Pet Nutrition Research | Sealord Skipper

New Pet Food Range From Sealord

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The Science - Research & Testing

Massey University Pet Food Palatability Testing

Massey University is one of New Zealand’s premier public research universities. It is widely recognised for its strengths in animal science, agriculture, veterinary science, and food technology, and is home to New Zealand’s only veterinary school, ranked among the top in the world.

Palatability in pet foods refers to how appealing a food is to animals — essentially whether they liked it enough to eat it.

House cat enjoying meal representing healthy cat food and pet food NZ

How we tested our Skipper range:

The Skipper pet food range was evaluated at Massey University through controlled palatability trials, where cats and dogs are given a choice of formulations and researchers carefully measure intake and preference. In these tests, Skipper formulations were benchmarked against a well known leading New Zealand pet food brand, with results showing that Skipper has overall comparable performance to the market leading brand, which means your pets will love Skipper.

Skipper Cat Food Test Results

The graphs below show which food cats preferred when given a choice. In two-bowl taste tests, the amount eaten and the option cats returned to most often were measured. The results highlight both daily intake and overall preferences across the week.

Air Dried Cat Food

Canned Cat Food

Skipper Dog Food Test Results

To understand which recipe dogs enjoy most, we offer the control and test meals at the same time. They usually try both before going back to finish their favourite first. This helps ensure the results reflect a true preference.