Are you trying to decide between switching your dog from their store-bought kibble to fresh meals or a raw diet?
There’s a growing number of British dog owners who are ditching traditional dry dog food or smelly wet dog food in favour of a fresher and healthier approach.
These traditional pet food formats can contain lots of additives and nasties, including fillers and preservatives listed in confusing ingredient labels.
If you’re ready to make a change to your dog’s diet, there’s a number of dog food formats that are available to you in the UK right now.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at one of the leading fresh dog food companies and one of the leading raw dog food companies to see how they compare.
We’ll look at Butternut Box and Bella & Duke in close detail by examining the recipes that they’ve got on offer, how they source their ingredients, what customers are saying as well as giving our verdict.
With the introduction over, let’s get started on our Butternut Box vs Bella & Duke comparison article.
Editor's note: The content on this website is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as veterinary, medical or professional advice. The content of our articles does not constitute veterinary advice. It’s always best to speak with your vet or a certified pet nutritionist before making any changes to your pet's diet or feeding routine.
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Butternut Box – The Basics
Website: www.butternutbox.com
Alaskan Klee Kai Copper and Skye with their Butternut Box delivery (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)
Butternut Box are one of the top-rated British dog food companies in the UK, feeding over 100,000 dogs since launching their business in 2015. Their website claims that their food is preferred over traditional dog food by 97 out of 100 dogs.
They’re one of the leading pet food brands who have been encouraging pet parents to adopt a fresh approach to their dog’s diet and ditch the unhealthy kibble or wet food.
Butternut Box use human-quality meat and vegetables to create their tailored recipes, ensuring that each meal has at least 60% meat and the rest is made up of veggies.
They customize their simple, tasty and complete meals to ensure their perfectly balanced with the right amount of vitamins and minerals for dogs of every age.
By filling out their sign-up questionnaire, you can ensure that your dog’s food is perfectly portioned to meet their specific needs whether they need to gain weight or shed some pounds.
With over 10 recipes to choose from, Butternut Box can cater to the fussiest dogs with beef, chicken, duck, lamb, turkey, fish and game just some of their recipes.
They’ll suggest recipes that they think will suit your dog based upon your answers in their questionnaire, but you can also select whatever recipes you think your dog will like.
Once you’ve made your selection, you’ll have to sign up to a subscription before your dog’s fresh Butternut Box meals will conveniently be shipped to your door.
They’ve got an environmentally-friendly and sustainable approach to their business so your dog can enjoy balanced and complete meals but not at the expense of the planet.
Bella & Duke – The Basics
Website: bellaandduke.com
Copper with his Bella and Duke delivery (Photo: lifewithkleekai)
Bella & Duke are one of the top raw dog food companies in the UK if you’ve been thinking about switching your dog to a raw fed diet but you’re unsure which company to choose.
Based in Scotland, Bella & Duke provide British dog owners with the chance to feed 100% natural raw dog food to their canine companion in a convenient way.
They proudly state on their website that they like to stay at the forefront of pet nutrition to ensure their raw food can help British dogs live a happy and health life.
Bella & Duke only use high quality cuts of meat and bones, oils, antioxidants, herbs, seasonal vegetables, fruits and berries. Bella & Duke source their raw dog food from British and Irish farms.
They’ve got a versatile range of options so you can pick the meals that you think will best suit your four-legged friend and keep them fuelled for the day-to-day lives whether they’re a working dog or family pet.
Just like Butternut Box, Bella & Duke will require some key details about your dog such as age, breed, weight and activity level.
Once you’ve entered your payment details, Bella & Duke will ship your dog’s raw food direct to your door so you’ll never have to worry about picking up pet food at your local supermarket or pet store again.
Things To Consider When Picking Dog Food Delivery
Bella and Duke (Photo: lifewithkleekai)
There are a number of things that we like to consider when picking the right dog food for our beloved canine companions.
• Ingredients – We like to see that dog food companies are using human-quality ingredients because if it’s not good enough for us to eat then it shouldn’t be good enough for our dogs.
• Recipe variety – For dog owners who have fussy eaters like me, it’s important to have a lot of recipe variety to get even the pickiest eaters excited about mealtime.
• Expert input – It provides peace of mind when you see that dog food companies consider and take on board the input of professionals such as pet nutritionists or vets.
• Ordering Experience – Websites should be easy to navigate and subscriptions details should be easy to enter. It’s also important that there’s minimal faff when you need to cancel or pause a delivery.
Butternut Box (Photo: hellobark.com)
• Preparation – If you’re paying a little extra for a dog food delivery company, you don’t want to faff around trying to prepare their meals. It should be as easy as rip-and-serve.
• Price – You’re going to have to pay a little extra for premium dog food because they use higher quality ingredients that are lovingly prepared. However, it shouldn’t be extortionate!
• Reliable deliveries – If you’ve signed up to a dog food delivery company, you’re relying on their deliveries turning up on time or else you won’t have food to feed your dog or you’ll have to resort to the kibble.
• Sustainability – We like to see dog food delivery companies adopt a sustainable approach to their business, whether that’s green deliveries, recyclable packaging, a return system for insulation or paying it forward.
