Common Customer Complaints About Pet Food Packaging and How to Fix Them
6/29/20263 min read
For pet food brands, the biggest fear isn't that products won't sell — it's that complaints start pouring in after shipments go out.
Packaging-related complaints are among the easiest to escalate. A bag that won't open, or an off-putting odor, is enough to make consumers doubt your brand.
We've reviewed the 4 most common packaging complaints in the pet food industry, backed by real cases, and outlined the solutions.
Complaint 1: The Seal Won't Open / Tears the Bag
“Your bag design is flawed. I struggled to open it for ages, finally used scissors, and the plastic shreds fell right into the food."
This type of complaint is especially common among elderly consumers and women. A bag that won't open easily is enough to leave a negative impression of your brand.
Root Cause:Poorly designed easy-tear feature — either the laser scoring isn't deep enough, or the tear direction doesn't align with the film's orientation. As a result, consumers can't tear in a straight line and end up ripping the bag itself.
Solution: Control the laser easy-tear score depth at 50% of the PET layer thickness, with the tear direction perpendicular to the film orientation. For large-size bags, it is recommended to add easy-tear notches on both the left and right sides.
Complaint 2: Zipper Won't Seal / Loss of Airtightness
"The zipper worked fine when I first bought it, but after a few days it won't seal anymore, and the food has gone stale."
Zipper bags cost more than regular bags, and consumers are willing to pay extra for the convenience of repeated opening and closing. If it fails after just a few uses, consumers won't blame the zipper — they'll blame the brand.
Root Cause:The zipper itself isn't broken. It's the oil and crumbs from the kibble that get trapped in the track, preventing the slider from reaching the end and locking properly. This isn't a quality defect — it's a structural design issue that needs to be upgraded specifically for pet food characteristics.
Solution: Switch to a double-track zipper, increase the distance between the zipper and the bag opening appropriately, and add "easy-tear notches" at the opening, etc.
Complaint 3: Packaging Odor / "Plastic Smell" in the Food
"I smelled the bag and there was a chemical odor. I'm afraid to feed it to my pet."*
This is the most direct breakdown of trust. Once consumers believe your product is "unsafe," the cost of rebuilding confidence is extremely high. Although this complaint accounts for a relatively small percentage, whenever it occurs, it is considered a serious complaint.
Root Cause: First, solvent residue — solvents not completely evaporated during printing or lamination. Second, low molecular weight substances migrating from low-grade PE resin.
Solution: Require suppliers to test for solvent residue in every batch, select low-odor PE resin, and ensure adequate curing time during the lamination process.
Complaint 4: Bag Inflation / Bulging
"The bag arrived puffed up like it was filled with air. My first thought was that it had spoiled — fermented — even turned toxic."
This complaint is especially common among high-fat dry foods and baked kibble.
Root Cause: High-fat products continuously oxidize during storage, generating carbon dioxide. The internal pressure rises, and without a one-way degassing valve installed, the gas has no way to escape.
Solution: For high-fat products, install a one-way degassing valve, and monitor the degree of fat oxidation to reduce gas production at the source. For high-fat products, nitrogen-flushed packaging is recommended to lower residual oxygen levels inside the bag. Customer complaints are not resolved by simply "sending a replacement bag."
Only by identifying the root cause can you solve the problem once and for all.
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