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General discussion / Re: Differentdog new prices.
« on: Feb 07, 2021, 09:49 »
I've read your posts with interest as I have moved back to Butternut Box after Different Dog's astronomic proposed price increase.
I was spending £110 a month with them to feed my large dog two of her three meals a day and was a loyal customer for 18 months.
Then in November they emailed to advise that they would be increasing their prices and reducing their packaging sizes, which would result in me receiving 8 extra packs per month (due to them doing away with the 1kg packs) and a price increase of over £70 a month!!
When I queried their decision to increase their food costs by 60% per kilo and use more packaging, I received a fairly poor apology which said "we understand people's personal financial situation may change" and [this price increase] "may not be an option for some" and directed me to their shop "where you can purchase food on a one-off basis where the minimum order is £20 and can be used as a topper which may make this option more financially viable for you."
This suggestion that the issue was our inability to afford the increase rather than us being unwilling to swallow such an extortionate price hike led my husband to comment on one of their social media channels and this was followed up by a call from Alex, one of the Different Dog founders where she admitted that "historically prices for larger dogs were incorrectly capped above a certain volume of food" and that due to this error they had been losing money on subscriptions.
She said that the packs were being changed to plant based, compostable materials and that, although recyclable, their 1kg trays weren't compostable. I'm unsure whether she was saying they couldn't get compostable trays in the 1kg sizes but she said this would be reviewed.
She also said that my husband's suggestion of larger discounts for larger dogs was "very valid", she would discuss it with her partner and get back to us. She never has.
From reading your posts and checking back on their website it appears that they ARE now offering 1kg packs - again this has never been communicated to us.
I feel really let down by this, we have been made to feel that they don't want our custom. Luckily I previously subscribed to Butternut and was easily able to reinstate my subscription with no price increase. While I do prefer the cooking methods of Different Dog (batch cooked then packed rather than cooked in the plastic package), I am still confident of the quality of Butternut's food, their range is better since the addition of pork and fish and I am not made to feel a less important/desirable customer because I have a large breed dog.
I was spending £110 a month with them to feed my large dog two of her three meals a day and was a loyal customer for 18 months.
Then in November they emailed to advise that they would be increasing their prices and reducing their packaging sizes, which would result in me receiving 8 extra packs per month (due to them doing away with the 1kg packs) and a price increase of over £70 a month!!
When I queried their decision to increase their food costs by 60% per kilo and use more packaging, I received a fairly poor apology which said "we understand people's personal financial situation may change" and [this price increase] "may not be an option for some" and directed me to their shop "where you can purchase food on a one-off basis where the minimum order is £20 and can be used as a topper which may make this option more financially viable for you."
This suggestion that the issue was our inability to afford the increase rather than us being unwilling to swallow such an extortionate price hike led my husband to comment on one of their social media channels and this was followed up by a call from Alex, one of the Different Dog founders where she admitted that "historically prices for larger dogs were incorrectly capped above a certain volume of food" and that due to this error they had been losing money on subscriptions.
She said that the packs were being changed to plant based, compostable materials and that, although recyclable, their 1kg trays weren't compostable. I'm unsure whether she was saying they couldn't get compostable trays in the 1kg sizes but she said this would be reviewed.
She also said that my husband's suggestion of larger discounts for larger dogs was "very valid", she would discuss it with her partner and get back to us. She never has.
From reading your posts and checking back on their website it appears that they ARE now offering 1kg packs - again this has never been communicated to us.
I feel really let down by this, we have been made to feel that they don't want our custom. Luckily I previously subscribed to Butternut and was easily able to reinstate my subscription with no price increase. While I do prefer the cooking methods of Different Dog (batch cooked then packed rather than cooked in the plastic package), I am still confident of the quality of Butternut's food, their range is better since the addition of pork and fish and I am not made to feel a less important/desirable customer because I have a large breed dog.