As pet parents, we want the best for our fur babies. We check what they eat, look at the ingredients, and naturally wonder if the food we’re putting in their bowls is really as good as it claims to be.
With so many pet food products promising “natural” ingredients, better digestion, healthier coats, and other benefits, choosing the right food can sometimes feel overwhelming. After all, our pets can’t tell us what they like or what makes them feel good, so we have to do the homework for them.
According to the 2025 ADM Pet Insights Report, pet parents are becoming more mindful of what goes beyond the claims printed on the front of a pet food package. More are looking for information about the ingredients themselves, including where they come from and how they are sourced.
For pet lovers who want to make more informed choices, transparency in pet food is becoming just as important as the ingredient list itself.
“True transparency goes beyond simply listing ingredients. Pet parents are increasingly interested in understanding where those ingredients come from, how they are sourced, and the standards behind the food they give their pets,” said Romy Sia, Managing Director of Bow & Wow Philippines. “The more information pet parents have, the better they can make choices that are right for their pets and aligned with their values.”
What Does Transparency Really Mean When It Comes to Pet Food?
For many of us, reading a pet food label is already part of being a responsible pet parent. But knowing the ingredients is only one piece of the puzzle.
Open Farm was founded by Jacqueline Prehogan and Isaac Langleben after they rescued their first pugs, Maddie and Bella. Like many pet parents, they wanted to find food that met their expectations not only for nutrition, but also for animal welfare, sustainability, and transparency.
That experience eventually led them to build Open Farm around three core commitments: premium nutrition, animal welfare, and sustainability.
Today, those principles are reflected throughout Open Farm’s products, from ingredient selection to sourcing and production.
What Goes Into Open Farm Pet Food?
Available at Bow & Wow Stores and the Bow & Wow Online Store, Open Farm recipes feature ethically sourced meats as the first ingredient, along with non GMO fruits and vegetables, naturally occurring prebiotic fiber, and natural superfoods.
The brand also follows specific welfare and sustainability standards for its animal proteins. These include pasture raised lamb from New Zealand, crate free pork, pasture raised beef, and sustainably sourced wild caught fish.
For pet parents like us who want to know more about what goes into our pets’ bowls, this level of information can make choosing pet food feel a little less overwhelming.
Traceability Lets Pet Parents Look Beyond the Label
One of the things that makes transparency particularly interesting is being able to trace where ingredients come from.
Open Farm offers a transparency platform where pet parents can enter the lot code found on the back of each bag. This provides information about the ingredients used in that specific batch.
That means pet parents can look beyond general claims on the packaging and get a better understanding of the supply chain behind their pet’s food.
From how ingredients are sourced and raised to how they eventually make their way into the finished product, traceability gives pet parents more visibility into the process.
And honestly, when you’re choosing food for a beloved companion who depends on you for every meal, having more information can bring a little extra peace of mind.
“Pet nutrition is becoming a more holistic conversation,” Sia added. “Pet parents are looking not only at whether it meets their pets’ nutritional needs, but also at the practices behind it. Understanding sourcing, animal welfare, and sustainability gives them a fuller picture of what they are choosing for their companions.”
Helping Pet Parents Make More Confident Choices
For Bow & Wow, transparency is part of a bigger goal: helping pet parents make informed decisions about their pets’ care.
As the pet care market continues to grow, Bow & Wow considers factors such as ingredient quality, sourcing, nutritional standards, and transparency when curating the brands available to pet parents.
By bringing brands like Open Farm into its selection, Bow & Wow aims to give pet lovers access to more options while making it easier to understand what they are feeding their pets.
The same approach extends to its pet care advice. Instead of simply recommending the most expensive option, Bow & Wow’s trained Pet Care Advisors work with pet parents to understand the individual needs of each pet.
Recommendations can take into account formulation, ingredients, sourcing, and production practices, helping pet parents choose food based on what may be appropriate for their own companion.
“Every pet is different, so choosing food should go beyond simply picking the product with the most appealing claims,” Sia concluded. “Our role is to help pet parents understand their options, ask the right questions, and find a food that fits their pet’s individual needs.”
Want to Try Open Farm Before Buying?
If you’re curious about Open Farm but want your pet to try it first, Bow & Wow offers free in store samples of the brand’s Wild Caught Salmon and Homestead Turkey & Chicken Grain Free Kibble recipes.
Pet parents can also explore the full Open Farm Collection through the Bow & Wow Online Store to find recipes suited to their pets’ individual needs.
What Does “Premium” Pet Food Really Mean?
For me, being a pet lover means wanting to be intentional about the little things, especially when it comes to something as important as food.
Today, premium pet nutrition is becoming about more than attractive packaging or a long list of impressive claims. Pet parents increasingly want to know the story behind what goes into their pets’ bowls.
Where did the ingredients come from? How were they sourced? Were animal welfare and sustainability considered? And can the brand actually show us where those ingredients came from?
For Open Farm, that means focusing on traceable ingredients, responsible sourcing, and animal welfare standards. For Bow & Wow, it means making those options and the information behind them more accessible to pet parents.
And for those of us who consider our pets part of the family, having more transparency can make every bowl we serve feel like a more informed choice.
