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Essence &
Taste of the Wild
First Auto-Ship
20% OFF
Essence &
Taste of the Wild
First Auto-Ship w/ Code: PAWDIET20
15% OFF
Taste of the Wild
For New Customers w/ Code: AFPAWDIET
Compare Essence To
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Ingredient Reviews
35% OFF
Essence &
Taste of the Wild
First Auto-Ship
20% OFF
Essence &
Taste of the Wild
First Auto-Ship w/ Code: PAWDIET20
15% OFF
Taste of the Wild
For New Customers w/ Code: AFPAWDIET
Essence vs. Taste of the Wild
In this comparison article for Essence vs Taste of the Wild, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Essence and Taste of the Wild, 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 Taste of the Wild vs Essence comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Essence Review Page or Taste of the Wild Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Taste of the Wild vs. Essence
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.
Essence Dog Food vs. Taste of the Wild Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Crude Protein | 40.9% | 32.0% |
| Crude Fat | 19.3% | 17.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.7% | 4.6% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Crude Protein | 46.2% | 45% |
| Crude Fat | 32.6% | 20.6% |
| Crude Fiber | 6.0% | 5.6% |
Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food
Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.
Essence dry dog foods clearly provides more protein than Taste of the Wild. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 8.84%, which is a significant amount. For wet dog foods, Essence and Taste of the Wild provide roughly the same amount of protein.
Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food
Dietary fats serves a multitude of roles in the proper development and function of our canine companions. Here are some of the benefits (not exhaustive):
- Help produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among other critical functions.
- Aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
- Improve skin and coat health
- Improve the palatially of your dog's food
Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet dog foods, Essence provides significantly more fat (about 12.02% more).
As you can see, Taste of the Wild and Essence guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Essence and Taste of the Wild also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.
Essence Cat Food vs. Taste of the Wild Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Crude Protein | 44.1% | 38.4% |
| Crude Fat | 18.5% | 17.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 4.8% | 3.3% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Crude Protein | 46.2% | 44.4% |
| Crude Fat | 31.8% | 16.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 4.8% | 8.3% |
Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food
Protein is an extremely important part of your cat's diet. Without sufficient protein, cats can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.
Taste of the Wild dry recipes contain 5.63% less protein than Essence dry recipes. This difference in protein content is a notable difference between Essence and Taste of the Wild. For wet cat foods, Essence and Taste of the Wild provide roughly the same amount of protein.
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):
- Aid in the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
- Improve the health of skin/coat
- Slow the growth of yeast infections
- Slow the development and spread of certain type of cancers.
- Maintain healthy blood pressure
Taste of the Wild and Essence both provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet cat foods, Essence provides significantly more fat (about 15.15% more).
There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. For wet cat foods, Taste of the Wild typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.48% more).
Essence Pet Food Ingredients vs. Taste of the Wild Pet Food Ingredients
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Taste of the Wild.
Product Safety: Recall History of Essence & Taste of the Wild?
According to our records, Essence has never been recalled.
Taste of the Wild has been recalled once.
- May 5, 2012: Salmonella
Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?
| Dry Dog Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Per Pound | $4.11 | $2.30 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0024 | $0.0014 |
| Dry Cat Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Per Pound | $4.64 | $2.97 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0027 | $0.0018 |
| Wet Dog Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Per Pound | $4.99 | $3.47 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0090 | $0.0085 |
| Wet Cat Food | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Per Pound | $5.98 | $5.72 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0103 | $0.0132 |
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 Essence or Taste of the Wild, 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 Essence or Taste of the Wild will depend on your shopping habits.
Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Essence and Taste of the Wild. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.
- 20% Off First Auto-Ship @ PetFlow (Use Code PAWDIET20)
- 35% Off First Auto-Ship @ Chewy (No Code Required)
- 15% Off The Entire Site @ OnlyNaturalPet (Use Code AFPAWDIET)
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 Essence Pet Foods
You can purchase Essence pet foods from the following stores:
Where To Buy Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
You can purchase Taste of the Wild pet food products from these retailers:
Type Of Pet Foods Available
| Product | Essence | Taste of the Wild |
| Dry Dog Food | 6 Recipes | 16 Recipes |
| Wet Dog Food | 6 Recipes | 5 Recipes |
| Dog Treats | None | None |
| Dry Cat Food | 3 Recipes | 5 Recipes |
| Wet Cat Food | 3 Recipes | 2 Recipes |
| Cat Treats | None | None |
Top Rated Essence Recipes
Top Rated Taste of the Wild Recipes
