LukyCo

The four rules behind our dog food

This is the brief every supplier gets from us, with an honest status next to each part. It will fill in with farm names and test results as suppliers sign up.

Rule 1: Meat you could buy from a good butcher

Every cut and every piece of offal is bought from the human food chain, from British farms where it can be. Here's what we're asking suppliers for, and how you'll be able to check.

  • Beef

    100% grass-fed British beef, from Pasture for Life certified farms wherever we can get it.

    The farm and county on the recipe page and the pack.

  • Chicken

    Free-range British chicken, RSPCA Assured or higher welfare.

    The welfare scheme and the supplier, named.

  • Fish

    Wild-caught salmon and sardines, MSC certified where available.

    The fishery and its certification, named.

  • Offal

    Named organs only: heart, liver, kidney and green tripe.

    Listed by name and percentage in the ingredients.

Rule 2: Complete recipes, with the lab results published

A dog food can only be called complete if it gives a dog every nutrient it needs on its own. In the UK that means meeting the FEDIAF nutritional guidelines.

Each of our recipes will be checked by an independent vet nutritionist and analysed in a lab. We'll publish the results on each recipe page: protein, fat, fibre, calcium and phosphorus, vitamins and trace minerals.

Rule 3: No plastic in the box, layer by layer

Frozen food is hard to pack without plastic, which is why almost everyone uses it. Open each layer of the box to see where we've got to. We won't call anything compostable until it's certified, and the FAQ explains why.

  1. Testing next

    Plant-fibre trays or paper packs with a barrier that isn’t plastic. It has to survive freezing and thawing without leaking.

  2. Testing next

    Sheep’s wool liners that keep the food frozen in transit and can go in the compost or be sent back.

  3. Still looking

    A plastic-free alternative to gel ice packs. This is the hardest part, and we haven’t found the answer yet.

  4. Planned

    Recycled cardboard, printed in one colour.

  5. Planned

    Paper tape and paper labels, so the whole box goes in the paper recycling.

Rule 4: Every pack shows the date it was made

Food is made in small batches. Each pack carries the date it was made and a batch number, and the dispatch email tells you both before the box arrives.

What will never go in our dog food

If any of these turn up in a supplier's specification, the recipe doesn't go ahead. Tap one to see why.

0of these
on ours

Back of the bag

Tap for why

  • Unnamed meat. You can't tell which animal it came from, or which part.

  • A paste stripped from bones by machine, rather than a cut you could name.

  • Cheap plant protein that makes the number on the label look higher than the meat would.

  • A bulking fibre left over from making sugar.

  • Keeps semi-moist food chewy on a shelf for months.

  • Bulks a recipe out for less than meat costs.

  • Makes food more tempting. Dogs don't need it.

  • Colours are there for the owner. The dog never notices.

See which recipe suits your dog

Answer a few questions about age, weight, routine and health. It takes about 3 minutes.

Build your dog's plan