Why dog food from the manufacturer is cheaper than in a store with the same ingredients
There are two markups between the factory and the bowl: the distributor asks for 20–30 %, and the store adds another 20–30 % on top. In total, the buyer pays 144–169 % of the factory price, which is 44–69 % more than the manufacturer receives. The food's composition does not change at any point along the way.
Bought direct, the same 10 kg bag costs UAH 1,188, and UAH 250–300 of that is Nova Poshta shipping paid by the factory. The buyer pays UAH 888–938 for the food itself. Below: where both figures come from, what makes up the cost of a bag, and why we cannot go any lower.
See also: Dog food classes · Ukrainian dog food · How much good dog food should cost
How much does each link between the factory and the shelf add?
The chain is short, but it multiplies. The distributor buys a bag at the factory price and adds its own 20–30 %: that covers its warehouse, transport and money tied up in stock. The store adds 20–30 % to the distributor's price, not to the factory price.
That is why you cannot simply add the percentages. The multipliers compound: 1.2 × 1.2 = 1.44, and 1.3 × 1.3 = 1.69. “A quarter from each” is not a 50 % markup but a 56 % one.
The 20–30 % range is not an outside estimate. It is what distributors and retail chains ask of us in negotiations when they offer to put our food on their shelves (our own data, 17.09.2026).
| Route | What is added to the price | What the buyer pays |
|---|---|---|
| Factory → distributor → store → buyer | +20–30 %, then another +20–30 % | 144–169 % of the factory price |
| Factory → buyer | Nova Poshta shipping paid by the factory | UAH 1,188 for 10 kg, of which UAH 888–938 is food |
Our own calculation based on our data on the markups distributors and retail chains ask for (17.09.2026): 1.2 × 1.2 = 1.44; 1.3 × 1.3 = 1.69. We give the factory price as a percentage rather than in hryvnias; this is a condition of our current contracts.
If a bag has passed through a distributor and a store, then UAH 31–41 out of every UAH 100 of its price is the chain's markup, not food.
Where does UAH 1,188 go when there are no middlemen?
After the food itself, the biggest cost item is shipping. Sending one 10 kg bag by Nova Poshta costs us UAH 250–300 depending on the destination, and that money is already in the price: the buyer does not pay separately for delivery (our own data, 17.09.2026).
That is 21–25 % of UAH 1,188. So the food in the bag accounts for UAH 888–938, less than the shelf would cost even at the chain's lowest markup.
In Dnipro, you can pick up a bag yourself at Kalynova St., 87. Terms for the city are collected on the page about delivery in Dnipro.
21–25 % of the bag's price is shipping to your door, not food.
What makes up the cost of a bag?
A bag is more than what is inside it. In DELICATE's cost structure, raw materials account for 68 %, logistics 13 %, energy 12 % and packaging 7 % (our own data, 17.09.2026).
| Item | Share | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials | 68 % | Meat, grains, additives: everything people later read on the label |
| Logistics | 13 % | Bringing raw materials to the plant and shipping bags to buyers |
| Energy | 12 % | Extrusion and drying of the kibble |
| Packaging | 7 % | The 10 kg bag itself |
Our own data on the cost structure, recorded on 17.09.2026. Shares are rounded to the nearest whole percent.
This shows how far the price can go down. Packaging and energy together account for 19 %: even if the food shipped in the cheapest bag and were dried more economically, the bag would be only a few percent cheaper.
The only real way to cut the price is through raw materials, and raw materials are exactly the composition people buy the food for. What exactly hides behind the word “meat” in an ingredient list is covered separately: meat or meat meal.
68 % of the cost is raw materials, so “making it cheaper” in practice means “making it from something else.”
Why can't a store sell at the factory price?
Because a store's markup is mostly not profit but the cost of the shelf: rent, staff, stock that sits for months. According to industry estimates of pet store economics (a biznes-ua.info review, not an academic source), food brings in 50–60 % of a store's turnover, and its 20–30 % markup is the lowest among categories precisely because it is a comparison product: buyers remember the price of a bag.
This estimate matches what is asked of us, so we use it as a guideline rather than as precise market data.
There is also a cost item that is missing from our price entirely. We have no returns or write-offs from retail outlets (our own data, 17.09.2026), so the price of a bag does not include “insurance” for someone else's unsold stock.
Buyers, meanwhile, do not decide on price. According to a study of the pet food market in Ukraine (Mamchyn M.M., Ekonomika i suspilstvo (Economy and Society), issue 14), 47 % of owners buy food in pet stores, while 69 % name composition as the most important factor and only 13 % name price.
