Is Black Hawk Worth It?
A straight answer on whether Black Hawk is worth the money, based on its overall score, value score and real cost per serve, with better-value alternatives if it isn't the right fit.
Reviewed by Adam Lorimer
Contributing reviewer, brand and product sideIndependent scoringUpdated August 2026Not veterinary advice
Our score
Good
Black Hawk product photography
- Overall score
- 76/100
- Good
- Value score
- 74/100
- Good
- From (per day)
- $2.10
- ~15kg dog
The short answer
A popular premium-mainstream brand that's everywhere and reasonably priced in big bags: but its strength is reach, not ingredients. Quality swings noticeably across the range: the better formulas lead with named meat, while cheaper lines lean on rice and grain to bulk out the panel. You're partly paying for shelf presence and marketing, so read the specific recipe rather than the brand badge.
Where the points come from
The strongest pillar is availability & convenience at 83/100, worth 10 of the 100 points. The weakest is price & value at 74/100. That pattern, rather than the headline number, is what decides whether the price is worth paying for your dog.
What the money buys
Value is scored at 74/100, which we rate good, and it carries 25 of the 100 points on its own. The cheapest way to feed it in our index is Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg, at $2.10 a day for a ~15kg adult dog.
The field
Where 76 sits across every brand we score
One tick per brand. The shaded band is the middle half of the index and the heavy rule is the median, so the score reads as a position rather than a promise.
- MinMin
- 44
- Q1Lower quartile
- 58.5
- MedianMedian
- 69.5
- Q3Upper quartile
- 78.8
- MaxMax
- 87
| Brand | Overall score |
|---|---|
| Black & Gold | 44 |
| Baxter's | 46 |
| Julius | 48 |
| Woofin' Good! | 50 |
| ProBalance | 54 |
| Leaps & Bounds | 60 |
| The Nosh Project | 62 |
| Providore | 64 |
| Hill's Science Diet | 66 |
| Royal Canin | 68 |
| Ivory Coat | 71 |
| Meals for Mutts | 74 |
| SavourLife | 75 |
| Black Hawk | 76 |
| Prime100 | 78 |
| ZIWI Peak | 81 |
| Petzyo | 83 |
| Frontier Pets | 84 |
| Scratch | 86 |
| Lyka | 87 |
Dog Food Reviews scoring
The scorecard
How Black Hawk scores
Scored against our published methodology. Where a brand earns its points is the whole worth-it question: two brands on the same overall score can be worth very different money.
Black Hawk
76/100 overall · Good
How the 100 points are split
- 25 Price & Value
- 25 Ingredient Quality
- 20 Nutrition & Suitability
- 15 Transparency
- 10 Availability & Convenience
- 5 Customer Sentiment
The checklist
When Black Hawk is worth it, and when it is not
Both lists come straight from this brand's entry in our index. Neither is a verdict on the food, only on the fit.
When Black Hawk is worth it
- Everyday feeding if you pick the right recipe
- Owners who want availability over peak ingredients
- Large dogs on discounted big bags
When to compare carefully
- You need a therapeutic prescription diet
What it costs
What Black Hawk costs to feed
Cost per day is the figure that decides this page. It assumes a ~15kg adult dog at the brand's own feeding guide, so it moves with your dog rather than with the sticker price.
Prices checked· Editorial estimates
Estimated cost per day
Every product on one scale
All 2 Black Hawk products we hold, cheapest to feed first. Price per kilo sits under each label, because the bag price and the feed price are not the same question.
| Product | Est. cost per day | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg | $2.10 | Dry · 20kg · $8.45/kg |
| Black Hawk Grain Free Adult Chicken 15kg | $2.50 | Dry · 15kg · $10.60/kg |
Editorial estimates · ~15kg adult dog
Best per-serve value
Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg
$8.45/kg
$2.10 a day for a ~15kg adult dog
- Pack size
- 20kg
- First ingredient
- Chicken
- Format
- Dry
Black Hawk product photography
The verdict
Is Black Hawk worth it?
Fine on a discounted big bag if you choose a named-meat-first recipe, but don't assume the whole range is equal: the cheaper lines pad the panel with grain and rice, and a chunk of the price is reach and marketing rather than ingredients. Compare the specific formula on cost per kg against SavourLife and Ivory Coat.
Scored out of 100 across 6 weighted pillars
dogfoodreviews.com.au
The detail
The daily cost maths against SavourLife and Ivory Coat
Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg is listed at $169.00 AUD, or $8.45 per kg and about $2.10 a day for a 15kg adult dog on our editorial estimates. SavourLife Original Adult Chicken 18kg runs $145.00, $8.06 per kg, $2.00 a day. Ten cents a day is close to $37 over a year, so on grain-inclusive kibble they are near neighbours.
Grain-free is where Black Hawk slips. Its Grain Free Adult Chicken 15kg is $159.00, or $10.60 per kg and roughly $2.50 a day. Ivory Coat Grain Free Adult Lamb 13kg sits at $135.00, $10.38 per kg, $2.40 a day, and SavourLife Grain Free Adult Lamb 15kg at $149.00, $9.93 per kg, $2.30 a day. That twenty cent gap is about $73 a year. All figures are editorial estimates.
Where Black Hawk earns its price
Availability is the pillar Black Hawk actually wins: 83 out of 100, its own highest score and the highest availability figure in our index, against 76 for both SavourLife and Ivory Coat. It is stocked by all six specialist retailers we track, Pet Circle, Petbarn, Petstock, Budget Pet Products, PETO and Habitat, plus the Coles, Woolworths and IGA aisles. Ingredient quality and nutrition both score 76, above SavourLife's 74 and Ivory Coat's 73 for ingredients.
