Impact Hub

We're setting the new standard for dog food.

The Australian dog food industry is the wild west. The current industry rules (which are self-governed and voluntary) allow companies to name a dry dog food after an ingredient, but it to have as little as 5% of that meat. The rule allows a minimum of 20% meat, and only 25% of that (5%) has to be the meat in the name. It's great way saving costs with cheaper filler meats. Wet food is even worse, without a minimum meat content at all.

Luckily, most premium brands do include a good amount of meat but we should still be able to know what's in the food that we're feeding our dogs day and night. We're continually pushing our transparency further, starting with:

1. We're the first dog food in Australia reveal exact percentages of our ingredients.
2. We use real names for ingredients. No confusing jargon and no marketing lingo like "chicken gravy" or "beef casseroles". When we say "lamb" we just mean lamb.
3. We don't change our recipes on the sly. Dog food brands often lower the quality of food without telling you, so we publish changelogs of any changes ever made to our recipes so we're always accountable.

Ethical dog food without thinking twice

We consider the entire supply chain, from farm to table (or dog bowl). We strongly believe that by using meat products, we have a responsibility to understand the 360 degree impact of the resources we choose to use. From the way the animals are raised and fed, to the way the meat is processed and transported, we consider the ethical, environmental and health implications of each decision.

1. We only use sustainably-sourced Australian meat with no added hormones.
2. We choose meats that are pasture-raised and not factory farmed so the animals have a higher standard of living and end of life practices.
3. We are honest about these hard topics, such as meat consumption. We will always be upfront about the reality of what it means to eat meat products and won’t shy away from having a conversation or consider something we might not have thought of.
4. We make sure we hire honest, thoughtful and diverse humans that LOVE dogs, with our bias-reducing process.
5. There is no planet B. We only use 100% recyclable packaging. We are working to become a B Corp. And we make our food on subscription so there is no food waste.

Transparent governance is also important. Our two directors are Mike Halligan and Doug Spiegelhauer.

Doing our bit for the environment

The decisions we all make can have a big impact on our planet and frankly, we want our kids and their kids kids to enjoy it for a long time to come. We've set about understanding the nuances of ecommerce, packaging and farmed produce, reducing our environmental impact as we go.

Our environmental impact is currently minimised through a few key actions:

1. One percent of our revenue is donated to high-impact charities focused on reducing Australian pollution.
2. Building infrastructure to minimise interstate & air transport, delivering 93% of our 2020 orders from a local warehouse.
3. Carbon neutral delivery, with every Scratch order now carbon offset at no cost to you.
4. Using 100% recyclable materials in our packaging.
5. Sourcing local and sustainable animal proteins, without over-utilising any one source.

For more information on our current environmental performance and commitment to future environmental actions, Download our 2020 Impact Report.