A claim by a pet food supplier that its products were “fresh, home-cooked meals” has been ruled as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ASA has told Dogmates Ltd, who produce the Butternut Box brand, that the advertisement on its website must not appear again in its current form.

It sated: “We told Dogmates Ltd t/a Butternut Box to ensure that their future advertising did not mislead by implying a product was created in a home kitchen when that was not the case.”

The ASA had received a complaint challenging whether the claim "home-cooked meals" was misleading.

In response Dogmates Ltd informed the ASA their business originated in a home kitchen where their recipes were developed and it would be possible to recreate their dishes using equipment designed for use in the home. At the time of the complaint, their production was done in a rented kitchen and all their meals were run in small batches, with each part of the process being completed by hand. They said the kitchen was specifically designed for small-food businesses to run and scale up their production.

Butternut Box said their dog food could clearly be distinguished from the categories of wet (canned) food and dry food, which were not possible to produce at home. It could also be distinguished from raw dog food as they minced their meats and mixed them with their dry ingredients, filled them into a sealed pouch and gently cooked the food.

They said their food did not belong to any of those existing categories of dog food; they felt "home-cooked" was the most appropriate way to describe their food.

Butternut Box provided the results of a survey they ran by asking 500 dog owners what language could be used to describe their product.

They proposed to amend their website so that the claim was qualified on the home page. They also proposed to create a page that provided further information on their product, which included an explanation on how the food was produced.

The ASA considered that consumers would interpret the term “home-cooked” to mean that Butternut Box’s products were prepared within a residential kitchen.

In its ruling the ASA stated: “We considered the evidence provided by Butternut Box. We acknowledged the process followed in the preparation of the food and the fact that each step was completed by hand. We also recognised that they sought to differentiate their product from other types of dog food available on the market. However, the product was produced in a rented commercial kitchen and while the processes used could all be replicated in a residential kitchen, the commercial environment in which the food was produced was not one that consumers would readily associate with the claim “home-cooked”.

“We noted the survey conducted by Butternut Box. The results showed that 207 of 500 participants described their food as “home-cooked” or “homemade”. However, participants were only shown images of the food and an explanation that it was dog food sold online. Participants were not shown how the food was produced and the results showed that the majority in fact described the food as something other than “home-cooked” or “homemade”.

“While we welcomed Butternut Box’s attempts to provide further clarification on the product on their website, we did not consider their proposed amendments sufficient to alter the overall impression that the food was produced in a residential kitchen.

“Therefore, because Butternut Box’s product was not prepared in a residential kitchen, we considered the claim ‘home-cooked’ was misleading.”

The ASA ruling can be viewed by clicking here