The points land on specific recipes, not the badge. The 20kg leads with chicken at 26% protein and 16% fat and is the highest rated Black Hawk bag we hold, at 85 out of 100. The grain-free carries 30% protein and 18% fat, richer than either grain-free rival named above. The food is made in Australia under EBOS Group's Masterpet arm, per our ownership record.
Where the Black Hawk maths stops working
Value at 74 out of 100 is Black Hawk's joint weakest pillar with transparency at 74, and SavourLife takes value 78 while sitting one point behind overall, 75 to 76. Our entry says quality swings sharply across the range and cheaper lines lean on rice and grain to bulk out the panel, so a brand-level 76 does not transfer to whichever bag is discounted.
The grain-free bag is the weakest maths here: $10.60 per kg is dearer than both grain-free rivals while carrying the same 84 out of 100 product rating as SavourLife's lamb. Black Hawk also has no prescription range in our index, and the entry says to avoid it if you need a therapeutic prescription diet, which is a real limit at this price. This is not veterinary advice.
How owners pay less for Black Hawk
Bag size moves more money than the retailer does. Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg works out at $8.45 per kg against $10.60 per kg for the 15kg grain-free, a $2.15 per kg gap that shows up as $2.10 a day versus $2.50. If your dog does not need grain-free, the big bag is the cheaper Black Hawk by a clear margin.
On the same 20kg bag our estimates run from $149.00 on a PETO repeat order and $156.00 on Pet Circle autoship, through $162.00 at Budget Pet Products, to $165.00 with Petstock loyalty pricing, $169.00 on Petbarn member pricing, and $189.00 at the Petbarn shelf price. That $40.00 spread is $7.45 to $9.45 per kg on one product.
The alternatives
Better-value alternatives to Black Hawk
Scored on the same 100-point model, so the comparison is like for like. Each card prints the two pillars a reader actually swaps a food on.
Ivory Coat
Premium · Good
A competent grain-free all-rounder, but it's mid-pack on every measure and now sits inside a big multi-brand portfolio where recipes have moved with ownership. Fine if the price is right on the day: just don't expect it to out-spec a more focused independent brand.
- Value
- 71/100
- Ingredients
- 73/100
Best forGrain-free everyday feeding where 'good enough' is fine
SavourLife
Premium · Good
Fair value and the rescue donations are real, not greenwash: but the food itself is good rather than exceptional, with mid-premium panels and a narrow range. Buy it because the per-kg value stacks up, not because the cause makes the ingredients better than they are.
- Value
- 78/100
- Ingredients
- 74/100
Best forValue-conscious feeders who want a clean enough panel
Prime100
Premium · Good
A capable single-protein option for elimination diets, and the labels are honest. But the rolls especially carry a steep price per kg for what is a deliberately simple recipe, and the range spread across formats muddies value: price the dry against the rolls per serve before you settle on one.
- Value
- 72/100
- Ingredients
- 83/100
Best forSensitive stomachs
Common questions
Is Black Hawk worth it? FAQs
Short answers to the questions that decide it, using the same published figures as the sections above.
Answers checked
Scores and estimates from our index
Black Hawk scores 76/100 overall and 74/100 on value in our index (good on value). Fine on a discounted big bag if you choose a named-meat-first recipe, but don't assume the whole range is equal: the cheaper lines pad the panel with grain and rice, and a chunk of the price is reach and marketing rather than ingredients. Compare the specific formula on cost per kg against SavourLife and Ivory Coat.
For a ~15kg adult dog, Black Hawk works out from about $2.10 per day on Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg ($8.45/kg). Cost per serve is the figure that matters most: compare it against alternatives before deciding.
If value is your top priority and you're feeding a large dog on a tight budget, compare Black Hawk carefully against Ivory Coat and SavourLife. The right pick is the one that fits your dog and budget.
Consider Ivory Coat, SavourLife, Prime100. Compare them on price per kg and cost per day: a different brand may give you more for similar money.
Yes, on our editorial estimates. Black Hawk Adult Chicken & Rice 20kg is $8.45 per kg and about $2.10 a day for a 15kg adult dog. Grain Free Adult Chicken 15kg is $10.60 per kg and about $2.50 a day. Unless your dog needs grain-free, the 20kg bag is the cheaper way to feed Black Hawk.
Coles, Woolworths and IGA all list Black Hawk in our range records, but none of them runs a pet subscription or a price match, and their range scores are 49, 51 and 43 out of 100. Every discount program on Black Hawk sits with the specialists: PETO and Pet Circle repeat orders, Petbarn and Petstock member pricing, Habitat repeat delivery, and Budget Pet Products' sharp everyday price.
It has the richest panel of the three grain-free bags compared here, 30% protein and 18% fat with chicken first, and it rates 84 out of 100. But SavourLife Grain Free Adult Lamb also rates 84 out of 100 at $9.93 per kg, and Ivory Coat's is $10.38 per kg. You are paying more per kilo for the higher protein figure, not a higher product score. All prices here are editorial estimates, so confirm the live figure with the retailer. Not veterinary advice.
Our ownership record puts Black Hawk with EBOS Group through its Masterpet arm in Australia and New Zealand, and the country of manufacture is Australia. That places it at the large corporate group end of the market rather than the small specialist end. Australian manufacture is not a separator here: SavourLife and Ivory Coat are made in Australia too.
No. Dog Food Reviews is an independent value and comparison resource, not veterinary advice. Prices are illustrative and manually entered for v1, always confirm the live price with the retailer before buying.
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