Bark to Basics: Ocado Reports the Rise in Wholefood Dog Dinners

• Briton’s love for dogs means they are increasingly feeding them the same natural, wholesome meals they choose for themselves.
• Almost half of dog owners (48%) say they wouldn’t feed their pet anything they wouldn’t eat themselves.
• 4 out of 5 (80%) of pet owners say they want to make more health-conscious choices for their dogs.
• Ocado sales reflect the shift, with products such as Edgard & Cooper’s Grain Free Wet Dog Food with Game & Duck is up +500% year-on-year.
• Leading brands such as Lily’s, Scrumbles, Forthglade, tails.com and Edgard & Cooper, unit sales are up 33.5% year-on-year.

Brits’ love for their dogs knows no bounds – and now it’s shaping their weekly shop. Sales from the UK’s largest dedicated online retailer, Ocado.com show a sharp rise in natural, wholefood-style products, with pet parents increasingly choosing meals and snacks that mirror the quality of their own diets.

From grain-free casseroles to fresh meat feasts, today’s dogs are dining like royalty. Edgard & Cooper’s Adult Grain Free Wet Dog Food with Game & Duck is up +500% year-on-year, while Forthglade Senior Whole Grain White Fish with Brown Rice up +107% since last year. Even household names are getting a lift, with Lily’s Kitchen Beef Goulash up +42% and Chicken & Turkey Casserole up +38% YoY. And it’s not just individual products seeing success – across leading natural brands including Lily’s, Scrumbles, Forthglade, tails.com and Edgard & Cooper, unit sales are up 33.5% year-on-year.

Beyond dinner, treat time is transforming too. Forthglade’s Digestive Health Soft Bite Treats, made with all-natural ingredients, are up +205% year-on-year, while their Calming Treats are up +111%. Functional treats are flying as owners look for more than just indulgence – they want every biscuit to do their dog some good.

It’s no wonder, given that 69% of owners now check the ingredients before buying dog food and 80% say they want to make more health-conscious choices for their pets. Over half (55%) already serve their dogs a natural, whole food diet – and 41% say they’ve made the switch just in the past year.

That reflects a wider change in how we think about our four-legged family members. Almost half of owners (48%) admit they wouldn’t feed their dog anything they wouldn’t eat themselves, and two-thirds (66%) of owners say they are more conscious of what’s in their dog’s diet than they were a year ago – proof that Britain’s clean eating movement has officially gone to the dogs.

Millie Stevens, Pet Food Buyer at Ocado, said:  “We’ve seen a shift in how people are shopping for their pets. Customers are increasingly looking for dog food that mirrors the quality and ingredient standards they’d expect for themselves – whether that’s grain-free recipes, recognisable ingredients, or higher welfare meat.

Ocado’s pet range is built to cater to exactly that – from long-standing favourites like Lily’s Kitchen and Forthglade, to challenger brands such as Edgard & Cooper. The growth in these cleaner, more natural products shows that owners are thinking beyond just treats – they’re building full diets that reflect their values.”

Marc Jacobson, UK Head of Marketing at Edgard & Cooper, added: “Pet parents aren’t just feeding their dogs anymore – they’re nourishing them, with the same care and quality they’d expect for themselves. That’s why we’ve championed fresh meat from the start, it’s a cleaner, more natural source of protein that pets love and thrive on. Our growth shows this isn’t a fad, but a meaningful shift in pet care, driven by the humanisation of pets and the demand for transparency and wellness.”

Whether it’s a Sunday roast for Rex or a calming treat after a ruff day, it’s clear that pampered pups are driving the trend. From bowl to tail wag, the whole food dog dining movement has Brits barking mad.

To help dog owners make the most of this, Ocado has launched the Bark to Basics Aisle, through which customers can get their hands on hundreds of whole-food and organic dog products at discounted prices, sure to get tails wagging.