- 35% protein
- most organ meat
Beef
Most dogs, most days.
Beef with kidney, liver and bone powder, so it carries the most organ meat of the three. If you cannot decide, decide this.
Contains fish. Not for dogs that react to beef or fish.
500g and 1kg
Pre-launch sample program
95% meat. Now we need 90 dogs.
Nikyu is air dried dog food from New Zealand, and the recipe is not locked yet. 90 pet parents try it before we launch in 2027, and tell us what to change.
Samples ship mid November. Not everyone gets one.
- 95% meat Meat, organ and bone, plus fish protein
- New Zealand made Air dried there, with New Zealand meats
- Green-lipped mussel Joint support, in all three recipes
- No middlemen 20 to 40% off the usual markup
Three recipes at launch
Same 95% meat, same air drying, same green-lipped mussel. What changes is the main meat, and which dog it suits.
95% is how much of the bag is meat. The protein figure is the reading on the finished food. Every recipe also contains fish, as hydrolysed fish protein.
For dogs with a job
- 45% protein
- chicken, skin, liver
Chicken
For the dog that is never quite done.
The highest protein of the three. Working dogs, sport dogs, and the ones that treat a walk as a warm up.
Contains fish. Not for dogs that react to chicken or fish.
500g and 1kg
Lamb and fish
- 35% protein
- lamb, hoki, salmon
Fish & Lamb
For the dog that always goes for the fish.
Lamb, hoki and salmon, with lamb kidney, liver and bone. The one to pick if your dog already likes fish.
Contains fish. Not for dogs that react to lamb or fish.
500g for now
Sample testers are assigned a recipe. If your dog cannot eat one of the main meats, tell us on the form. Every recipe contains fish. Join the waitlist
What air drying actually does
Air drying removes the moisture slowly with warm air, so the meat stays dense and recognisable. No extruder, no starch binder, no freezer.
- Warm air, over hours
- The moisture comes out slowly, instead of at high heat and pressure.
- Down to 13% moisture
- Dry enough to keep in a cupboard for 21 to 24 months sealed, and 8 weeks once you open it.
- Meal or topper
- Feed it as the whole bowl, or scatter it over what your dog already eats.
How it compares
Five ways to feed a dog, and what each one asks of you.
Scroll the table sideways to compare.
| Compared on | Nikyu air dried | Dry kibble | Raw, frozen | Freeze dried | Home cooked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrition | Gently air dried, 95% meat. No grain, corn, wheat or soy. | High heat extrusion. Nutrients lost in the process are added back afterwards. | Uncooked, so nothing is lost to heat. | Frozen then vacuum dried, with little heat involved. | Only as good as the recipe, and the balance is on you. |
| Convenience | Scoop and serve. | Scoop and serve. | Thaw ahead, handle and clean up carefully. | Usually rehydrated before serving. | Shop, cook, portion, repeat. |
| Storage | Shelf stable. Cupboard is fine. | Shelf stable. Cupboard is fine. | Freezer space, and a plan for thawing. | Shelf stable. Cupboard is fine. | Fridge for a few days, or portion and freeze. |
| Cost | 3 out of 4 on cost | 1 out of 4 on cost | 2 out of 4 on costmore if it comes pre portioned | 4 out of 4 on cost | Variesingredients plus your time |
Cost is a rough ranking against each other, not a price list. Nikyu prices are published before launch, not after you have committed to anything.
Not everything here is a competitor. If you cook for your dog, air dried works as a meat topper on the nights there is no time to do it properly.
95% meat. Here is the other 5%.
Most brands lead with the meat number and go quiet about the rest. So here is what makes up both.
- 95% meat
- 5% the other ingredients below
What the 95% is made of
All of it is meat. Most is whole meat, organ and bone, about 86 to 89% depending on the recipe. The rest, about 6 to 9%, is our natural flavour: hydrolysed fish protein, made in-house in New Zealand by our manufacturer using enzymatic hydrolysis from 100% fish meat.
Contains fish. Our natural flavour is hydrolysed fish protein, and it is in every recipe, including Beef and Chicken. The printed packs list it as natural flavour. If your dog reacts to fish, this is not the food for them.
Why it is in there, in our supplier’s words:
“Produced in-house from 100% meat-based ingredients using natural processes, these enhancers have proven results in feeding trials.”
The other 5%
- New Zealand green-lipped mussel
- For joint support. It is in all three recipes.
- Inulin
- A prebiotic fibre that feeds the good bacteria in the gut.
- Apple pomace fibre
- Fibre that also binds the air dried pieces together, in place of grain or glycerin binders.
- Vitamins and minerals
- The full premix, taurine included. This is what makes the food complete and balanced, rather than only a topper. Sourced internationally.
- Sunflower lecithin
- An emulsifier that keeps the fats evenly distributed. Sunflower, not soy.
- Natural preservatives and antioxidants
- Citric acid and buffered white distilled vinegar as preservatives. Mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract as antioxidants.
Not in the bag
- No grain
- No corn
- No wheat
- No soy
- No artificial flavours
- Non-GMO
Why New Zealand
We could have had this food made almost anywhere. Most air dried pet food is made wherever it is cheapest to make. We went to New Zealand and stayed there, for four reasons.
