Editorial methodology · v1.1
How we score the directory
The UK Dog Food Directory is an editorial review of publicly available product information. This page documents the rubric, the disclosures, the sources, and the limitations behind every score on the site.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure
Superwild has no commercial relationships with any of the dog food or third-party supplement brands in this directory. We do not accept payment for inclusion. We do not accept payment to influence scoring. We are not paid for placement. We do not participate in affiliate or referral programmes that pay us when readers buy a particular brand.
One disclosed exception: our own products. The directory now covers daily supplements as well as foods, and Superwild's own daily supplement (Super Everyday) is listed in the supplements category. We score it against the same five-axis rubric used for every other brand, the score lands where the rubric says it lands, and every Superwild entry carries a "From the directory operator" disclosure chip on the grid plus a banner on its detail page. Readers can filter Superwild's entries out of the directory at any time using the category filter.
If we ever start a commercial relationship with a third-party brand listed here, we will mark that brand's entry with a clear disclosure and consider whether to remove it from the directory altogether.
The five-axis scoring rubric
Every brand is scored on the same five axes. Each axis is scored out of 10. The overall score is a weighted average, where the weights reflect what we believe matters most for canine health and owner trust.
Ingredient Quality
Nutritional Balance
Transparency
Value
Sustainability & Ethics
Axis 1: Ingredient Quality (30%)
Measures the quality and transparency of the named ingredients on the product page. Sub-criteria contribute equally; total points are scaled to /10.
| Sub-criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Primary protein is named species (e.g. "chicken" vs "meat") | 0 / 2 / 4 |
| Whole meat or single named meal vs unspecified meal/derivatives | 0 / 2 / 4 |
| Recognisable whole-food carbs vs generic fillers | 0 / 2 |
| Free from artificial preservatives (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin) | 0 / 2 |
Axis 2: Nutritional Balance (25%)
Measures whether the product meets the relevant canine nutrition standard for its category. The sub-criteria differ for foods (which must be complete and balanced) and supplements (which deliver targeted actives at evidence-backed doses).
For foods (complete feeds)
| Sub-criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| FEDIAF / AAFCO complete-and-balanced statement present | 0 / 3 |
| Protein appropriate for life stage (>22% adult, >28% puppy) | 0 / 2 |
| Fat content within recommended range | 0 / 2 |
| Omega-3:6 ratio specified and within healthy range | 0 / 3 |
UK retail dog food labelled "complete feed" is legally required to comply with FEDIAF, so we award the FEDIAF point to brands that ship under that label even if they don't quote the full nutrient-profile language verbatim. Where this is a judgement call we note it in the brand's editorial reasoning.
For supplements (targeted actives)
| Sub-criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Active ingredients at doses supported by published evidence for canine use | 0 / 3 |
| Daily dose scaled or specified for the dog's body weight | 0 / 2 |
| Probiotic CFU within typical efficacy range (1–10 billion) and strains named | 0 / 2 |
| Omega source disclosed and EPA/DHA breakdown provided where applicable | 0 / 3 |
Supplements are not complete feeds, so FEDIAF / AAFCO compliance is not applicable and is not scored against them. The four sub-criteria above are assessed instead, summed, and scaled to /10. Where a supplement is multi-pillar (covering several health areas in one dose), individual active doses are evaluated against multi-pillar industry norms rather than against single-pillar comparators.
Axis 3: Transparency (20%)
Measures how clearly the brand communicates what's actually in the food and where it comes from.
| Sub-criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Full ingredient list publicly available | 0 / 3 |
| Specific percentages of named ingredients | 0 / 3 |
| Manufacturing location disclosed | 0 / 2 |
| Sourcing information disclosed (e.g. "British farmed chicken") | 0 / 2 |
"Made in the EU" earns partial credit on manufacturing location; a specific country or factory earns full marks. Generic "responsibly sourced" earns partial credit on sourcing; named farms or named species origins earn full marks.
Axis 4: Value (15%)
Measures cost-per-day for an average 20kg dog against the quality tier the food sits in. High-quality foods can score well at higher prices if the quality justifies it; low-quality foods at low prices don't automatically score high.
| Cost band (£/day, 20kg dog) | Score (with quality matching tier) |
|---|---|
| £0.50 – £1.50/day | 8 – 10 |
| £1.50 – £2.50/day | 6 – 8 |
| £2.50 – £4.00/day | 5 – 7 |
| £4.00+ /day (premium fresh / raw) | 4 – 7 (with quality justifying premium) |
| Significant quality / price mismatch | 0 – 4 |
Cost-per-day is calculated from each brand's published feeding guide for a 20kg adult dog at maintenance, multiplied by the unit price of the typical bag size. Where a brand's feeding guide isn't on the product page, we use industry-standard guidance for 20kg adults (~250-300g/day for dry, more for fresh / raw) and note the assumption in the brand's editorial reasoning.
