Team's viral videos debunk dog food marketing myths

A SMALL team based in Nottingham has become an unlikely online hit after their videos analysing the UK’s most popular dog foods began going viral with pet owners.

Working from an office in Toton, Nottingham, the team behind independent website All About Dog Food spend their days examining the ingredients, nutrition and processing behind thousands of pet foods sold across the UK.

The team have so far analysed over 4,300 different dog foods sold in the UK. 

David Jackson

Founded by pet nutrition specialist David Jackson in 2012, the platform has grown into one of the UK’s most widely used dog food comparison websites.

It attracts more than 13 million page views each year from owners researching what to feed their pets.

In recent years, the team’s research has also found a large audience on social media, where short explainer videos breaking down dog food ingredients and marketing claims regularly attract large numbers of views online.

Mr Jackson said the popularity of the videos shows just how interested owners are in understanding their pets’ diets.

“Dogs are part of the family for most people now, so it’s not surprising that owners want to know exactly what they’re feeding them,” he said.

“Pet food packaging can make products sound incredibly appealing, but when you look closely at the ingredients and nutritional balance, the reality can sometimes be quite different.

“Our goal has always been to give owners the tools to compare foods properly so they can make informed choices for their pets.”

The All About Dog Food platform allows owners to compare thousands of products available in the UK, analysing ingredients, nutritional values and levels of processing to give each food a clear rating.

Co-owner Robert Deans said the Toton-based team analyse large amounts of data to help simplify the often confusing world of pet nutrition.

“There are thousands of dog foods available in the UK, and it can be incredibly difficult for owners to know where to start,” he said.

“What we do is take the information already available on packaging and break it down into something that’s easy to understand so people can see how different foods stack up.”

According to the company, millions of UK dog owners now visit the site each year while researching pet nutrition.

Mr Jackson believes the growing interest shows that pet owners are becoming more engaged than ever with what they feed their animals.

“People are starting to look beyond the marketing and really understand what goes into their dog’s food,” he said.

“And if our videos and research help even a few owners make better choices for their pets, that’s a good thing.”