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Wellness vs Nature's Recipe

Wellness vs. Nature's Recipe

In this comparison article for Wellness vs Nature's Recipe, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Wellness and Nature's Recipe, 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 Nature's Recipe vs Wellness comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Wellness Review Page or Nature's Recipe Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Nature's Recipe vs. Wellness

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.

Wellness Dog Food vs. Nature's Recipe Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodWellnessNature's Recipe
Crude Protein34.6%27.6%
Crude Fat15.8%13.5%
Crude Fiber5.6%4.8%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodWellnessNature's Recipe
Crude Protein41.8%53.9%
Crude Fat24.1%13.5%
Crude Fiber4.9%6.6%

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.

Nature's Recipe dry recipes contain 7.04% less protein than Wellness dry recipes. This difference in protein content is a notable difference between Wellness and Nature's Recipe. In addition, Nature's Recipe wet dog foods also provide more protein than Wellness wet foods.


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

According to our average data, Nature's Recipe typically provides less fat than Wellness. However, this difference is relatively small and doesn't represent a significant difference between the two brands. In addition, Wellness wet dog foods also provide more fat than Nature's Recipe wet foods.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Nature's Recipe and Wellness also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Wellness Pet Food Ingredients vs. Nature's Recipe Pet Food Ingredients

Wellness and Nature's Recipe both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Garlic
Canola Oil
Pea Protein
Brewers Rice
Caramel Color
Garlic Powder
Tomato Pomace
Dried Tomato Pomace
Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Nature's Recipe.

Wheat
Beet Pulp
Canola Meal
Fat Product
Garlic Spice
Soybean Flour
Ground Whole Wheat
Soybean Protein Isolate
Soybean Protein Concentrate
Poultry Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

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

Wellness and Nature's Recipe both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

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

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Nature's Recipe.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Wellness & Nature's Recipe?

Wellness has been recalled 5 times.

  • March 18, 2017: elevated beef throid hormone
  • Feb. 10, 2017: foreign material
  • Oct. 30, 2012: High Moisture
  • May 4, 2012: Salmonella
  • Feb. 28, 2011: Low Levels of Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

According to our records, Nature's Recipe has never been recalled.

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodWellnessNature's Recipe
Per Pound$3.61$1.93
Per Calorie$0.0022$0.0012
Wet Dog FoodWellnessNature's Recipe
Per Pound$6.74$4.91
Per Calorie$0.0140$0.0114

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 Wellness or Nature's Recipe, 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 Wellness or Nature's Recipe will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Wellness and Nature's Recipe. 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 Wellness Pet Foods

You can purchase Wellness pet foods from the following stores:


213 Recipes In-Stock Today

166 Recipes In-Stock Today

172 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Nature's Recipe Pet Foods

You can purchase Nature's Recipe pet food products from these retailers:


27 Recipes In-Stock Today

10 Recipes In-Stock Today

10 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductWellnessNature's Recipe
Dry Dog Food59 Recipes19 Recipes
Wet Dog Food53 Recipes17 Recipes
Dog Treats25 TreatsNone
Dry Cat Food19 RecipesNone
Wet Cat Food74 RecipesNone
Cat Treats5 TreatsNone

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