The Best Supermarket Dog Food: Tested & Evaluated 2024

Most of us have urgently needed to buy dog food at some point in our lives. The pet stores might be closed, the delivery might take too long, or your regular dog food might not be available for whatever reason. If the only option is the local supermarket, is everything lost?

Not really! While supermarket dog food brands have long been the lowest tier of dog food, some manufacturers are starting to catch up and offer some decent formulas.

Today, we’ll look at the best supermarket dog food available in major Australian stores. We've teamed up with expert canine nutritionists and tested out the available foods with our team's precious pups. What we've found may surprise you! Below, we share our favourite supermarket dog food Australia has to offer.

Related: The Best Dog Food Australia.

Australia's Best Supermarket Dog Food

Woolworths Dog Food

Open Paddock is a Woolworth’s staple that offers surprisingly good quality considering it's a supermarket brand.

In this review, we’ll talk a bit about the kangaroo recipe, but their dry food range also includes beef and chicken recipes with similar ingredients. In terms of flavours that dogs like, my dog seemed to like them all!

The first ingredient on the list is kangaroo meat. That’s not actually included in the kibble, though. Rather, our expert team noted that the kibble is mixed with chunks of dry meat which is a nice concept.

Related: The Best Air Dried Dog Food Australia.

The kibble itself contains kangaroo meal, but keep in mind that it also contains beef meal - nothing bad with that though, unless you are looking for a single-protein formula. The rest of the ingredients are pretty decent, including field peas, rice, beet pulp (source of probiotic fibre), and tapioca high on the list. Since rice is a top ingredient, it's worth noting that this food is not grain-free, unlike our number two choice, which may matter to you.

We also appreciate that 90% of the ingredients are sourced from Australia, according to Open Paddock.

Applaws is another example of a decent and reasonably priced supermarket brand. The Applaws dry food formula with chicken & turkey is the one you can most often find at Woollies so we’ll focus on that one.

This kibble has a high protein content of 24% which comes primarily from chicken meal and turkey meal. While these might not sound very delicious, meat meal, as a concentrated form of protein, is generally a good option, especially for budget foods.

Besides the protein, this kibble does not contain any grains, like our number one choice, or artificial flavours, but it does contain pea starch, potato, and tapioca starch to bulk it up. While these are not amazing ingredients, they are perfectly OK for a dog to eat.

Overall, this is a decent kibble that is not too expensive. While not the best on the market, it can be a great option when you urgently need food for your pup or you're budgeting.

Some Applaws wet food cans are also available in Woolworths. These are nice cans with amazingly few ingredients, consisting mainly of meat, broth, and some veggies. While I like the fact that these wet foods have limited ingredients, my dog seemed to love the taste, another perk!

Prime Pantry is the newest addition to the Prime100 line of dog food, and it’s available in Woolworths. They offer two different rolls - one with chicken and one with wild snapper.

The second one is our favourite after our team tested both types because it’s a great way to provide a bit of variety in your dog’s diet. And even the most pickiest eaters in the canine world love to eat fish!

While they are not the cheapest, these rolls are reasonably priced, especially considering they are pretty huge: each roll contains 1.7 kg of dog food. This can be ideal for some households with multiple dogs or large breeds. However, if you're like me and have only a toy breed, it's easier for some of this food to spoil before he can finish it.

Back to our team's research, we also Prime Pantry's ingredient list, which is very short. It’s mostly fish, chicken, and some vegetables (including tapioca and peas as fillers which is ok). All in all, it's a grain-free option like our number two option but iffers less variety than our number one choice.

IGA Dog Food

Purina might not be our favourite dog food manufacturer, but they do offer some decent options. If you find yourself looking for dog food in an IGA Supermarket, one of those options might be the Beyond Simply 9 line of dog food.

Our expert team notes that there are only 2 recipes available in the Beyond Simply 9 line: Chicken or Salmon & Tuna. But here's the catch: they are basically the same, with only the first ingredient being different. The second ingredient in both formulas is chicken meal.

Related: Purina Beyond Dog Food Review.

That being said, I do praise the fact that the first ingredient is a named protein, followed by a second ingredient that’s also an animal-based protein source (chicken meal). While it may not be as nutritionally robust as the other options on this list, it's a simple option that can keep your dog satisfied on the fly.

In short, this is a kibble that should keep your dog fed and happy, although it does have its downsides.

The Farmers Market Dog Food is another supermarket staple. Just like other similar options, this food will not blow your mind with the quality of ingredients, but it is a reasonably-priced food with reasonable ingredients. Not amazing, but not too shabby either.

The good part about Farmers Market kibble is that it does contain lots of animal-based protein + healthy fruits & veggies like carrots that provide vitamins. There is one problem with the protein, though - a part of it is listed as “meat meal”. That means the kibble could contain any meat, so if your dog has problems with a specific source of protein, you might as well avoid this food. My dog does not tolerate turkey, and I just don't want to risk his health for the sake of convenience. 

This recipe also contains wheat. While that’s fine for most dogs in small quantities, it is not the best cereal to have in dog food. On the other hand, our canine nutritionists were happy to see that this formula does include some goodies like beef liver, beet pulp (natural prebiotic), and linseed (a source of healthy fatty acids).

4 Legs Dog Food is available in the chilled section at IGA, Coles, Woolworths, and some other supermarkets. In short, it’s an easily available option in a pinch.

All of the 4 Legs options like meatballs and rolls look adorable but keep in mind that their marketing is better than the ingredients they use. When they say meatballs “with beef”, yes, they mean with beef, but mostly chicken. Not a problem in itself, though, unless you are trying to avoid chicken.