- A clean country, and it shows up in the foodPasture, water and air that the rest of the world already buys New Zealand food for. Livestock there graze in the open for most of the year, because the climate allows it rather than because a brand decided it sounded good.
- Regulated by MPI, not by usNew Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries sets the biosecurity and quality rules for animal products made and exported there, among the strictest in the world. That oversight is not something we granted ourselves, and it applies whether anyone is watching or not.
- Real meat, and one thing you can only get thereWhole meat, organ and bone, rather than rendered meal or agricultural by product. Plus New Zealand green lipped mussel for joint support, in all three recipes. It is native to New Zealand waters, which is a large part of why the food is made where it is.
Then it ships to Singapore direct. We removed the middlemen, not the meat.
The sample is free. Your feedback is the price.
We are not giving food away to grow a mailing list. We need 90 dogs to eat it, and 90 pet parents to tell us honestly how it went.
- 90trial packs in total
- 150gin each pack
- Mid Novwhen packs ship
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Join the waitlist
Tell us about your dog, what they eat now, and anything they react to. It takes a couple of minutes.
-
We pick 90 testers
We choose a spread of sizes, ages and current diets, so the results mean something. Not everyone gets a pack.
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Tell us what your dog thought
A short feedback form once your dog has tried it. Honest answers can still change the recipe before launch.
Recipes are assigned, not chosen. If your dog cannot eat one of the main meats, tell us on the form. Every recipe contains fish, so if your dog reacts to fish, this sample is not for them.
Put your dog forward
A couple of minutes of questions. The more we know about your dog, the better we can choose testers and read the results.
- We choose our 90 testers in early November. 90 trial packs, so not every dog is picked.
- If yours is, we email you before packs ship in mid November.
- Your answers stay with Nikyu. We use them to choose testers and plan the launch.
Why I started Nikyu
In Singapore I kept running into the same question from pet parents: why does good food cost this much?
Vets recommended premium food. But premium often meant paying for the packaging and the marketing. After months of digging, I found the answer sitting in the supply chain: importers, distributors, regional markups, retail margin. By the time a bag reached the shelf here, the price had very little to do with what was inside it.
Then on a trip to New Zealand I saw how much genuinely good pet food was being made there, and what it cost at the source. So the idea became simple: work directly with the maker, and cut out everyone in between.
That is Nikyu. Air-dried in New Zealand, meat-first, shipped straight to Singapore. Three recipes to start.
I am not trying to be the cheapest bag on the shelf. I am trying to be the one where you can see what you are paying for: the food, not the four companies it passed through on the way here.
The name comes from the Japanese word for paw. And yes, it also sounds like meat (Niku).
Nikyu is not finished. The recipe is not locked, and I would rather build this with pet parents than for them. So tell me honestly what your dog thought. Then tell me which groomer you trust, which café actually means it when it says dog-friendly, where you walk on a Sunday morning. I want Nikyu to be the group chat as much as the food bowl. So come and join me in our Telegram group!
Questions, answered
Anything else? Email mj@nikyupet.sg or ask in the Telegram group.
When does Nikyu launch?
We are launching in 2027. Sample packs go out first, in mid November, so testers get to try it and tell us what to change before launch.
Is it a complete meal or a topper?
Either. Every recipe is formulated to meet the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages, so it can be the whole bowl. It also works scattered over what your dog already eats, if you just want more meat in there.
How much should I feed?
As a complete meal, per day:
| Dog weight | Daily amount |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5kg | 25 to 80g |
| 5 to 10kg | 80 to 130g |
| 10 to 20kg | 130 to 220g |
| 20 to 30kg | 220 to 300g |
Air dried food is dense, about 410 kcal per 100g, so the bowl will look smaller than you are used to with kibble. Adjust to keep your dog lean. Puppies, and pregnant or nursing dogs, may need more, and puppies do best on 2 to 3 meals a day. Always leave out fresh water.
Over 30kg? Email mj@nikyupet.sg and we will work it out with you.
How do I switch from their current food?
Over about a week, mixing Nikyu into what they eat now:
| Days | In the bowl |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | A quarter Nikyu, three quarters current food |
| 3 and 4 | Half and half |
| 5 and 6 | Three quarters Nikyu, a quarter current food |
| 7 onwards | All Nikyu |
Work out amounts by weight from the feeding guide rather than by scoop, because air dried food is much denser than kibble. Some dogs take longer, up to 10 days. Stools can be a little softer while they adjust. If that lasts, go back a step and move more slowly, and check with your vet if anything worries you.
With the 150g trial pack, mix it into their usual food rather than switching over completely.
How do I store it, and how long does it keep?
Somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sunlight. Sealed, it keeps for 21 to 24 months. Once opened, reseal the pouch and use it within 8 weeks.
What happens to my details?
They are stored in our Shopify store and used for two things: choosing testers, and contacting you about the sample and the launch. You can unsubscribe from any of our emails, or email mj@nikyupet.sg and we will remove your details.
90 packs. One of them could be your dog’s.
Samples ship mid November. Tell us about your dog, and we will be in touch if they are picked.
Join the sample waitlist
Free to join. No payment details.