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Crave vs. Vital Essentials

In this comparison article for Crave vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Crave and Vital Essentials, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this Vital Essentials vs Crave comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Crave Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Crave

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

Crave Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	37.8%	52.2%
Crude Fat	18.9%	28.7%
Crude Fiber	4.0%	4.1%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	53.7%	53.7%
Crude Fat	26.4%	31.0%
Crude Fiber	4.5%	5.6%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Dogs require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Twelve of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining ten are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these ten essential amino acids.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more protein than Crave. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 14.37% more protein. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials and Crave provide roughly the same amount of protein.

Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Fats are an absolutely vital component of a balanced canine diet. Not only do fats provide energy, but they also serve important roles in the normal development and function of your dog's body. For example, fats help dogs produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among many other significant functions.

Vital Essentials dry dog foods clearly provides more fat than Crave. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 9.77%, which is a significant amount. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 4.56% more).

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet dog food, Vital Essentials and Crave also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Crave Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	44.7%	54.0%
Crude Fat	19.6%	27.5%
Crude Fiber	4.7%	5.1%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	53.0%	50.6%
Crude Fat	26.4%	18.8%
Crude Fiber	4.9%	2.5%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Cats require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Eleven of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining eleven are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these eleven essential amino acids.

On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 9.32% more protein than Crave recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of Crave and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Crave typically provides a little more protein (about 2.43% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

Fats help with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
Slow the growth of yeast infections
Prevent or reduce the likelihood of certain heart problems.
Aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.

There is a relatively large difference between the fat content of Vital Essentials and Crave. On average, Crave dry cat food recipes contain 7.98% less fat than Vital Essentials recipes. In addition, Crave wet cat foods also provide more fat than Vital Essentials wet foods.

Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, Crave typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.49% more).

Crave Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Crave.

Pea Protein

Pork Plasma

Caramel Color

Tomato Pomace

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Crave.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Crave & Vital Essentials?

According to our records, Crave has never been recalled.

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
April 16, 2018: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Per Pound	$2.37	$37.19
Per Calorie	$0.0014	$0.0186

Dry Cat Food	Crave	Vital Essentials
Per Pound	$3.58	$39.03
Per Calorie	$0.0021	$0.0200

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding Crave or Vital Essentials, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for Crave or Vital Essentials will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Crave and Vital Essentials. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.

Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy Crave Pet Foods

You can purchase Crave pet foods from the following stores:

7 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:

47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	Crave	Vital Essentials
Dry Dog Food	4 Recipes	None
Wet Dog Food	8 Recipes	None
Dog Treats	None	30 Treats
Dry Cat Food	5 Recipes	None
Wet Cat Food	10 Recipes	None
Cat Treats	None	8 Treats