Butternut Box vs Bella & Duke – Our Recommendation
Alaskan Klee Kai Copper with his Butternut Box delivery (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)
The question of Butternut Box vs Bella & Duke really comes down to whether you want to feed raw or not.
In my experience, raw dog food can bring some benefits but it can also be more hassle.
My dogs have tried both Butternut Box and Bella & Duke – and they preferred Butternut Box.
They’ve never shown a massive interest in raw dog food and much prefer tailored fresh dog meals like Butternut Box.
I like that Butternut Box’s meals come in a pouch so you just cut the top and pour their food into their bowls. It’s so simple!
Even my fussy female mini husky is obsessed with her Butternut Box meals and she usually has a short attention span when it comes to food.
While Bella & Duke weren’t a massive hit with my dogs, I must point out that this is more reflective of all raw dog food irrespective of brand.
Of the raw dog food brands that we’ve tried, Bella & Duke would be my top pick. I liked using their website, their packaging and how they store their meals.
But for the purposes of this article, my recommendation would be Butternut Box over Bella & Duke but you won’t go wrong with either dog food company should you decide to give a new pet food format a try.
What Are Customers Saying About Butternut Box and Bella & Duke?
Alaskan Klee Kai Copper with his Butternut Box recipes (Photo: @lifewithkleekai / Instagram)
Butternut Box get an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 based upon over 13,000 reviews on independent review website Trustpilot. This is an exceptional score given the sheer volume of testimonials.
Anthony admitted that he was annoyed that he didn’t try Butternut Box sooner.
Our rescue Pug couldn’t be happier with his new diet. He scoffs the lot in minutes and the bowl is always licked clean, and he still wants more! Their website is user friendly, informative and you can pause or stop your subscription at any time. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t find Butternut Box sooner!
Georgia gave the company a glowing five-star review.
Katie the Cockapoo never enjoyed her food – we tried wet, dry & everything in – between with no success. Since we started her on Butternut, she devours every meal with gusto! After a month, her coat is noticeably glossier & she smells significantly less “doggy”. Customer service is excellent, & the cost is reasonable. Highly recommended.
Audrey reveled her senior dog is feeling much better since making the switch to Butternut Box.
Our small, 11 year old dog went off her feed completely. After several days of total refusal, we decided to change food after checking with our vet. The difference in this dog’s eating ‘attitude’ was incredible. She excitedly waited for her meals and ate them promptly. The suggested changeover regimen worked wonderfully and our dog is again her peppy self.
Bella & Duke get 4.5 stars out of 5 based upon 7,000 reviews on Trustpilot.
Pauline highlighted how Bella & Duke helped adjust her puppy onto their food.
Roxi loves her food and even though she had soft puppy fur before there is a big noticeable change after a month and her coat is even softer. Lots of support calls during the first couple of months to make sure everything was going OK and helped with quantity adjustments as she was growing.
Kath revealed the impact of Bella & Duke on her Cockapoo.
Our Cockapoo Steiff can be very picky with his food, but since we changed to Bella & Duke, he eats every last morsel.Good quality food.
Collier gave the company a glowing five-star review.
Our puppy loves the food. His poos are well formed and easy to pick up, and don’t smell too much. The food arrived on time – you get a notification every single step of the way! The raw food (dried) treats are amazing and are working wonders with toilet training. His coat looks amazing and his breath doesn’t stink. You do need a freezer drawer for 13 days, but a big drawer is not completely full and you can store flatish things on the top of the food cartons.
Butternut Box or Bella & Duke Coupon Code And Discounts
We contacted both companies to see if they had a discount to offer our readers at this time.
The good news is that helloBARK! readers can get 50% off their first order and 50% off their second order of Butternut Box. To avail of this incredible discount, click here and double check the discount is applied at the checkout.
Anything Else To Consider?
Butternut Box (Photo: hellobark.com)
It’s a good idea to speak to your vet before you decide to make a change to your dog’s diet to avoid potential digestive issues. Your vet can offer guidance on how to make the transition.
Having spoken to both Butternut Box and Bella & Duke on the phone, their customer service teams are extremely knowledgable and can help pet owners learn more about their food as well as provide guidance on what options may suit your dog.
The UK government website offers extensive guidance where handling raw pet food is concerned.
They warn that raw meat can be contaminated with harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and E. coli. And they go on to explain that humans can become unwell after handling raw pet food and treats.
You can read their extensive guidance where raw pet food is concerned by clicking here.
Wrapping Things Up – Final Thoughts
Butternut Box recipes (Photo: helloBARK!)
We’ve reached the end of our Butternut Box vs Bella & Duke comparison article.
Our pick is Butternut Box based upon the success that we’ve had feeding our dogs their human-quality meals.
We love that their dog food is balanced, complete and tailored to meet our Klee Kai’s specific needs.
They’ve got a fantastic range of recipes so you should be able to find something to get your dog excited about mealtime.
Butternut Box have a stellar reputation with fussy eaters and dogs with sensitive stomachs.
Having said that, Bella & Duke are a good pick if you’re ready to give raw dog food a try.
