Essence Pet Foods

Essence Pet Foods Information

Essence Pet Foods is a smaller pet food brand based in North America and is part of the Pets Global group of brands. This group owns other pet food brands that are better known, such as Zignature and Fussie Cat.

Like many newer pet food brands, Essence Pet Foods focuses on including a high proportion of meat and fish ingredients in their recipes. Each of their recipes contains at least 85% fish or animal protein.

Based on our research, Essence Pet Foods is produced at one of Pets Global’s manufacturing facilities which are in The United States in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Essence Pet Food products are sold at select retail locations across the United States and Canada but are not usually found in the larger pet food stores.

However, you can easily purchase Essence’s products online from some of the large pet food websites like Chewy and Petflow.

Essence Pet Foods Product Range

Dog Food

Essence Pet Foods has a moderately sized range of dog food products which is split evenly between dry dog food and wet/canned dog food.

Also, half of Essence Pet Food’s recipes are limited ingredient recipes for dogs with allergies or sensitivities.

Essence Pet Foods does not produce any age-specific dog food recipes such as those for puppies or senior dogs. However, their recipes are formulated for all-life stages, which will make them suitable for many puppies and older dogs.

Cat Food

Essence Pet Foods cat food range is only half the size of their dog food range but still has an even split between dry cat food and wet/canned cat food.

However, the cat food range does not have any limited ingredient recipes for cats with allergies or sensitivities.

Similar to the dog food range, Essence Pet Foods does not produce any age-specific cat food recipes such as those for kittens or senior cats.

Essence Pet Foods Nutrition

Dog Food

Given the huge proportion of meat and fish ingredients in Essence Pet Food’s dog recipes, it will come as no surprise that they provide excellent nutrition that is significantly above-average when compared to other dog food brands.

This above-average nutritional profile includes significantly above-average proportions of both protein and fat, the vast majority of which is from animal-based sources.

This kind of nutritional profile is well suited to most dogs, especially those that are more active or have higher protein requirements.

You can see an example of the nutritional profile provided by an Essence Pet Food dry dog food recipe below.

If you would like to learn more about canine nutrition, we highly recommend you read our Dog Food Guide.

Cat Food

Similar to their dog food recipes, Essence Pet Food’s cat food recipes contain very high proportions of meat and fish ingredients and, as a consequence, provide excellent nutrition.

This nutrition is significantly above-average when compared to other dry cat food brands and is reinforced by the fact that the bulk of the protein is from animal sources.

Nutrition is extremely important to cats as they are obligate carnivores and thrive best on a diet high in animal content and low in plant matter.

If you’d like to learn more about what being an obligate carnivore means and feline nutrition, head on over to our Cat Food Guide.

Essence Pet Foods Ingredients

High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients

• Turkey
• Chicken
• Duck
• Guineafowl
• Quail
• Whitefish
• Herring
• Boar
• Goat
• Lamb
• Pork

Essence Pet Foods has a very large range of meat and fish ingredients within its recipes for such a moderately-sized product range. Most of these are shown above, and all are high-quality sources of animal or fish-based protein and fat.

Some of these ingredients, such as Chicken and Turkey, are regular additions to pet food recipes throughout the industry. They are so popular among pet food manufacturers as they are low-cost and easy to source.

However, others such as Guineafowl and Goat are far less common and are usually found within recipes for pets with severe allergies or sensitivities.

Recipes with these less common meat or fish ingredients are known as novel meat recipes and are beneficial as pets are less likely to react poorly to meat they have not yet encountered.

You can learn more about novel meat recipes and hypoallergenic dog food in our article Best Hypoallergenic Dog Foods Guide.

Some select Essence Pet Food recipes utilize organ meat ingredients like Turkey Liver. Organ meat ingredients like these are excellent additions to pet food recipes and can improve flavor and boost the overall level of some beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Other Notable Ingredients

Essence Pet Food’s limited ingredient dog food recipes utilize a small portion of Quinoa as a plant-based ingredient. Quinoa is a grain ingredient, and the inclusion of grain ingredients in pet food recipes is a controversial topic, with many being strongly against their use.

However, there are also strong supporters of grain ingredients, especially among those who feed brands like Purina Pro Plan or Royal Canin.

Quinoa can act as a reliable source of nutrition for dogs and provide carbohydrates, fiber, and select vitamins and minerals.

However, Essence’s original recipes utilize legume ingredients rather than grain ingredients. Examples of legumes found in these recipes include Lentils and Chickpeas.

Legumes such as these are the most popular choice in grain-free pet food recipes and are utilized by hundreds of brands. They are a relatively inexpensive ingredient and can provide a mix of carbohydrates, plant-based protein, fiber, and more.

However, in recent years, there have been concerning links between the high use of legumes in dog food recipes and an increased rate of Canine Heart Disease.

Thankfully the portion size of these ingredients in Essence’s recipes is small, but you can read more about this link here if you want to learn more.

Another common addition to Essence’s recipes is Pumpkin. Pumpkin is best known for its high-fiber properties, which can be critical to some dogs to ensure they keep regular digestion and stools.

