Review: Fresh Pet

With all of the low-quality commercial canned and dry dog foods currently on the market, it's nice to see a new company put a product onto the market that has some promise.

One of those companies is FreshPet

The company currently markets two brands of dog foods, Deli Fresh and Homestyle Select, both of which are made at their company in Pennsylvania. Unlike most dog food companies, this one is not a huge business - it's a small upstart company that is just barely two years old and that manufactures on a much smaller scale than big name companies such as Iams. Their products are dog-food rolls made from fresh ingredients that have to be refrigerated until they are ready for use, similar to the Natural Balance Dog Food Rolls.

FreshPet's websites are easy to navigate and provide a lot of information about the company and its product, as well as links to pet food recall information and other sites. The ingredients lists for their products are easy to read and are even split into three sections: ingredients, vitamins, and minerals. If I have any gripes about the ingredients lists is that they are not completely grain or rice free, but at least none of the products use wheat or corn (two common allergy triggers). They also include no by-products.

One might wonder why in the world I might review a pet food company since I actually feed raw and think that raw is the best solution for *many* (but not all!) dogs. It's easy. It's because of what a company representative told me:

"We understand Homemade Diets and Raw Diets are probably a better source of nutrition than commercial pet food. Our products are aimed towards pet owners who wish to provide their dogs with a nutritious meal but do not have the time or have concerns with raw/homemade diets."

I think that this company has a really great niche in the market, providing quality food made from fresh ingredients to owners who can't feed a raw or homemade diet, or who simply don't have the time, space, or knowledge to do so. And that deserves a thumbs up.