Pet Plate

Pet Plate Information

Pet Plate is a US-based fresh home-delivered dog food brand. Pet Plate was founded by Renaldo Webb in 2016 after several years of working in private equity.

Renaldo went on the popular TV show Shark Tank to pitch his brand, and while he didn’t get the funding he hoped from the Sharks, he persevered and grew the brand by himself.

Since 2017, Pet Plate has produced over 15,000,000 meals for pets across the United States and tapped into the pet food industry that is worth tens of billions of dollars. In 2020, Pet Plate received $9 Million in investments as part of its Series A Funding.

Pet Plate’s meals are produced at a USDA-inspected facility in upstate New York, and according to their owner, they use similar food and safety protocols as the grocery store giant Whole Foods.

Once produced, Pet Plate delivers these meals to all of the 48 contiguous states giving them a huge customer base to draw on compared to traditional retail pet food stores and products. Sadly for Canadian dog owners, Pet Plate has not yet expanded north of the border.

All of Pet Plates’ recipes are pre-portioned based on the information you provide during their sign-up process. This process allows Pet Plate to gauge the correct portion sizes based on your dog’s breed, size, age, and activity level.

Subscribers to Pet Plate then automatically receive these pre-portioned meals at regular intervals for a high level of convenience.

You can try this tailor-made sign-up process here.

For dog owners who are interested in feeding Pet Plate but do not want to commit to a complete plan, the brand also offers a Topper Plan, which you can use to mix with traditional dog food.

You can learn more about this Topper Plan on Pet Plate’s – How It Works Page.

How Much Does Pet Plate Cost?

Due to Pet Plate’s custom portion sizes, the cost of their subscription food varies dramatically depending on the breed, size, and age of your dog, which can make explaining its cost complex.

We priced up the cost of a plan for a high-activity Golden Retriever to give you a visual example.

As you can see below, with Pet Plate’s 50% discount applied, an order is a smidge over $5 per day, which is far less than many would imagine.

However, at full cost, this plan is roughly $10 per day, which is notable more than traditional dog food. Smaller dogs could expect plans in the $4-$6 range, whereas large or giant breed dogs could be as much as $15-$20 per day.

As with many younger and fast-growing brands, PetPlate has been featured on several popular websites such as HuffPost, GoodHouseKeeping, and Fortune. This widespread media coverage is one of the primary reasons behind their rapid growth.

One important distinction between Pet Plate and some of its competitors is that its containers are very easy to use and store and are completely recyclable. This is an appealing trait for many dog owners who are also environmentally conscious.

Many subscribers of Pet Plate are also very satisfied with the ability that they have to alter, pause, cancel, and skip their deliveries as required and that the company doesn’t make doing so difficult.

If this flexibility was not enough, Pet Plate also offers a 100% money-back guarantee on these plans, which is one of several reasons why so many dog owners have trialed their foods.

Pet Plate Product Range

Dog Food

Pet Plate has a relatively small dog food range consisting of four recipes. Each of these recipes focuses on a different meat ingredient, including Chicken, Turkey, Beef, and Lamb.

While this range is small in size compared to large commercial pet food brands, which produce traditional dry and wet dog food, it is in line with other fresh and home-delivered brands that compete with Pet Plate.

In addition to their four fresh dog food recipes, Pet Plate also produces a single dog treat product which is Chicken Apple Sausage Bites.

Many fresh pet food brands are releasing treats such as this and are attempting to bundle them in with their core dog food subscription offerings.

Lastly, Pet Plate also recently launched two supplements known as Tummy Ticklin’ Digestive Cookies and Joint Jumpin’ Mobility Cookies.

Just like their treats, these supplements can be tagged onto an existing subscription for food for convenience.

You can check out more information on these supplements here.

Cat Food

At this time, Pet Plate does not produce any cat food products, such as fresh cat food or cat treats.

However, given that other fresh home-delivered dog food brands, such as Nom Nom, have expanded to cat food, it is likely that Pet Plate will follow suit.

