Independent NZ review of Ivory Coat dog food — ingredients tested, pros and cons weighed, and verdict on whether it justifies the price for Kiwi dog owners.
Last updated
By Jess Aldridge 
Ivory Coat is a decent Australian kibble that charges a bit more than it probably needs to. The ingredient lists are clean, the grain-free options are among the better-executed in the NZ mid-premium range, and the brand mostly avoids the worst marketing sins of the category.
The catch: at full retail price, it sits right at the top of the kibble bracket, and its closest competitor — Black Hawk — delivers comparable nutrition for roughly a dollar less per day. That gap stings more if you’ve got a large dog.
PawPick rating: 7.5/10 — genuinely good kibble that earns its premium in some situations and has to be talked into it in others.
Australian brand, growing NZ presence. You’ll find it at Animates and Petstock in most main centres, plus PetDirect and Pet Circle online.
The pitch: real named meat first, no artificial additives, grain-free options for those who want them, and functional extras like probiotics and joint support built in. Look, it’s not competing with ZIWI Peak or K9 Natural — those are different foods at different price points entirely. Ivory Coat’s actual competition is Black Hawk and, to a lesser extent, Purina Pro Plan.
Retailer availability varies, but you’ll typically find:
The brand’s main marketing focus. Recipes include lamb and sardine, chicken, turkey and duck, and ocean fish — all using sweet potato, peas, or tapioca instead of grains. These tend to run slightly higher in protein and fat than the grain-inclusive line.
Brown rice as the main carbohydrate. Chicken and brown rice, lamb and brown rice, turkey and brown rice. Usually a touch cheaper per kilo, and perfectly appropriate for the vast majority of dogs. Grains are not the enemy — no matter what Instagram tells you.
Puppy formulas lean grain-free with higher protein. Senior recipes adjust calories and bump up joint support. Ivory Coat covers the standard lifecycle segments without doing anything unusual. For a cross-brand comparison of puppy food, see our best puppy food in NZ guide.
Canned options exist but are inconsistently stocked in NZ. Not the brand’s main event here.
Ivory Coat is honest with its labels, which is more than I can say for a lot of kibble. Named protein sources up front, no mystery meat meals, no artificial colours or preservatives — the bones of a good formulation.
What it does well:
What to keep in mind:
None of that is unusual for the category. Ivory Coat is doing well within the real constraints of kibble manufacturing. Just worth keeping perspective on what you’re buying.
Typical Ivory Coat dry food ranges:
Grain-free recipes tend to sit higher on both protein and fat. Whether that makes a material difference depends on your dog’s size, activity level, and health — not on how the number looks on the bag. Talk to your vet if you’re managing a dog with specific dietary needs.
Daily feeding cost for a 20kg adult dog:
For context:
| Brand | Type | Typical cost/day (20kg dog) |
|---|---|---|
| ZIWI Peak | Air-dried | $9–12 |
| K9 Natural | Freeze-dried | $12–18 |
| Ivory Coat Grain Free | Kibble | $3.50–4.50 |
| Black Hawk Original | Kibble | $2.50–3.50 |
| Purina Pro Plan | Kibble | $2–3 |
That $1/day gap between Ivory Coat and Black Hawk sounds modest. On a 30kg dog over a year, it’s around $365. The ingredient differences between them are real but not dramatic — which means buying in bulk during retailer promotions (Animates and Petstock both run regular specials) is worth doing if Ivory Coat is your pick.
Check price at Pet Direct →
This is the comparison NZ owners actually face. Both are Australian-made, both sit in the mid-premium kibble space, both are well-stocked nationally.
Ivory Coat’s grain-free range is the stronger of the two if that’s specifically what you need — cleaner labels, slightly higher protein. For everything else, the gap is smaller than the price difference suggests. Black Hawk wins on everyday value, especially for larger dogs where feeding costs compound fast.
The honest answer: compare the specific recipes for your dog rather than the brand names. A good-fit recipe beats a better-logo recipe every time. I feed Māui Black Hawk — not because it’s objectively “better,” but because the lamb and rice recipe agrees with his stomach and the cost is sustainable on a staffy’s appetite.
Different foods entirely. ZIWI Peak is air-dried, NZ-made, built around extremely high meat content, and costs three to four times as much per day. If you can budget ZIWI comfortably, it’s a meaningfully superior food. If you can’t, Ivory Coat is a decent everyday kibble — just not the same thing in a cheaper bag.
Pro Plan is usually cheaper and has real formulation depth behind it — feeding trials, veterinary science backing, consistent quality control. Ivory Coat has cleaner-looking ingredient lists and stronger appeal to owners who want to know exactly what’s in the bag.
For most healthy dogs, both are fine. Pro Plan wins on proven formulation rigour. Ivory Coat wins on ingredient transparency. Pick your priority.
Good match:
Less ideal:
Bigger bags and subscription pricing are the levers worth pulling if you’re settled on Ivory Coat. The per-kilo cost drops noticeably.
Buy on Pet Direct NZ →
Ivory Coat is genuinely good kibble. The ingredients are clean, the formulations are sensible, and it avoids the worst of the mid-range pet food marketing theatre.
The real question is whether it earns the premium over Black Hawk. For some households — smaller dogs, owners who specifically want grain-free, people who want to read a label they can actually understand — it does. For others, the daily cost difference outweighs what is, in practice, a modest ingredient advantage.
If you want the cleanest-label kibble in NZ without jumping to air-dried or freeze-dried pricing, Ivory Coat belongs on the shortlist. Just run the maths on bag size before committing.
Related reading:
This review reflects the NZ market as at March 2026 and should be revisited as formulas, pricing, and stockists shift.
Ivory Coat is a solid mid-to-premium kibble with generally good ingredient transparency. It sits above supermarket brands on quality but below ultra-premium NZ options like ZIWI Peak or K9 Natural. For most healthy dogs, it is a reliable everyday choice.
Some Ivory Coat recipes are grain-free, using alternatives like sweet potato and peas. The brand also offers grain-inclusive recipes with ingredients like brown rice. Neither approach is automatically better — it depends on your dog.
For a 20kg adult dog, Ivory Coat typically costs around $3 to $4.50 per day in New Zealand, depending on recipe, bag size, and retailer. That puts it slightly above Black Hawk and well below air-dried or freeze-dried premium foods.
They are close competitors. Ivory Coat tends to lean slightly more premium in its ingredient positioning and pricing. Black Hawk usually wins on value and mainstream availability. The best pick depends on the specific recipe your dog needs, not the brand name.
Ivory Coat is available at Animates, Petstock, PetDirect, Pet Circle, and some independent pet retailers across New Zealand. Online ordering with home delivery is widely available.
PawPick