Brandwave

Hill's vs Royal Canin:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Royal Canin had more branded searches than Hill's among kitten food brands in New Zealand. Royal Canin had about 3,150 branded searches, while Hill's had 2,640. Royal Canin made up 34.7% of all kitten food brand searches we track, and Hill's accounted for 29.1%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about kitten food brands, both Hill's and Royal Canin appeared in all five answers. Royal Canin was mentioned before Hill's in three out of four answers.

Among kitten food brands in New Zealand in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Royal Canin, about 19% more searches than Hill's

Royal Canin 3.1K searchesHill's 2.6K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both are mentioned in every answer we collected.

Hill's in 5 of 5Royal Canin in 5 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Royal Canin, named ahead of Hill's in 3 of 4 answers

Royal Canin first in 3Hill's first in 1

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Top kitten food brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Hill's and Royal Canin showed up in all five answers. Royal Canin was listed before Hill's in three of them.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Royal Canin1st
  2. Hill's2nd
  3. Purina3rd
  4. Whiskas4th

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Royal Canin5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Hill's5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Purina4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Whiskas1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about kitten food brands

5 answers

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 21, 2026.

Is Hill's or Royal Canin more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Hill's and Royal Canin by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all four kitten food brands we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

Hill's and Royal Canin among kitten food brands in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for Royal Canin, Hill's. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthRoyal CaninHill'sWhiskasPurina
Oct 202537.4%28.9%26.2%7.4%
Nov 202534.4%32.5%24.2%8.8%
Dec 202538%24.8%27.4%9.8%
Jan 202635.1%22.6%30.7%11.5%
Feb 202635.4%25.3%30%9.3%
Mar 202636.2%28.2%26.2%9.5%
Apr 202637.2%24.8%28.1%9.9%
May 202634.3%27.1%28.1%10.5%
Jun 202633.6%27.5%28.5%10.5%
Jul 202633.9%23.6%32.7%9.8%
Aug 202634.3%26%31.5%8.2%
Sep 202634.7%29.1%28%8.2%

How has the Hill's and Royal Canin comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings
  • Royal Canin was ahead of Hill's in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Hill's’ share of searches among kitten food brands in New Zealand moved from 28.9% to 29.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 2.4K to 2.6K.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Royal Canin’s share of searches among kitten food brands in New Zealand moved from 37.4% to 34.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 3.1K.

How did search popularity change for New Zealand kitten food brands in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. In September 2026, Hill's overtook Whiskas to rank 2nd among kitten food brands in New Zealand, with 29.1% of the searches.

  2. Royal Canin’s share of searches among kitten food brands in New Zealand has gained ground for 3 months in a row, from 33.6% to 34.7% in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

16 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Hill's’ and Royal Canin’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Hill's

11 branded search terms

  • hill's
  • hills
  • hills biome
  • hills derm complete
  • hills digestive care
  • hills gastrointestinal biome
  • hills metabolic
  • hills metabolic mobility
  • hills prescription diet
  • hills puppy food
  • hills science diet

Royal Canin

5 branded search terms

  • royal canin
  • royal canin gi
  • royal canin hypo
  • royal canin kitten
  • royalcanin

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among kitten food brands

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