are Mars (37% of dog food sold), then Nestle then VIP TopCo.  These are a sample of some of the two companies dog food brands Australia in 2016:

In 2016  there were about 3.2 Million were dogs, 2.3 Million cats  (only registered numbers). The Pet Industry is estimated to be between $6 and $7 BILLION dollars in Australia. This gives leading pet food companies considerable market dominance.

Salient Points

DOG FOOD (wet or dry) is typically between 20- 30% meat.

The two major DOG FOOD companies in Australia are  Mars and Nestle.

Their core business was confectionary before they expanded into dog food.

They are also major players in the HUMAN breakfast cereal market.

Dog Food is typically 70% or more grains (cereals).

What dog food market dominance in Australia means

IF a company is a multibillion dollar confectionary company, and a market leader in selling cereals (having access to cheap bulk grains), and is now accused of child slavery in its production process – can people really trust that grains are the BEST/ most nutritious thing that you can be feeding your dog?

The latest slavery reports go to the integrity of a company for humans, so a reasonable person might question what chance does your dog stand in getting what is truly the ‘healthiest’ for it? (particularly when the leading dog food body in America slants their reports to favour artificial dog food (ie ones that cant be created from adding only natural meat and grains and vegetables).

That is, the PREMIUM brands in particular declare how they are the most healthy and natural dog food choice on earth, YET they are essentially the same LOW proportion of meats in their products.  Carnivores always do better on meats.

In fact euromonitor recently said (2015) that ” Premiumisation, humanisation and a focus on health and wellness will be the key trends driving dog food sales throughout the forecast period. At the end of the review period, a focus on the greater accessibility of premium dog food was seen in the introduction of Applaws in supermarkets. Its product range “It’s All Good” was promoted as cereal- and grain-free, with free-range chickens providing a high-quality source of protein.” (euro monitor)

However even this statement is misleading because chicken is the cheapest meat source and grain free DOES NOT MEAN vegetable free.  Usually products just swap grains for potatoes or similar.  Dogs are still missing out on vital bio-available, essential amino acids only available from MEAT. And meat based enzymes.

The reason you should really question why leading brands are that different from the cheapest offerings, or how healthy they really are is that if you look at all of the brands under each of main companies (and they are only a fraction of those sold globally by them), you will see that they range from basic (low cost) to premium (very expensive).  YET you are likely to be only buying 30% meat in the premium brands versus 20% in the lowest products.  The highest meat content kibble on the market in Australia I am told comes from NZ and is 50% meat and is very expensive …

So what does a premium dog food mean besides more expensive?

I have, like many sites reported that dogs are carnivores who have the best long term health on high meat diets, and offal and bones – but multinationals struggle to make a profit from this.  The only way they can make more money is make better packaging and better advertising campaigns for the grain or vegetable based dog foods.

The whole child slavery issue just further calls into question the integrity and objectives of these and other similar multinationals who can get away with also selling you and your dogs inappropriate grain based food (because everyone is doing it). Vegetables for what is essentially a carnivore are only sold because of price  NEVER for health.

The core purpose of any corporation is profit, not the health of any other species.

The only value for me in dog food companies not selling products that are 80% meat is that it keeps the price of my dog treats down (supply demand economics).

However, smart dog owners, interested in nutrition might begin to question what they are being told and sold in stores as ‘dog food’.  You might also consider that if they are essentially the same products and are so full of grain that perhaps buying meat based dog treats (at least as a nutrition supplement) makes the most healthy dog sense in the world.