
Vital Essentials vs. Chicken Soup For The Soul
In this comparison article for Vital Essentials vs Chicken Soup For The Soul, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Vital Essentials and Chicken Soup For The Soul, 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 Chicken Soup For The Soul vs Vital Essentials comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Vital Essentials Review Page or Chicken Soup For The Soul Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Chicken Soup For The Soul vs. Vital Essentials
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.
Vital Essentials Dog Food vs. Chicken Soup For The Soul Dog Food
Dry Dog Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Crude Protein | 51.7% | 28.2% |
Crude Fat | 26.4% | 14.4% |
Crude Fiber | 2.2% | 6.3% |
Wet/Canned Dog Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Crude Protein | 53.4% | 40.2% |
Crude Fat | 33.1% | 23.8% |
Crude Fiber | 6.6% | 5.0% |
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 23.50% more protein than Chicken Soup For The Soul. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Chicken Soup For The Soul wet foods.
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 Chicken Soup For The Soul. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 11.93% more fat. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Chicken Soup For The Soul wet foods.
Our analysis shows that Chicken Soup For The Soul guarantees 4.09% more fiber than Vital Essentials dry dog food recipes. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials and Chicken Soup For The Soul provide roughly the same amount of fiber.
Vital Essentials Cat Food vs. Chicken Soup For The Soul Cat Food
Dry Cat Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Crude Protein | 51.9% | 37.0% |
Crude Fat | 18.2% | 16.5% |
Crude Fiber | 3.3% | 5.9% |
Wet/Canned Cat Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Crude Protein | 60.9% | 49.8% |
Crude Fat | 28.6% | 26.4% |
Crude Fiber | 3.7% | 5.7% |
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 Chicken Soup For The Soul. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 14.87%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet cat foods provide significantly more protein than Chicken Soup For The Soul 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.
Chicken Soup For The Soul and Vital Essentials both provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials typically provides a little more fat (about 2.26% more).
According to our data, Chicken Soup For The Soul guarantees 2.67% more fiber than Vital Essentials. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. For wet cat foods, Chicken Soup For The Soul and Vital Essentials provide roughly the same amount of fiber.
Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients vs. Chicken Soup For The Soul Pet Food Ingredients
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Chicken Soup For The Soul.
Product Safety: Recall History of Vital Essentials & Chicken Soup For The Soul?
Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.
- July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
- Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
- Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
- April 16, 2018: Salmonella
According to our records, Chicken Soup For The Soul has never been recalled.
Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?
Dry Dog Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Per Pound | $31.24 | $2.03 |
Per Calorie | $0.0142 | $0.0013 |
Dry Cat Food | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Per Pound | $38.77 | $2.64 |
Per Calorie | $0.0220 | $0.0017 |
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 Vital Essentials or Chicken Soup For The Soul, 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 Vital Essentials or Chicken Soup For The Soul will depend on your shopping habits.
Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Vital Essentials and Chicken Soup For The Soul. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.
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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 Vital Essentials Pet Foods
You can purchase Vital Essentials pet foods from the following stores:




Where To Buy Chicken Soup For The Soul Pet Foods
You can purchase Chicken Soup For The Soul pet food products from these retailers:



Type Of Pet Foods Available
Product | Vital Essentials | Chicken Soup For The Soul |
Dry Dog Food | 11 Recipes | |
Wet Dog Food | 7 Recipes | |
Dog Treats | 30 Treats | 6 Treats |
Dry Cat Food | 6 Recipes | |
Wet Cat Food | 12 Recipes | |
Cat Treats | 8 Treats |