The store's markup pays for the shelf, and a buyer using direct delivery does not pay for that shelf.
How much does that come to per day of feeding?
Percentages make sense once you turn them into a daily cost. We calculate the daily amount using the NRC formula: 70 × (weight in kg) to the power of 0.75, multiplied by a factor of 1.6 for an adult dog with moderate activity, divided by an energy value of 397 kcal/100 g (metabolisable energy calculated by DELICATE from the label composition, modified Atwater, NRC 2006).
| Dog's weight | Amount, g/day | Cost per day | How many days a bag lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 kg | 159 g | UAH 18.9 | 62 days |
| 20 kg | 267 g | UAH 31.7 | 37 days |
| 30 kg | 362 g | UAH 43.0 | 27 days |
| 40 kg | 449 g | UAH 53.3 | 22 days |
Our own calculation: RER = 70 × kg^0.75 (NRC, Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, 2006), activity factor 1.6, food energy 397 kcal/100 g (metabolisable energy, NRC 2006), price UAH 1,188 for 10 kg = UAH 0.1188 per gram. For your own dog, use the portion calculator; a detailed breakdown of amounts by weight is in the article on how much to feed a dog.
These figures apply to the direct price without middlemen. If your food went through a distributor and a store, multiply its price per gram by the same daily amount and compare the cost per day, not the price per bag: bags come in different weights and different energy values.
A day of feeding a 20 kg dog with food bought direct from the factory costs UAH 31.7, and a bag lasts 37 days.
Questions and answers
Why is dog food from the manufacturer cheaper than in a store?
Because the price does not include two markups. The distributor adds 20–30 % to the factory price, and the store adds another 20–30 % to the distributor's price. The multipliers compound: 1.2 × 1.2 = 1.44, and 1.3 × 1.3 = 1.69, so the buyer pays 144–169 % of what the manufacturer receives. The food's composition stays the same.
How much more expensive exactly is food in a store?
If a bag has passed through both a distributor and a store, then UAH 31–41 out of every UAH 100 of its price is the chain's markup, not food. The exact figure depends on the agreements between a specific manufacturer and a specific chain, so it is a range rather than a single number.
How much does shipping a bag cost, and is it included in the price?
Sending one 10 kg bag by Nova Poshta costs the factory UAH 250–300 depending on the destination, and that money is already included in the UAH 1,188 price; the buyer does not pay separately for delivery. In Dnipro, pickup is available at Kalynova St., 87.
Can the food be made even cheaper?
Significantly cheaper only by changing the raw materials, and that means a different composition. In the cost structure, raw materials account for 68 %, logistics 13 %, energy 12 % and packaging 7 %. Even the cheapest bag and the most economical drying together save only a few percent.
How much does feeding cost per day?
For an adult 20 kg dog with moderate activity, the daily amount is about 267 g of food with an energy value of 397 kcal/100 g (metabolisable energy, NRC 2006). At UAH 1,188 for 10 kg, that is UAH 31.7 per day, and a bag lasts 37 days. For a 40 kg dog: 449 g, UAH 53.3 per day and 22 days per bag.
Sources
- DELICATE's own data (recorded on 17.09.2026, register content/FACTS.md): the 20–30 % markup asked by distributors and retail chains; the cost of shipping a 10 kg bag by Nova Poshta, UAH 250–300, paid by the manufacturer; the cost structure of raw materials 68 % / logistics 13 % / energy 12 % / packaging 7 %; no returns or write-offs from retail outlets. The distributor price is not disclosed; all comparisons are given as percentages.
- Price of UAH 1,188 for 10 kg: our own data, DELICATE price list (12.09.2026); 397 kcal per 100 g — metabolisable energy calculated by DELICATE from the label composition (modified Atwater, NRC 2006).
- National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington: National Academies Press, 2006. The resting energy requirement formula RER = 70 × kg^0.75, on which the site's calculator is built. No link given: the full text is not openly available.
- Mamchyn M.M. The pet food market in Ukraine. Ekonomika i suspilstvo (Economy and Society), issue 14. 47 % of owners buy food in pet stores, 69 % consider composition the most important factor, 13 % price. This source is not on the list of non-commercial primary sources we link to, so it is cited as text.
- Pet store economics review, biznes-ua.info. Food brings in 50–60 % of a store's turnover, with a 20–30 % markup, the lowest among categories. An industry source, not an academic one; used as a guideline that matches our own data. No link, under the same rule.
- The table arithmetic (1.2 × 1.2 = 1.44; 1.3 × 1.3 = 1.69; 44/144 and 69/169; 1188 − 250…300; amounts 159/267/362/449 g) was checked by calculation on 2026-11-08.