Who Makes Hill's Science Diet?
Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet are made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive. Colgate acquired Hill's in 1976.
Quick Answer
Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet are made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive Company. Colgate has owned Hill's continuously since 1976.
Hill's pet food for the US market is manufactured at Hill's owned plants in Topeka, Kansas; Emporia, Kansas; Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Richmond, Indiana. Hill's does not use contract manufacturers for its main US dry kibble production; every kibble plant is owned and operated by Hill's.
The Parent Company
Colgate-Palmolive is a Fortune 200 US consumer goods company headquartered in New York City, best known for Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive dish soap, Ajax cleaner, Speed Stick deodorant and Softsoap. It has about 20 billion dollars in annual revenue.
Hill's Pet Nutrition generates around 5 billion dollars of Colgate's revenue and is the most profitable segment inside Colgate, growing meaningfully faster than the core oral care business. Colgate has invested heavily in expanding Hill's manufacturing capacity over the past decade to meet demand for prescription and premium diets.
How Hill's Started
Hill's Pet Nutrition was founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1907 by Burton Hill as a rendering plant. In 1948, veterinarian Mark Morris Sr. partnered with Hill's to produce a special diet for a guide dog named Buddy with kidney disease. That prescription diet was the foundation of the Hill's Prescription Diet line.
Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hill's in 1976 to diversify beyond human consumer products. Colgate expanded Hill's from a small prescription veterinary brand into a global operation with the Science Diet retail line (launched in 1968) alongside Prescription Diet for veterinary channels.
Where Hill's Is Made
Hill's runs four US manufacturing plants: two in Kansas (Topeka and Emporia) and one each in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Richmond, Indiana. Topeka is the historical home site and remains the largest Hill's plant in the world.
Wet food (cans and pouches) is produced at the Hill's canning plant in Emporia and at a smaller wet food line at Topeka. Hill's European product is made at a Hill's plant in Etten-Leur, Netherlands.
Hill's does not use third party contract manufacturers for its core dry kibble; all US dry Science Diet and Prescription Diet is made in Hill's owned plants.
How Hill's Compares To Rivals
Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet compete primarily with Purina Pro Plan / Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets (Nestle) and Royal Canin (Mars). Together the three brands dominate the US veterinary pet food channel.
Hill's is consistently cited as the top vet recommended brand in the US. It backs its position with in house nutrition research at the Hill's Pet Nutrition Center in Topeka and with peer reviewed feeding trials that support clinical claims for weight loss, kidney disease, urinary care and other conditions.
How To Trace Any Product Back To Its Manufacturer
- Read the fine print on the label. US and EU packaging law requires either the manufacturer name or a "distributed by" address. That is your starting point.
- Search the company's SEC filings. Public parent companies list subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in their 10-K annual reports.
- Check the regulator establishment number. For food, drugs, cosmetics, cars and appliances, the plant of origin can often be looked up in public regulatory databases.
- Follow the money. Press releases about acquisitions and joint ventures are the fastest way to spot who really controls a brand today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hill's Science Diet made by Purina? No. Hill's Science Diet is made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, which has been owned by Colgate-Palmolive since 1976. Pro Plan is the Nestle Purina competitor.
Where is Hill's Science Diet manufactured? At Hill's owned plants in Topeka Kansas, Emporia Kansas, Bowling Green Kentucky and Richmond Indiana.
Is Hill's Prescription Diet the same as Science Diet? They come from the same manufacturer but they are separate product lines. Prescription Diet is sold only through veterinarians and covers clinical conditions.
Is Hill's pet food American made? Yes. Hill's manufactures all of its US pet food in the United States at company owned facilities in Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana.
What This Means For The Shopper
Understanding who makes Hill's Science Diet today matters for a few practical reasons. First, corporate ownership tells you who is legally responsible for the product, who handles a warranty claim, and where a safety recall would come from. Second, ownership determines the supply chain: brands owned by the same parent often share components, factories, technology and even entire platforms, which is why you sometimes see nearly identical products under different labels at very different prices.
Third, ownership tells you which alternatives are functionally the same product. Whether it is a paper mill, a contract apparel factory or an auto assembly line, the same site frequently produces for several brands at once under different specifications. That is why store brand and lower priced siblings can be a smart substitute for the marquee Hills Science Diet product when you do not need the marketing.
What To Watch Going Forward
Consumer brand ownership keeps consolidating. In the past five years alone, several major consumer brands (including some that makes Hill's Science Diet) have moved between parent companies through spin offs, sales and joint ventures. Expect more of the same over the next five years as conglomerates rationalize portfolios and as private equity continues to reshape mid cap consumer brands.
If you buy from Hills Science Diet regularly and care about who profits from your purchase, it is worth checking the label, sticker or badge every year or two. Ownership changes are usually announced in trade press but rarely make consumer headlines, so most shoppers miss them until the packaging or branding gets a subtle redesign to reflect the new parent company.
Bottom Line
Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet are made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, a Colgate-Palmolive subsidiary since 1976. It is manufactured in Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana at Hill's owned plants and remains the most vet recommended pet food brand in the United States.