ZIWI Peak

ZIWI Limited (New Zealand) is the only brand in our index made outside Australia that still carries its own name on the ownership line. The other two imports we score, Royal Canin under Mars Petcare and Hill's Science Diet under Colgate-Palmolive, take 66 and 67 out of 100 on transparency. ZIWI Peak takes 85, and its 88/100 on ingredients is third among the complete foods we index, behind Frontier Pets on 95 and Lyka on 90. At 81/100 overall it ranks fifth, behind Lyka on 87, Scratch on 86, Frontier Pets on 84 and Petzyo on 83.

Both bags we hold lead with the named meat: Lamb on the Air-Dried Lamb 1kg, Beef on the Air-Dried Beef 1kg. The lamb runs 38 per cent protein and 30 per cent fat, the beef 36 and 28, above the 30 per cent protein ceiling of every kibble we price. Both are grain free and listed for all life stages, and both rate higher than their own brand: 89/100 for the lamb and 88/100 for the beef, against 81 overall.

The Air-Dried Lamb 1kg is the dearest product per kilogram in our index at an estimated $79.00 AUD for the 1kg bag; the beef follows at $75.00 per kg. The two Frontier Pets air-dried bags run $64.00 and $66.00 per kg, and the cheapest bag we price works out at $2.25 per kg, the Black & Gold 8kg at an estimated $18.00. Against a roughly 15kg adult dog our estimates land at $7.90 a day for the lamb and $7.50 for the beef, the two highest daily figures we publish. All prices are editorial estimates.

That is why value, at 64/100, is the weakest of ZIWI Peak's six pillars: eight points under availability and 24 under ingredients. Shopping around narrows it a little. On the lamb we hold $84.00 at Petbarn, easing to $79.00 for members, $77.00 at Budget Pet Products, $76.00 at Pet Circle and $75.00 at PETO, with Pet Circle's subscription price at $72.00. The beef bottoms out at $68.00 on Pet Circle subscription. Petstock stocks the brand but we hold no price for it.

The buyer this suits is narrow and real. If your dog is fussy, or small enough that a daily estimate built on a 15kg adult drops well below $7.90, the ingredient panel is a defensible reason to pay. ZIWI Peak is also easier to find than most of its quality peers: availability scores 72/100, and our brand record lists five stockists: Petbarn, Pet Circle, Petstock, Budget Pet Products and PETO. That is ahead of Lyka on 62 and Petzyo on 66, though no supermarket in our index carries it.

Walk past it if you feed a large dog, or if you weigh value alongside ingredients. At an estimated $75.00 to $79.00 per kg the daily cost climbs fast, and the food is rich by design at 28 to 30 per cent fat, which is a conversation for your vet rather than this page. Prices are editorial estimates. Not veterinary advice. If air-dried is not the point for you, ZIWI Peak's own listed alternatives cost a fraction per kg: Prime100 at 78/100, Black Hawk at 76 and SavourLife at 75.