Besides the meat, the 4 Legs recipes are quite simple, which is something our canine nutritionists do like. Some meat, some fruits and veggies, and some grains - that’s it. My dog, along with our other doggy testers, seemed to love these meatballs & rolls, so they can work great as a meal topper to increase palatability. However, unlike the other options on this list, they do not constitute a proper meal for your dog in and of themselves.

Aldi Dog Food

ALDI supermarkets used to stock two brands of dog food - Julius and Natural Elements. While Julius used to be the main line of dog food in this store, these days you are more likely to find the Natural Elements kibble on the shelves.

A disclaimer: ALDI seems to change the ingredients in their formulas occasionally. The ingredients listed above are the most recent we’ve seen, but we do recommend checking the label on the actual bag when you have it in your hands.

In any case, I think the current ingredients seem quite nice for a budget dog food. Plus, our expert panel notes that there are even some nice extras like fish meal, emu oil, and salmon oil, not something you'll find in most of the other foods on this list.

However, I also want to point out that the main protein source is more important than that. In this case, it’s poultry meal, which isn’t very specific. If your dog doesn’t have issues with food sensitivities, poultry meal should be fine even if we don’t know what exactly it is. I happen to have a dog with a sensitive stomach, so I cannot rely on this food as his main source of nutrition. But in a pinch, it may be fine for your dog, although that's a judgment call.

Coles Dog Food

Nood is a relatively new brand of dog food offered by Coles, but it has quickly become a favourite among supermarket brands of dog food. Their kibble is quite good, with the ingredient list looking fine, especially considering the low price point.

The first ingredient on the list is a named protein (chicken in this case), followed by poultry meal. Considering that not one, but two of the first ingredients are good protein sources, we can assume there a large proportion of the formula is meat & meat meal.

While Nood gets plus points for the protein, we are not so amazed about the ‘superfood’ part. The next ingredients on the list are rice and tapioca. Those are ok, but hardly superfoods. To be fair, the formula does contain sweet potato, salmon oil, and probiotics further down the list.

I happen to have a dog who is crazy about berries, so he liked the taste of Nood, which contains mixed berries. This is not something you'll find in most supermarket dog foods. However, our canine nutritionists point out that these ingredients are also further down the list, and therefore not abundantly present in the food.

Woofin Good is the budget-friendly dog food range exclusively available at Coles. While not exactly a premium food, the ingredient lists of their formulas are ok.

In the case of the Kangaroo formula, the recipe starts with kangaroo meal, which is nice. But unlike our number one option, which also starts with Kangaroo, this one continues with rice and oats, followed by a poultry meal. Having rice and oats and the 2nd and 3rd ingredient on the list is a strong indicator that there is a lot of rice and oats in this food which is probably the reason why it’s so cheap.

The Woofing Good brand also includes a range of wet dog food. Our expert team notes that these are quite affordable and contain OK ingredients. However, the problem is the main ingredient, which is usually listed as “Meat (Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Pork)” regardless of what is written on the package. So keep in mind that like the afforementioned ALDI Natural Elements, this supermarket dog food is not ideal for dogs with food allergies.

What to Look Out for With Supermarket Dog Food

We always say that the first rule of choosing dog food is choosing one where named protein is the first ingredient. However, when you are dealing with premium foods that doesn’t mean much, as pretty much every formula features protein in the first spot.

When it comes to supermarket dog foods, this is not the case. In fact, our canine nutritionists recommend this should always be the first thing to check when looking at a new food. As you will see, many supermarket dry dog food brands feature grains as the main ingredient.

While dogs can benefit from some grains in their diet, and often seem to like them, grains should not be the main part of a canine diet (1). Most dogs will be fine with such kibble as a quick fix, but we don’t recommend it as a permanent solution. And besides, it’s often possible to find dog food with more animal-based protein at the same price.

In the best-case scenario, the main ingredient in your dog’s kibble will be meat, but meat meal can also be a decent alternative (2) And that’s the one you’ll most often find in supermarket dog foods (although there are exceptions). 

At that, it’s always better to see a named meat meal on the list. By this, we mean ingredients listed as “chicken meal”, “beef meal”, and the like. Some manufacturers list only “meat meal” which is terribly vague as you have no idea what kind of meat you are feeding your dog.

In fact, it’s always a good sign when the ingredients on the list are specific. Our canine nutritionists point out that you may see vague terms like “meat”, “vegetables” or “natural flavour” that do not tell us what is in the food. And this is something that’s always suspicious.

Related: What is AAFCO? The Association of American Feed Control Officials
Related: What Is the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA)?
Related: AAFCO vs PFIAA: Dog Food Standards Comparison Australia

Final Thoughts

Is there good dog food in the supermarket? Well, I'm happy to say that our team of canine nutritionists along with our doggy testers might say there are some surprisingly nice options these days like Open Paddock or Nood. 

While not as good as some other brands, these formulas can be a great interim solution when you are in between foods, and they are so easily available!

References

1. Dunn, T.J. March 8, 2011. “Contrasting Grain-based and Meat-based Diets for Dogs”. PetMD. Retrieved September 1, 2022. https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_contrasting_grain_based_and_meat_based_diets
2. Kens, N. February 20, 2020. “Meat and Meat Meal: Sorting Through Animal Protein Sources”. Whole Dog Journal. https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/food/meat-and-meat-meal-sorting-through-animal-protein-sources/