Prime100

Our ownership entry for Prime100 reads simply as Prime100 (Australia), with manufacturing in Australia and no parent group named. That stands out in this index, where Ivory Coat sits under Real Pet Food Company, Black Hawk under EBOS Group and Hill's Science Diet under Hill's Pet Nutrition (Colgate-Palmolive). Who owns a brand is not a score by itself, but it fits the pattern of the pillars: transparency at 81 out of 100 and ingredients at 83, both clearly above mid-pack, neither at the 95 that Scratch and Frontier Pets record for transparency.

Prime100 is also the only brand in our index whose entry spans air-dried, fresh and dry at once. The two products we rate both lead with kangaroo, yet their panels read nothing alike: the SLR roll at 11% protein and 7% fat, the SK-D dry at 25% and 14%. That is the format talking rather than the recipe, and it is why our cons list flags format sprawl. Comparing Prime100 with Prime100 is harder work than comparing it with a rival.

The SLR Single Protein Roll Kangaroo 2kg is an editorial estimate of $22.00 AUD, or $11.00 per kg. The SK-D Single Protein Dry Kangaroo 8kg is $119.00, or $14.88 per kg. On the shelf the roll looks like the cheaper food. Fed to a ~15kg adult dog it is not: $4.40 a day against $3.20, so a roll lasts about five days and a bag about five weeks. The roll costs roughly $1.20 a day more, close to $440 across a year.

Where you buy moves the figure almost as much as which format you pick. Our estimates put the roll at $21.00 at Pet Circle and $21.50 at Budget Pet Products, against $24.00 at Petbarn or $22.00 on member pricing. The dry runs $115.00 at Pet Circle against $129.00 at Petbarn, $119.00 for members, a $14.00 swing on a single bag. Availability scores 73 out of 100 across four stockists: Pet Circle, Petbarn, Petstock and Budget Pet Products.

Both Prime100 products we rate score above the brand itself: 86 out of 100 for the roll and 85 for the dry, against 78 overall. The drag is value at 72, not the food. It suits single-protein and elimination feeders who can absorb the cost; our $4.40 a day is modelled on a ~15kg adult dog, so a smaller dog eats less of it. Set against Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach at an estimated $2.90 a day on a brand scoring 66, paying the Prime100 premium is at least arguable.

Skip it if you want kangaroo without the limited-ingredient premium. Meals for Mutts Kangaroo and Pumpkin Grain Free 20kg is an editorial estimate of $9.95 per kg and $2.60 a day with 28% protein, against $14.88 per kg, $3.20 a day and 25% for the SK-D dry. Skip it as well if a vet has directed a prescription food. Prime100 is not one, and its dry already costs more per kg than the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal diet, which we estimate at $14.60 per kg. None of this is veterinary advice.