Axis 5: Sustainability & Ethics (10%)
Measures environmental and ethical factors that owners increasingly weigh alongside nutrition.
| Sub-criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| B Corp certified or equivalent independent ethical certification | 0 / 3 |
| UK manufactured | 0 / 2 |
| Recyclable or refillable packaging | 0 / 2 |
| Sustainability commitments published (carbon, sourcing, welfare) | 0 / 3 |
Overall score calculation
The overall score is a weighted average of the five axis scores:
overallScore =
ingredientQuality × 0.30 +
nutritionalBalance × 0.25 +
transparency × 0.20 +
value × 0.15 +
sustainabilityEthics × 0.10Scores are displayed to one decimal place and mapped to interpretation labels:
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 9.0 – 10.0 | Exceptional |
| 7.5 – 8.9 | Excellent |
| 6.0 – 7.4 | Good |
| 4.5 – 5.9 | Fair |
| 3.0 – 4.4 | Below average |
| 0 – 2.9 | Poor |
Concern flags
Independent of the score, brands flagged for any of the following display a warning chip on their page. These flags are factual triggers, not editorial opinion: each one is set by what's named on the brand's own ingredient list or guaranteed analysis at the time of last verification.
- Artificial colours. Recipes containing E-numbered or named artificial colourants.
- BHA / BHT. Synthetic preservatives sometimes used for fat oxidation. Restricted at higher levels in human food.
- Ethoxyquin. A synthetic preservative used historically in some fishmeal-based recipes; banned in EU human food.
- Added sugar. Sucrose, caramel, or similar added for palatability or colour.
- Meat derivatives. EU labelling category permitting unspecified species in the recipe.
- Unspecified EU additives. "EC permitted additives" or similar wording without naming the additive.
- High grain filler. Wheat, maize, rice, or soya combined exceed 50% of the recipe by mass.
- High salt. Salt content above 1% in the guaranteed analysis.
Sources hierarchy
Every numeric or factual claim in a brand entry must be traceable to a public source. We use sources in this priority order:
- Brand's own UK website (highest authority). The flagship product page for the brand's hero adult SKU is the canonical source for ingredients, guaranteed analysis, certifications, sustainability commitments, and feeding guidance.
- Brand's UK retailer pages (Pets at Home, Zooplus UK, Amazon UK). Used for price verification when the brand site doesn't display retail prices.
- Brand's parent company sustainability reports. Used for the ethics axis only when sustainability commitments aren't on the product page.
- Public regulatory filings (FEDIAF certifications, DEFRA approvals).
We do not use as a primary source: third-party review sites (allaboutdogfood.co.uk, dog-food.co.uk, etc.), Reddit, social media, AI-generated summaries, or Wikipedia. These can be useful starting points for research, but they don't drive any score on this directory.
Refresh schedule
Each brand carries a Last verified date and the URL we used for verification. We re-verify all 40 brands every quarter:
- Re-visit each brand's website
- Check for ingredient list changes
- Check for price changes
- Update the verification date
- Re-apply scoring if the formulation has changed
- Note any reformulations in that brand's public changelog
Between quarterly refreshes, brands can flag changes via the right-of-reply form. We respond within 14 days and apply verified updates within 30 days.
Limitations
Honest about what we are and aren't doing here:
- Our scoring is based on publicly available information from each brand's official website at the time of last verification.
- We do not laboratory-test foods.
- We do not have access to manufacturing facilities.
- We do not receive private formulation details, confidential ingredient sourcing, or brand-internal nutrient analysis.
- Where information isn't disclosed by a brand, we mark the field accordingly. A "Not disclosed" entry correctly affects the transparency score.
- Brands may reformulate at any time. We refresh data quarterly; in between, the entry may not reflect the freshest formulation.
- This is not veterinary nutritional advice. It is not a diagnostic tool. It does not replace a conversation with your vet.
Right of reply
If you're a brand representative and our information is outdated, please use the right-of-reply form. Submissions go to support@superwildpets.com. Our promise:
- We acknowledge every submission within 14 days.
- We verify the claim against the current website.
- If verified, we update the brand entry within 30 days.
- The update is logged in that brand's public changelog and the brand is emailed when it goes live.
Methodology update history
- v1.1 · 28 April 2026. Directory scope expanded to include daily supplements alongside foods. Nutritional Balance axis (25%) split into food and supplement variants. FEDIAF/AAFCO criteria for foods, evidence-backed active doses for supplements. Conflict-of-interest disclosure updated to acknowledge that Superwild's own products (Super Everyday) are listed in the supplements category, scored against the same rubric, and clearly marked.
- v1.0 · 28 April 2026. Methodology published with directory launch. Initial 40-brand dataset (foods only).
Future rubric changes will be versioned here with the rationale, never silently.
