Hello raw food curious people! We are nearing the end of this month's blog series, on raw food diets and brands that Braxton's carries. Next week we will close this series with a final summary of raw diets and answer some Frequently Asked Questions. This week, we are going to wrap up the last three brands that Braxton's currently carries which in terms of value, are at the top of our chart. We want to introduce Small Batch Pets, My Perfect Pet, and Instinct Pet Foods.

We would like to express that there are many more raw pet food brands out their, and just because Braxton's chooses not to carry them does not make them any better or worse for your pet. Braxton's has carefully chosen the brands we carry based on a few factors such as: company ethics, product uniqueness, and value. All of these are important for us, and we want to provide you with the same values we admire in this industry.

Small Batch

Small Batch Pet is a small, family owned company founded in 2005 in San Francisco, CA. They started their endeavor to develop a unique type of raw pet food inspired by the wonderful local and sustainable resources all around us. Every pet has the right to the highest quality ingredients, which they believe every pet deserves: organic herbs and vegetables, hormone and antibiotic-free meats, and only pure honest supplements like organic kelp and bee pollen. They don't strive to be the most successful pet food company; rather, they aim to be the greatest at what they do. Small Batch thinks that your pets are entitled to consume genuine meals, which is why they only obtain all of their ingredients from local farmers whom they know and trust—farms that care for the land in order that future generations may thrive.

My Perfect Pet

My Perfect Pet was founded in 2007, after owner Karen Neola was heartbroken at the loss of her yellow lab Hunter. The headlines announced the greatest pet food recall in history after just a few weeks, and it was her wake-up call to what was really in the meals she fed her pets. She set out to change pet health and longevity through better nutrition and diets, as well as the development of a pet food formulation that incorporated only fresh, whole, natural, and safe compounds for her own pets. Karen studied and developed her recipe for years, collaborating with nutritionists, veterinarians, breeders, pet stores, and restaurant food suppliers to develop the ideal combination of all-natural fresh restaurant-quality components that give maximum nutrition with the least processing.

All of their diets are sourced in the United States, with the exception of lamb, which may originate from New Zealand or Australia and yet meets their high standards. Every supplement is individually sourced for quality and contribution to nutrient profile. All of their products are prepared in their own commercial kitchen as to maintain the highest possible standards. They prepare their pet food products with the same care you use when preparing meals for your own family.

Instinct

Instinct Pet Food was founded in 2002 and has been producing frozen and freeze-dried raw pet food in their company-owned Lincoln, Nebraska facilities. Instinct's mission is to transform pet's life through nutrition. Instinct has invested a lot of money into the science of raw food. Their first raw recipes were developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska and PhD-level nutritionists. Today, their team of experts have over 50 years of combined experience in pet food and nutrition.

The Difference

Process "Kill Steps"

To process dangerous bacteria from their foods, Instinct Pet Foods uses HPP similar to a few other brands we referenced earlier like; Stella & Chewy's and Primal. Small Batch and My Perfect Pet lightly cook their proteins to a safe temperature. They bake each of the meats separately, cooking each only to the FDA minimum required temperature for that specific ingredient. They add the vegetables separately, to preserve all the nutrients in their natural state, along with heat sensitive enzymes and other nutrients that go far beyond just the essential nutrients listed in the AAFCO profiles. My Perfect Pet shares this image to the right on their website which shows the processing temperatures.

Nutrition

Instinct and My Perfect Pet do not exclusively use organic products which all of our other brands including Small Batch do. My Perfect Pet offers specialty diets that are low Phosphorus for dogs that have been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and need a diet with lower phosphorus levels. Here are the compared beef proteins from each brand. As you can see, My Perfect Pet has significantly lower fat content than the other two brands which is the largest difference.

Value

When it comes to value, these three brands are at the top of the budget. At Braxton's, the Small Batch Beef Patties is a 6lb bag at $45.79 which makes it $7.61 per pound. Instinct's Beef Patties are a 6lb bag for $39.19 which makes it $6.53 per pound. Finally, My Perfect Pet's Beef formula, comes in a 3.5lb bag with 7 individually wrapped meal bars in that retails at Braxton's for $37.79 which is $10.79 per pound. Braxton's also participates in My Perfect Pet's frequent buyer program of Buy 12 get 1 Free, which cuts the overall cost per pound to $9.97.

Well that's a wrap on all of Braxton's raw pet food brands! We have discussed brands, company ethics, nutrition and value to give you all of the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. As always, feel free to pull a Braxton's associate aside to pick their brain if you have any more questions. (We love chatting about nutrition!) Next week we are going to review professional opinions on raw foods, talk about how to transition your pet, and answer a few questions that have been submitted by some of our customers already. Was there a stand out brand that caught your eye? Let us know in the comments below!

(Disclaimer: Price analysis is as of 6/15/2022 and is subject to change)