I was recently very surprised by differentdog raising their food prices albeit after being given advanced notice they have raised my subscription which will now cost me double unless I take their larger sized food trays. After asking if I could see if one of the new trays would fit in my freezer (one of my reasons for the smaller trays but also having a smaller dog that doesn’t need to eat that much food) I had this reply:
Good afternoon
We totally understand your frustration and we want to do all we can to make your plan as cost effective as you as possible. I can see you are due your next delivery next week, therefore I am going to ensure we include a 1kg pack free of charge for you to trial and see how you get on with them. This will take your cost down dramatically in March if you were happy with this change.
Here at Different Dog we like to promote less packaging and helping the planet where possible which is why we have priced our 1kg packs cheaper per 100g of food than our other packs. Therefore if you are happy to move to the larger packs from March I will offer you 10% off for 3 months on your orders which should hopefully help you in your budgeting too as we understand these changes can come as quite a shock.
Please do feel free to let me know your thoughts next week once you have seen and used our larger pack.
I look forward to hearing from you soon
Best wishes,
Steph
Stephanie Teece | Operations Manager | Different Dog | 01743 384 562
Unit 15&16 | Centurion Park | Kendall Road |Shrewsbury | SY1 4EH
I must admit I am now wondering if the price rise is purely to encompass packaging charges and not because the cost of ingredients has gone up.
Ps: this website seems to be reflecting the new prices.
I went onto the 1kg cartons some time ago and IIRC it saved money. Having two small dogs, it works ok. Once thawed, it will keep in the refrigerator for five days but mine doesn’t last that long. They are about the size of an iPad and easier to fit in the freezer than the round tubs. I can fit up to eight cartons in my one freezer drawer.
I was expecting a price rise but not as steep. Like you, I have a discount for three months then it is full price.
I’ve read your posts with interest as I have moved back to Butternut Box after Different Dog’s astronomic proposed price increase.
I was spending £110 a month with them to feed my large dog two of her three meals a day and was a loyal customer for 18 months.
Then in November they emailed to advise that they would be increasing their prices and reducing their packaging sizes, which would result in me receiving 8 extra packs per month (due to them doing away with the 1kg packs) and a price increase of over £70 a month!!
When I queried their decision to increase their food costs by 60% per kilo and use more packaging, I received a fairly poor apology which said “we understand people’s personal financial situation may change” and [this price increase] “may not be an option for some” and directed me to their shop “where you can purchase food on a one-off basis where the minimum order is £20 and can be used as a topper which may make this option more financially viable for you.”
This suggestion that the issue was our inability to afford the increase rather than us being unwilling to swallow such an extortionate price hike led my husband to comment on one of their social media channels and this was followed up by a call from Alex, one of the Different Dog founders where she admitted that “historically prices for larger dogs were incorrectly capped above a certain volume of food” and that due to this error they had been losing money on subscriptions.
She said that the packs were being changed to plant based, compostable materials and that, although recyclable, their 1kg trays weren’t compostable. I’m unsure whether she was saying they couldn’t get compostable trays in the 1kg sizes but she said this would be reviewed.
She also said that my husband’s suggestion of larger discounts for larger dogs was “very valid”, she would discuss it with her partner and get back to us. She never has.
From reading your posts and checking back on their website it appears that they ARE now offering 1kg packs - again this has never been communicated to us.
I feel really let down by this, we have been made to feel that they don’t want our custom. Luckily I previously subscribed to Butternut and was easily able to reinstate my subscription with no price increase. While I do prefer the cooking methods of Different Dog (batch cooked then packed rather than cooked in the plastic package), I am still confident of the quality of Butternut’s food, their range is better since the addition of pork and fish and I am not made to feel a less important/desirable customer because I have a large breed dog.
my dog was on butternut for a while, and then moved on to different dog, as like you I would prefer to have it cooked and then packed up,
but found that Copper was losing weight on different dog, so have moved back on to butter nut, and they could not have been more helpful and like you say it was easy to go back on the plan. I need lots of fat in Coppers food as he is a red setter and loses weight easily , and different dog do not do that sort of food, he is now on lamb and pork and has gone from 16.2kgs to 21.1 in about 8 weeks. He is doing better now he has regained weight. but he still thinks he needs more. :
I am unable to go back to BB because of the lentils - one of my dogs has an intolerance to legumes. As I don’t know of any other company who sells fresh cooked food my only option is to pay the increase. Also, I would be wary of changing because my two dogs are doing so well on DD, particularly the older one with previous health issues. Of course, done properly home cooking could be a viable and cheaper alternative but not one that I feel equal to at the moment.
