The Supervite Dog Food Review: Tested & Evaluated 2024
Written By Eloisa Thomas | Canine Coach, Double M.A in Anthropology.
Edited & Fact Checked By Renae Soppe | B.A Journalism & Science.
Last Updated: 7th January 2024
If you’re looking to lower your dog food budget, this Supervite dog food review is for you. We gave it a try and compared it to the best dog foods available, so you can make an informed choice.
Related: The Best Dog Food Australia.
Related: How To Choose The Right Dog Food?
Related: How Is Australia’s Dog Food Industry Regulated?
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.
Related: Understanding Guaranteed Analysis Levels in Dog Food.
Related: Real Meat vs Meat Meal.
Quick Pick - Our Best Rated Dog Food
Our Number 1 Pick -
Petzyo Dog Food
- Ethically sourced Kangaroo, Chicken or Salmon, sweet potato & superfood extras
- Iron-rich & low fat proteins
- Three Omega 3 and 6 rich oils with a well balanced 11% fat content
- Made in Australia
Australia's Supervite Dog Food Review
Supervite - 2.5 Star Rating
- Ingredients: Adult dog chicken: Meat & meat by-products (chicken, beef, &/or lamb) and/or poultry by-products, whole grain wheat, wholegrain barley &/or corn &/or sorghum, Cereal by-products and/or vegetable proteins, Fats & Oils (from beef, lamb, fish, poultry &/or vegetable), Chicken gravy, Beet pulp, Salt, Minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, iodine, manganese, magnesium, selenium, zinc), Vitamins (A, C, D3, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12 & choline), Natural antioxidants with Rosemary extract, Garlic.
- Named Protein First: Yes.
- Dog Food Type: Grain Kibble
- Recipe Range: Gold label (chicken, beef and active kangaroo) and Everyday (happy dog and working dog recipe)
- Suitable For: Adult dogs
- Cost: $
- Australian Owned: Yes.
Taste | |
Ingredients | |
Protein content | |
Additives | |
Variety | |
Price | |
Taste 2/5
Straight up, our pups didn’t love this kibble. The bag our team tested wasn’t fully eaten, because our dogs weren’t huge fans. The high percentage of wheat and other cereals is likely to blame: dogs are not naturally drawn to these foods.
Because of the poor reception by our dogs, we’re giving this brand 2 out of 5 in this category.
Ingredients 3/5
This brand is made by Hypro Pet Foods, the same people behind Meals for Mutts. With that kind of link, one would think these are good recipes, right?
Well, Supervite is clearly the budget range from Hypro Pet foods, and the ingredients show it. The first ingredient in most of these recipes is “meat and meat by-products”, a bulk category used when manufacturers change the meats used depending on cost. This means you can’t be sure of the exact composition of each bag, since it changes constantly.
On the other hand, unlike Petzyo, our choice for the best Australian dog food, Supervite uses copious amounts of cereals. The recipes are overall quite high in carbs with moderate amounts of protein. Out of the first four ingredients that make up the bulk of the food, three are cereals or cereal by-products, and only one is animal-based. This means around 70% of the food is carbohydrates.
The “Happy dog” recipe is particularly bad with barely 16% protein (less than the recommended by AAFCO! [1]) and 8% fat. We didn’t even try giving that to our dogs.
The best recipe is “Active kangaroo” from the Gold Label line. This is also a grained kibble, but at least it has 26% minimum crude protein and minimum 12% fat. It’s also slightly higher in calories than the rest of the line, so it can provide more nutrition as well.
Because of the ingredient batching, the vagueness of ingredients and constant changes depending on ingredient price, we’re giving this brand 3 out of 5 in this category.
Protein content 2/5
Although the first ingredient in Supervite’s recipes is almost always meat and meat meal, this doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.
As we’ve mentioned before, a high-quality dog food should always name the proteins used: this guarantees you know what your dog is getting. Generally, you want to avoid any food that doesn’t specify which protein is used. The vague term “animal meat and animal by-product” is synonymous with dubious origin. The meat might be organ meats, but also dead farm animals declared unfit for human consumption [2]. Supervite does mention the species used (kangaroo, beef, chicken and/or lamb), but all recipes have the same “ingredient”. This is barely a named protein, since it changes so much.
This means the specific meat used changes with availability and cost, regardless of the meat flavour marketed on the front of the bag. As I mentioned above, my dogs didn’t love this recipe and it wasn’t appetising to them.
Finally, some recipes have a particularly low protein content (ie. The “happy dog” recipe) that doesn’t even comply with AAFCO recommendations. If you had to get this brand, choose the Puppy or the Kangaroo active recipe that have a bit more meat and fat.
Because of the vague protein ingredients and low protein content in most of the recipes, we’re taking off 3 stars.
Additives 3/5
Supervite has kept additives to a minimum in their recipes. It makes sense, when considering the price point. The recipes have salt, vitamins and minerals (with specific items listed) and natural antioxidants.
It does the bare minimum we’d expect from this brand, so we’re giving Supervite 3 stars in this category.
Variety 3/5
Supervite offers two lines: Everyday and Gold label. From the two, the “everyday” appears to be the more budget-friendly and it shows ingredient-wise: both have cereals as the first ingredient.
It’s not high-quality dog food, but the brand does have some variety: there’s a puppy recipe (the best one), a weight-management recipe (with barely 16% protein and 8% fat), and two adult recipes.
The core ingredients themselves don’t change from recipe to recipe, and in all cases the meats are a category rather than itemised ingredients. This means the seeming variety is more of a marketing tactic and the actual food composition changes depending on availability and cost at the time of manufacturing. We’re taking off 2 stars because of it.
Price 2/5
Its low price is one of Supervite’s main assets. However, the savings in the short term aren’t worth it in our opinion. Generally, low-quality dog food will lead to health problems down the road that get expensive quickly. This is especially true for high-carb foods like these recipes, which can easily cause obesity among dogs.
We wouldn’t consider the price a good enough reason to get this food, so we’re taking off 2 stars from this category.
Do Not Buy If…
After testing this food, we don’t recommend switching to Supervite if you:
Final Verdict
The savings aren’t worth it for us. We’d much rather feed a mid-range food with a better recipe and supplement with meat toppings. Overall, there are better options out there.
References
- “What’s in the ingredient list?” Association of American Feed Control Officials. Retrieved July 14, 2023. https://www.aafco.org/consumers/understanding-pet-food/whats-in-the-ingredients-list/
- “The Truth About Animal By-Products in Dog Food”. July 27, 2021. Dog Food Advisor. Retrieved July 14, 2023. https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/animal-by-products/
