Pros
- Easiest to purchase, can be found in many supermarkets.
- Vast selection of ready to serve meals, dry food, and DIY recipe packs.
- Zero preservatives or artificial substances.
- Sleek and streamlined website with comprehensive info and facts on nutrition, ingredients used, and more.
- Less expensive than other fresh food brands.
Cons
- Below most subscription-based fresh dog food brands in terms of quality. Scores very low (around 2.1 out of 5) on average in most customer reviews.
- Retail products’ portion sizes are small.
I have researched about fresh dog food for a while now and I can say that Freshpet is one of the pioneers of the commercial fresh dog food market, having been in business since 2006.
Freshpet is one of the best fresh dog food and stands out from most in that its products can be purchased from supermarkets. Freshpet’s dog food can be found in the refrigerated sections of an increasing number of supermarkets, such as Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods.
Being produced for a wider consumer base, Freshpet is more affordable than most other brands. But with mass-production comes a lot of compromises when it comes to quality.
Are these compromises acceptable ones or is Freshpet ultimately a budget brand for pet owners who want a fresher option to grab at the supermarket? Find out in one of the most detailed Freshpet dog food reviews you will find.
Features of Freshpet
Retail Selection
Unlike the vast majority of fresh dog food products, Freshpet is unique in that they have a wide selection of offerings available at mainstream retail stores like Walmart. These products are perhaps the closest you can get to actual fresh food if it was mass-produced.
Their main retail product is their Slice-and-Serve roll. They were designed more to be mixed in with kibble or other food than to be eaten by themselves.
Multiple Product Lines
Freshpet has released seven different lines so far, to serve various types of consumers. Their main line is called Freshpet Select, and includes their slice & serve rolls, dry and wet food, and grain-free food. Freshpet Vital is similar, but is centered on using only non-GMO ingredients. Freshpet Treats is a line of treats focused on being as healthy as possible, Nature’s Fresh is sustainable and locally sourced, and Deli Fresh is protein-rich and enhanced with antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies. Homestyle Creations is their answer to the subscription-based made-to-order dog food service that’s popular today. There’s also a DIY line if you want to cook their food your own way.
Homestyle Creations
Apart from their retail offerings, they also have Homestyle Creations, which is what they call their freshly made meals that are delivered straight to customers’ doors. These recipes are customizable, much like what you would come to expect from subscription-based brands. However, Freshpet doesn’t seem to have a subscription option for this line, meaning you’ll have to keep placing orders.
Diverse Meat Sources
Several of their product lines make use of meats like bison, which reduces the load on the beef industry and thus helps reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Bison is much more sustainable than beef because they produce fewer greenhouse gasses and are better at maintaining ecosystems through grazing. Bison also has a more well-rounded nutrient profile than beef.
No Unwanted Substances
Freshpet dog foods are minimally processed, meaning they employ methods such as vacuum-packaging, but don’t make use of preservatives and other intrusive substances.
Lower Daily Cost
Based on the going rate of their slice & serve products, you can spend as low as $3.33 per day for an average-sized dog, given a 6-pound roll and you feed your pet roughly 1 pound per day. For smaller dogs, this can go even lower at around $2 per day. For context, other brands average at $5, with $2-per-day plans being limited to one or two recipes. If you can effectively mix it in with other food, you can give your dog a decent fresh food experience at an even lower daily cost.
Makes Good Use of Fresh Fruits and Veggies
In order to increase the quality of both their retail and subscription-based offerings, Freshpet fleshes out the nutrient profiles of their recipes by making effective use of fresh fruits and veggies [1]. For example, you can find bright red raspberries and spinach in their salmon recipe. These combinations serve to round out the flavors and nutrition quality of each meal. Many customers even report that this flavor diversity is so good at making dogs clean their bowls that they happily gulp down any medication their owners place in their food, whereas before they would turn their nose up at the slightest hint of such.
Partners With Shelters
Being one of the biggest retail brands out there, Freshpet also donates food to and helps fund animal rescue shelters and animal welfare organizations such as Partners for Pets, 4 Paws for Ability, the Pennsylvania SPCA, and St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center.
Is This The Right Choice For You?
The most common criticism leveled at Freshpet is that it’s just not up to par with some of the best dog food delivery service platforms today. After all, Freshpet is produced for mass consumption, and as such bears all the quality hallmarks of that type of product. Contrast that with products from subscription-based brands, which are made on demand and given particular attention by professional cooks and tweaked per customer specification.
It’s a good attempt at bringing fresh food to the wider consumer market, and it is serviceable enough. But it still doesn’t beat fresh food that was made in a kitchen rather than a production line. Its more premium offerings such as wet food and deli fresh feel the most like freshly made food, but they still fall short.
The great thing about Freshpet products is that they’re relatively low-cost, which is what gave them so much staying power all this time. But for most, the advantages to this brand stop there. While they do have a line of freshly made food, many still say that they prefer other brands that actually specialize in custom made-to-order meals. The fact that they don’t have an option to automate deliveries is a massive dealbreaker though (at least on the surface – if they have that option hidden deep within their website or you have to talk to customer support to arrange something, most customers will simply not bother).
If you want a brand of serviceable fresh food that you can just grab on your trips to the supermarket, Freshpet can be that brand for you. But if public opinion and what we’ve found out about their products is to be believed, that’s really all it can be as a brand. Unless you don’t have much of a budget or fridge space, it would be better to spend a little more for a brand that specializes in making made-to-order fresh meals.
