Dogs come in all shapes 'n' sizes! What 'size' of dog food do you want to feed??

[Tinyplanets]

I have one small dog and when I fed nutriment solely, the 500g tub was fine and lasted 3 days. Now she has a bit less due to being less active and older. I also add some home cooked or she has the odd home cooked meal. The smaller packs work out more expensive so I cut the packs in half when only slightly softened and put half back in the freezer.

I was frustrated for a long time that the cold pressed only came in 5 kg packs. I don't feed it solely and it has a six month shelf life. The lukullus one comes in smaller 2 kg packs so that is the one I get now. I sometimes split a pack of the other cold pressed foods if anyone is happy to do so but otherwise the size of pack is the primary consideration.  I prefer the paper packaging of other cold pressed but can't justify the waste of food a 5kg bag would be.  The nutriment comes in polystyrene boxes to keep it cold but we use these for cool boxes when going away in the caravan, planters for veg, and storage for OH's vast collection of Leicester city programmes!

[Meg]

I have one small dog .......I was frustrated for a long time that the cold pressed only came in 5 kg packs......The lukullus one comes in smaller 2 kg packs so that is the one I get now.

Yes that's a good point Tinyplanets. Over the last few years there have been predictions that households will continue a trend towards owning smaller dogs. Regardless, smaller dogs surely ought to be adequately catered for nowadays and so hopefully others will follow suit and take the opportunity to supply cold pressed in smaller quantities.

 

.... polystyrene boxes to keep it cold but we use these for cool boxes when going away in the caravan, planters for veg, and storage for OH's vast collection of Leicester city programmes!

   

.....and broken up for drainage in the base of pots prior to the soil going in....... and for overwintering dahlia tubers packed in sand ..... and comfy mini storerooms for gluts of cooking apples until preparation time pre freezing.

[Tinyplanets]

I never thought of apple storage. OH has just pureed a load. Now I am not sure where we are going to fit the next batch of nutriment!

[COASTER]

Consumer needs will vary depending on a number of obvious factors, including........

Daily feed amount

Storage space & storage environment suitability

Budget

Collection or delivery choice (based on convenience & associated costs)

Spoiling prior to use (mites, damp or best before date expiry)

Any concerns re storage materials & packaging (recycling, hygienic resealing, ease of dispensing).

Desire to switch between products


Ideally brands could cater for all above by offering varied size choices, in ethical yet practical packaging without causing unreasonable cost penalties against those who buy smaller amounts, (a tough call as many sellers attempt to financially incentify  customers to source  more food per purchase).


One cap does not fit all so manufacturers have to pass on costs &/or streamline choice(s)  to cater for the most likely customer need.

[Meg]

Coaster yes by no means are businesses charities, yet they cannot operate without revenue from their consumers, and we have an opportunity here to make a difference don't you think?

And if we can make a difference by the written page surely it is worth pursuing to help plug the gaps that are currently being overlooked.

[COASTER]

I wholeheartedly agree that more packaging &/or size  variety choice(s) would be good but suspect many companies may be reluctant to offer same unless confident they can do so without reduction in profit(s).

I for one appreciate positive changes. I am currently feeding a raw complete product due to the manufacturer recently deciding to supply 500g trays in place of 500g chubbs.

I also like to see 1kg raw complete trays when the cost per kg is lower than the cost of 2 x 500g trays of same product & believe that one brand might be allegedly chosen over others because of this.

[Carra-Pet Foods]

I wholeheartedly agree that more packaging &/or size  variety choice(s) would be good but suspect many companies may be reluctant to offer same unless confident they can do so without reduction in profit(s).

It's this balancing act that will determine whether these changes can or will be made.

Over recent years we've seen a growth in the number of smaller private label pet food companies. The manufacturers of the food for these companies will have minimum order amounts for each food and bag weight - obviously the larger the production run, the cheaper per kg or bag it becomes. Even if you were producing 1000's of kg's of smaller sized bags, the cost per kg will still be far in excess of 12 or 15kg bags due to the additional time and labour involved. We've recently seen the announcement from Forthglade regarding their expansion plans yet despite all the above, they'll still be outsourcing the production of their pressed food because the cost of production is far too high unless you're producing millions of kg's of food.

You then have packaging - to have even a basic branded packaging you're required to order in the region of 10,000 units of each size to get a reasonable price. For more specialist, environmentally friendly packaging, you'll need to be ordering far in excess of these numbers to receive a cost effective price.

Partnering with Prins rather than producing a private label, we don't have the same issues as above. Prins are a very well established company in the Netherlands selling large quantities of pressed food - as a result they're able to offer 3, 12, 15 and even 20kg bags of food all within fully recyclable packaging. However we still face probably the biggest issue which is delivery. The cost of shipping smaller 3kg packages is not a great deal cheaper than shipping a 15kg package and as a result there is very little profit when shipping direct to the consumer. Given the other issues above that private label companies face, this is probably why they do not offer 2 or 3kg packages -  they simply cannot make it work financially.

[Meg]

I feel it's fair to say that there are pet food companies that have charged what seems exorbitant  prices   for their products, and once other manufacturers notice that those same products are selling, they logically follow suit resulting in healthy price competitiveness to the benefit of the consumer.

  Historically, where profitable margins are made, there are really no obvious reasons, why in the future, the same pattern would not occur again,  this time for example smaller volumes, with minimal (recyclable) packaging, that we are currently discussing  ,  - and notably are already being sold by other manufacturers  -   being replicated by other companies.

I'd like to suggest that manufacturers duly consider the needs of their current (and potential) customers and make subsequent appropriate changes, even taking a possible short-term lower profit, in order to build a greater consumer base with accompanying expected profit margins throughout, including more obviously in the larger volumes sold.

Indeed surely it makes sense that some profit is better than none; and in my experience happier customers invariably lead to better client/business relationships, a better overall business reputation and also opens business opportunities to greater future sales.