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Farmina vs Vital Essentials

Farmina vs. Vital Essentials

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Farmina

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.

Farmina Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Crude Protein33.2%52.2%
Crude Fat18.1%28.7%
Crude Fiber3.3%4.1%
Wet/Canned Dog FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Crude Protein51.2%53.7%
Crude Fat23.3%31.0%
Crude Fiber4.2%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.

When you look at the average percentages of crude protein for dry dog food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more protein. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 18.95% more protein than Farmina. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials typically provides a little more protein (about 2.55% 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.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more fat than Farmina. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 10.52% more fat. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 7.65% more).


Farmina and Vital Essentials both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Vital Essentials and Farmina also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Farmina Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Crude Protein43.9%54.0%
Crude Fat18.3%27.5%
Crude Fiber3.4%5.1%
Wet/Canned Cat FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Crude Protein54.3%50.6%
Crude Fat22.0%18.8%
Crude Fiber4.0%2.5%

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.

Vital Essentials dry cat foods clearly provides more protein than Farmina. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 10.10%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Farmina typically provides a little more protein (about 3.72% 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.

On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 9.24% more fat than Farmina recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Farmina and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Farmina typically provides a little more fat (about 3.21% more).


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

Farmina Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

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

Corn Gluten
Corn Gluten Meal
Powdered Cellulose

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 Farmina.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Farmina & Vital Essentials?

According to our records, Farmina 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 FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Per Pound$4.53$37.19
Per Calorie$0.0025$0.0186
Dry Cat FoodFarminaVital Essentials
Per Pound$6.12$39.03
Per Calorie$0.0033$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 Farmina 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 Farmina 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 Farmina 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 Farmina Pet Foods

You can purchase Farmina pet foods from the following stores:


52 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 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

22 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

ProductFarminaVital Essentials
Dry Dog Food58 RecipesNone
Wet Dog Food26 RecipesNone
Dog TreatsNone30 Treats
Dry Cat Food24 RecipesNone
Wet Cat Food25 RecipesNone
Cat TreatsNone8 Treats

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