However, some brands also utilize pumpkin to add additional carbohydrates and some beneficial vitamins and minerals.

You can learn more about the use of Pumpkin and some of our favorite Pumpkin recipes in Best Dog Food With Pumpkin.

Animal fat ingredients like Chicken Fat and Pork Fat are used in small proportions by many pet food brands. These ingredients can help to enhance the flavor of pet food recipes and boost the overall proportion of animal-based fat.

Chicken Fat is the preferred choice by many brands as it is low-cost and easy to acquire. However, Essence Pet Food’s also makes extensive use of Pork Fat which is less common.

You can read more about why pet food brands use Chicken Fat in our article Chicken Fat In Dog Food.

Agar-Agar is a common inclusion in wet/canned pet food recipes, and Essence Pet Foods is one of many brands that utilize it.

Agar-Agar is used as a binding agent to help hold the ingredients of wet pet food together in a constant texture and appearance. Outside of this purpose, it does not provide notable nutritional value.

Essence Pet Foods Animal Testing

At this time, we have no information on what type of animal testing or feed trials that Essence Pet Foods participates in.

Many smaller pet food brands avoid disclosing detailed information on what type of testing or feeding trials they participate in.

We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will be eliminated in the near future.

Essence Pet Foods Recalls

Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), Essence Pet Foods has not undergone any recalls in its past and is, therefore, a recall-free pet food brand.

Given the smaller size of the brand their limited history, this lack of recalls does not come as a huge surprise but is still worth noting.

Despite this recall-free record from Essence Pet Foods, we encourage all pet owners to be vigilant of any future recalls from Essence Pet Foods or any other pet food brand.

Best of Essence Pet Foods

Dog Food

Ocean & Freshwater Recipe Review

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All of Essence Pet Food’s dry dog food recipes are impressive, which makes it difficult to choose between them. However, we went with their fish-based recipe thanks to its extensive use of oily fish ingredients.

Examples include Herring, Sardines, Mackerel, and more. These fish ingredients combine to an extremely impressive proportion of protein and fat, coming in at 38% and 18%, respectively.

What makes oily fish ingredients so great is that they are an excellent source of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which can provide dogs with several health benefits.

Outside of this fish content, the recipe includes small portions of Coconut Flour, Red Lentils, and Chickpeas. These ingredients provide a very modest proportion of carbohydrates and fiber.

LIR Landfowl Recipe Review

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Wet/canned dog food recipes are often far simpler than dry dog food and so can be a great option for dogs with severe allergies or sensitive stomachs.

The above LIR Landfowl Recipe from Essence Pet Foods is a prime example of this and only includes three notable ingredients.

These are all poultry ingredients and are Turkey, Chicken, and Chicken Liver. These ingredients are a dense source of animal-based protein and fat and an ideal component to a dog’s diet.

In particular, the Chicken Liver can help to greatly enhance the flavor of the recipe as well as boost the levels of select beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Cat Food

Air & Gamefowl Recipe Review

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The most important factor when selecting a dry cat food recipe is the proportion of animal or fish-based ingredients, and the above Air & Gamefowl recipe from Essence Pet Foods scores excellently on this front.

The first seven listed ingredients are all animal-based and are Guinea Fowl, Duck, Turkey, Chicken, Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, and Chicken Meal.

This huge range of poultry ingredients is impressive and can provide a massive proportion of protein and fat.

Some of these ingredients like Guinea Fowl and Duck are far less common inclusions to cat food recipes and could provide a unique flavor.

Outside of this, there is a very small proportion of Chickpeas and Lentils, which provides some carbohydrates and fiber.

Ranch & Meadow Recipe Review

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Wet/canned cat food is loved by the majority of cats, and many go crazy for it. While most wet cat food tends to focus on fish or poultry ingredients, Essence Pet Foods have a unique red-meat-based recipe on offer.

Ranch & Meadow includes portions of Lamb, Pork, Pork Liver, and Boar, which are all high-quality and nutritious inclusions.

None of these ingredients are commonly eaten by cats which means that this could be a new and unique flavor for many.

Outside of some binding agents like Agar-Agar, this recipe includes no plant-based content, which is an excellent reflection on a cat’s natural diet.

Essence Pet Foods Featured Articles

At this time, Essence Pet Foods has not been featured in any of our articles.

Essence Pet Foods Full Product Range

Dog Food

Dry Dog Food

Air & Gamefowl Recipe

Ocean & Freshwater Recipe

Ranch & Meadow Recipe

LIR Landfowl Recipe

LIR Ocean Recipe

LIR Ranch Recipe

Wet/Canned Dog Food

Air & Gamefowl Recipe

Ocean & Freshwater Recipe

Ranch & Meadow Recipe

LIR Landfowl Recipe

LIR Ocean Recipe

LIR Ranch Recipe

Cat Food

Dry Cat Food

Air & Gamefowl Recipe

Ocean & Freshwater Recipe

Ranch & Meadow Recipe

Wet/Canned Cat Food

Air & Gamefowl Recipe

Ocean & Freshwater Recipe

Ranch & Meadow Recipe