Veterinary diet pricing: Competing with the pet food store

Despite its importance, nutrition is routinely given only a cursory mention during veterinary appointments. Veterinarians may brush over the conversation, not wishing to seem like pushy salespersons, and believing that their clients perceive veterinary diets as too expensive.

The reality, however, is that veterinary exclusive diets are highly competitive in price when compared to premium pet food store diets, and in some cases can result in the pet owner saving hundreds of dollars per year.

For the average pet owner, it can be exceedingly difficult to accurately compare the cost of a diet as variable bag sizes and caloric densities can confuse the assessment. The key figure that needs to be determined is the consumption cost, or the cost of feeding per day. Calculating this will allow for an “apples to apples” analysis of prices among diets.

When the consumption costs are calculated, veterinary exclusive diets are found to be in close competition. Tables 1 and 2 outline the consumption cost of a number of veterinary exclusive diets, as well as premium pet food store diets. The veterinary exclusive diets (highlighted in blue) all have a daily cost to feed that is either lower than, or close to these common premium foods sold in pet stores. Indeed, some of the most popular premium diets are significantly more expensive in pet stores on a cost per day basis.

Table 1.

Name, size of bag, amount fed, and cost per day of canine maintenance and dental diets

Diet name	Size of bag (kg)	Grams fed/day (11 kg dog) (g)	Cost/day
Royal Canin Medium Adult	2.7	177	$1.50
Hill’s Science Diet Adult — Light Original	2.3	200	$1.56
Purina Veterinary Dental Health	2.7	184	$1.60
Royal Canin Dental	3.5	170	$1.66
Now Fresh Grain Free — Adult	2.7	163	$1.75
Orijen Canine Adult	2.3	160	$1.90
Acana Grasslands — Grain Free	2.3	175	$2.08
Hill’s T/D	2.2	197	$2.15
BLUE Wilderness Chicken	2.0	199	$2.63

Table 2.

Name, size of bag, amount fed, and cost per day of feline maintenance and dental diets

Diet name	Size of bag (kg)	Grams fed/day (4.5 kg cat) (g)	Cost/day
Hill’s Science Diet Optimal Care Original	3.2	62	$0.70
Royal Canin Adult	4.5	60	$0.75
Acana Wild Prairie	2.3	68	$0.75
Purina Essential Care Adult	3.6	78	$0.85
BLUE Wilderness Chicken	2.3	60	$0.87
Hill’s Healthy Advantage Adult	1.4	62	$0.88
Royal Canin Dental	3.5	60	$0.92
Orijen Cat and Kitten	2.3	68	$0.97
Royal Canin Feline Indoor Cat	3.2	77	$1.00
Performatrin Indoor Formula	2.7	102	$1.01
Hill’s T/D	3.9	72	$1.09
Purina Veterinary Dental Health	2.7	82	$1.10

To make this as relevant as possible for clients, after making a dietary recommendation during the examination, provide the consumption cost of the pet’s current diet compared to the veterinary exclusive diet that has been proposed. This will assist in removing any hesitation based on cost, so the discussion can focus on other relevant benefits.

Determining the cost per day of feeding a diet is relatively straightforward, requiring only a few key pieces of information:

• Divide the price of the bag of food by the weight of the bag to determine the price per kilogram;

• Consult the feeding guide to determine how many grams to feed the individual animal per day (based on weight, age, etc.), and divide by 1000 to convert to kilograms;

• Multiply the kilograms fed per day by the price per kilogram, resulting in cost to feed per day.

To really drive the point home for pet owners, the savings per year can also be illustrated. As an example, take the Purina Veterinary Dental Health and BLUE Wilderness diets from Table 1. Feeding the veterinary exclusive diet to a 25 lb dog would result in an annual savings of over $375.

With this competitive pricing, veterinary hospitals are in an excellent position to discuss the foods they recommend based on nutritional and safety merits alone.

Consider assigning the role of nutritional expert to one staff person in the clinic. Provide them access to proper training, and have them educate the rest of the practice on current trends and knowledge on pet foods. Make a point of asking your clients what they are feeding and how it is working for them. Help them better understand the ingredient list. Discussing the topic of nutrition during appointments or offering a nutritional consultation with your resident “expert,” making a dietary recommendation, and comparing the consumption cost of the current and recommended diets will position veterinary clinics as experts in nutritional advice.

Through these strategies, you can provide your clients with higher quality pet food, promote pet health, and grow your sales of pet food.

Notes: Grams fed per day are based on the manufacturer’s recommended feeding guide for a dog weighing 11 kg, and a cat weighing 4.5 kg. The actual amount required to be fed per day may vary for an individual animal, affecting consumption cost. The costs of veterinary exclusive diets were determined by taking the cost from veterinary suppliers for an individual diet and applying a markup of 1.43 (the national average determined through the Practice Owners Economic Survey).