An online pet food retailer has hit out at one brand’s “excessive” price increases, and instead offered customers 10% off its competitors.
Customers have been reporting steep price increases across a number of items from Royal Canin – with one saying her food had increased by £15 for a 10kg bag in less than a year.
Zooplus, an online pet food seller that stocks Royal Canin – among other brands – said it did not want to pass these price increases on to its customers, branding them “excessive”, and saying “value for money is important to us”.
The German retailer explained that people may find it difficult to buy Royal Canin products off its site and it has limited the number of items each household can purchase.
A notice now appears above all Royal Canin items on the site saying: “Dear customers, the manufacturer Royal Canin has communicated a price increase for its brands, which in our opinion is excessive.
“We do not want to pass on this price increase to you and your pet. Because of this we will have difficulty sourcing their full portfolio and likely start experiencing higher out of stock on Royal Canin products.
“Therefore, we can only offer Royal Canin products in our shop on a limited basis until further notice. In order to give as many customers as possible the chance to order the available Royal Canin products from our inventory, we have temporarily reduced the normal household quantity per purchase for Royal Canin products.”
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It then offers customers 10% off a number of Royal Canin’s competitors, saying they are “comparable alternatives up to 20% less expensive”.
Pet food industry ‘hit by inflationary pressures’
Royal Canin, a subsidiary of Mars and a French manufacturer of pet food, said it has been hit by “inflationary pressures” like “many other industries”.
It told Sky News: “Our priority remains serving the cats and dogs we love with the highest quality, precise diets.
“The pet food industry, like many other industries is working in an ever changing environment impacted by wide-ranging inflationary pressures. Royal Canin continues to absorb these rising costs as much as possible.
“Manufacturing our formulas requires raw materials that have been increasingly affected by rising costs. The same goes for packaging, transport, and energy.
“We will never compromise on the quality of our nutritional solutions. Whilst in-store prices continue to be at the sole discretion of retailers, we continue to work hard on behalf of our customers to mitigate increases.
“We remain determined to invest in our partners, their customers and the pets we are proud to serve.”
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