Walk into any pet shop today and you’ll find no shortage of choice.
Premium foods, natural foods, raw foods, fresh foods, functional foods, treats, toppers, supplements - the pet food market has never offered owners more ways to care for their pets.
But does more choice always make choosing easier? For many pet owners, the answer is no.
Recent research published in August 2026 found that 10% of pet owners feel overwhelmed by conflicting guidance, 9% find information online confusing and 7% find ingredient labels difficult to understand.
That presents an interesting challenge for an industry that is, ultimately, trying to help people make better choices for their pets. When the market becomes more complicated, perhaps the answer isn't to add more noise. Perhaps it's to make things simpler.
Understanding what pet owners actually want
The desire for simplicity isn't about a lack of interest in nutrition. It’s actually quite the opposite.
A University of Glasgow survey of 520 UK dog and cat owners found that 65.48% considered ingredients an important factor when choosing pet food, making it the most commonly cited consideration. Almost 40% specifically expressed a preference for natural food.
Pet owners clearly care about what's going into their pets' bowls. The challenge is giving them information they can actually understand and trust.
Most people choosing pet food aren't nutritionists, food scientists or manufacturers. They're simply trying to make a good decision for an animal they care deeply about. That was the starting point for Hipaws.
Our founder experienced that frustration first-hand when looking for pet food in the UK. Products positioned as premium didn't always have the simple, straightforward ingredient lists she expected. Some contained ingredients she hadn't anticipated, while others made it difficult to understand exactly what she was buying.
Instead of accepting that as the norm, she saw an opportunity to do things differently.
Making simple feeding work in real life
The idea behind Hipaws isn't just to create products with fewer ingredients. It's about making better nutrition easier to understand and easier to fit into everyday life.
Fresh and raw feeding can offer appealing ingredient propositions, but they aren't always practical for every household. Storage, preparation, handling and shelf life can all become considerations for pet owners and retailers. Freeze-drying gives us another route.
It allows us to focus on high-quality, recognisable ingredients while creating a convenient, shelf-stable format that works within modern lifestyles and the realities of retail. For us, that balance is important because great nutrition isn't particularly useful if it's difficult to incorporate into everyday feeding.
A category opportunity for retailers
There is also an opportunity here for retailers. As consumers become more interested in ingredients and nutrition, they need ranges that are easy to understand and easy to navigate. A strong product proposition shouldn't require a complicated explanation.
It should be immediately clear what the product is, what's in it and why would they should choose it for their pet. That's the thinking behind the Hipaws range.
Our complete and balanced freeze-dried food provides an everyday feeding option, while our single-ingredient products give retailers opportunities to build out the category through treats, toppers and functional additions.
The aim isn't to create another complicated range in an already crowded market. It's to create a recognisable proposition built around a simple idea: feeding made simple.
More than what's in the bag
Of course, building a successful pet brand requires more than having a good product. It means understanding the people buying it, listening to retailers, creating a brand customers remember and continuing to earn their trust. As a pet-owner-led business, that perspective is central to how we work.
We're building Hipaws with the belief that premium pet care shouldn't feel intimidating or exclusive. It should feel clear, reassuring and achievable for everyday pet owners. And for retailers, it should provide a range they can understand, confidently recommend and build alongside their customers.
We're continuing to grow the Hipaws range with that same philosophy. We're here to build a brand that makes pet nutrition easier to understand, easier to choose and easier to bring into everyday life.
