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Blue Buffalo vs The Honest Kitchen

Blue Buffalo vs. The Honest Kitchen

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

Guaranteed Analysis: The Honest Kitchen vs. Blue Buffalo

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.

Blue Buffalo Dog Food vs. The Honest Kitchen Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein29.5%29.3%
Crude Fat15.3%15.7%
Crude Fiber6.8%6.3%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein40.0%50.4%
Crude Fat26.2%24.5%
Crude Fiber7.4%5.1%

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.

The Honest Kitchen and Blue Buffalo both provide roughly the same amount of crude protein. For wet dog foods, The Honest Kitchen provides significantly more protein (about 10.40% more).


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.

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fat content of the two brands. With regards to wet dog food, Blue Buffalo and The Honest Kitchen also provide roughly the same amount of crude fat.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Blue Buffalo typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.34% more).

Blue Buffalo Cat Food vs. The Honest Kitchen Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein37.5%40.4%
Crude Fat16.8%23.1%
Crude Fiber6.2%3.5%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Crude Protein45.8%52.0%
Crude Fat24.3%24.6%
Crude Fiber8.1%5.1%

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.

According to our data, The Honest Kitchen guarantees 2.89% more protein than Blue Buffalo. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. In addition, The Honest Kitchen wet cat foods also provide more protein than Blue Buffalo wet foods.


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.

Our analysis shows that The Honest Kitchen guarantees 6.25% more fat than Blue Buffalo dry cat food recipes. For wet cat foods, The Honest Kitchen and Blue Buffalo provide roughly the same amount of fat.


There is a small difference between the fiber content of Blue Buffalo and The Honest Kitchen. We can see that Blue Buffalo guarantees about 2.73% more fiber than The Honest Kitchen. In addition, Blue Buffalo wet cat foods also provide more fiber than The Honest Kitchen wet foods.

Blue Buffalo Pet Food Ingredients vs. The Honest Kitchen Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Blue Buffalo.

Garlic
Caramel
Canola Oil
Pea Protein
Caramel Color
Tomato Pomace
Powdered Cellulose
Dried Tomato Pomace

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by The Honest Kitchen.

Dried Garlic

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 Blue Buffalo.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Blue Buffalo & The Honest Kitchen?

Blue Buffalo has been recalled 9 times.

  • Nov. 25, 2015: Salmonella
  • Nov. 6, 2015: Presence of Propylene Glycol
  • May 31, 2016: Mold
  • March 18, 2017: elevated beef throid hormone
  • Feb. 14, 2017: presence of aluminum
  • March 3, 2017: Foil Seal Packaging Problem
  • Oct. 8, 2010: toxic levels of vitamin D
  • April 19, 2007: Melamine
  • April 26, 2007: Melamine

The Honest Kitchen has been recalled once.

  • Feb. 21, 2013: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Per Pound$3.42$9.66
Per Calorie$0.0021$0.0053
Dry Cat FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Per Pound$5.07$9.67
Per Calorie$0.0031$0.0049
Wet Dog FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Per Pound$5.09$5.73
Per Calorie$0.0100$0.0129
Wet Cat FoodBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Per Pound$7.50$8.41
Per Calorie$0.0153$0.0176

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 Blue Buffalo or The Honest Kitchen, 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 Blue Buffalo or The Honest Kitchen will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Blue Buffalo and The Honest Kitchen. 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 Blue Buffalo Pet Foods

You can purchase Blue Buffalo pet foods from the following stores:


281 Recipes In-Stock Today

135 Recipes In-Stock Today

262 Recipes In-Stock Today

14 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy The Honest Kitchen Pet Foods

You can purchase The Honest Kitchen pet food products from these retailers:


84 Recipes In-Stock Today

26 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

22 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductBlue BuffaloThe Honest Kitchen
Dry Dog Food93 Recipes9 Recipes
Wet Dog Food94 Recipes10 Recipes
Dog Treats50 Treats23 Treats
Dry Cat Food42 Recipes3 Recipes
Wet Cat Food59 Recipes10 Recipes
Cat Treats16 Treats3 Treats

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