If and when Pet Plate expands in this manner, we will update this page as required.

Pet Plate Nutrition

Please note the above chart is based on Pet Plate’s Guaranteed Analysis. This is an estimate, and the true values are likely to include a slightly higher proportion of protein and fat.

As shown above, the average nutrition provided by Pet Plate recipes is satisfactory when compared to other similar brands or traditional dog food. The recipes include above-average proportions of protein and fat, much of which is animal-based.

This proportion of protein and fat would be suitable for the majority of dogs, including those that are more active and so have higher requirements.

However, the portion of carbohydrates present in Pet Plate’s recipes is still significant and noticeably higher than some of their competitors, which focus on high-protein diets.

For the exact nutrition provided by Pet Plate formulas, be sure to check out the Guaranteed Analysis tabs on their Meals page, which you can find here.

If you’d like to learn more about the topic of canine nutrition, we highly recommend you check out our in-depth Dog Food Guide. Here we discuss all the nutritional components, as well as dog food types, ingredients, and more.

Pet Plate Ingredients

High-Quality Meat Ingredients

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Beef
• Lamb

Pet Plate recipes feature several high-quality and nutritious meat ingredients, which are all listed above. These ingredients can provide a plentiful supply of animal protein and fat, which should be at the core of a dog’s diet.

All of these ingredients are regularly seen in dog food recipes and are popular among pet food manufacturers. The primary reason behind this is that they are readily available and cost-effective.

Some of Pet Plate’s recipes include organ meat ingredients like Beef Liver and Chicken Liver. Organ meat ingredients such as these are popular additions to premium pet food recipes.

They can be very advantageous to dogs as they are dense sources of select vitamins and minerals that are often lacking in traditional meat cuts.

In addition, organ meat ingredients like the liver are often very flavorful and can improve the palatability of a recipe.

However, at this time, Pet Plate does not have any recipes that contain fish, which is unfortunate. Fish ingredients such as Salmon and Mackerel contain high levels of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which can provide a number of health benefits.

This lack of fish is not uncommon among fresh dog food providers, with many of Pet Plate’s competitors also lacking fish-based recipes.

Other Notable Ingredients

Pet Plate makes extensive use of starches, Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes in its recipes. These starches provide the bulk of the plant-based content of their recipes and are dense sources of carbohydrates and fiber.

Due to the fact that starches are very dense sources of carbohydrates, it is important that the portion size present in a dog food recipe is not excessive.

Thankfully, the portion size found in Pet Plate recipes is modest, which ensures that the carbohydrate proportion remains satisfactory.

Pet Plate makes use of a small portion of legumes, such as Peas and Lentils, in some of their recipes. Legumes such as Peas are the most common plant ingredient used in modern grain-free dog food.

Its popularity is due to its nutrition content which is a mix of carbohydrates, plant-based protein, and fiber.

This nutrition is then combined with a relatively low cost which makes it an ideal component for dog food manufacturers.

However, in recent years there have been concerning links between the use of legumes like Peas and an increased rate of Canine Heart Disease.

While this link is far from conclusive, it has prompted many dog owners to look for alternatives to Peas.

We discuss this topic heavily in our Best Dog Food Without Peas article, and we’d recommend you read this if you’d like to learn more.

However, the portion size of legumes used in Plate Plate recipes is very small and should not be worthy of major concern.

Pet Plate doesn’t just make use of Starches and Peas, and their recipes include some vegetables that are not frequently found in dog food. Examples of these include Carrots, Broccoli. Squash and Pumpkin.

Similar to other plant-based ingredients, these can act as a source of carbohydrates and fiber as well as some beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Pumpkin is particularly notable and is often given to dogs to aid with digestion because of its high fiber content. However, Pumpkin is also a dense source of micronutrients such as Beta Carotene.

You can learn more about the use of Pumpkin in our article Best Dog Food With Pumpkin.

Pet Plate makes consistent use of Apples in their recipes which is quite unusual. Apples are only rarely seen in other dog food recipes, which makes them a somewhat unique ingredient. They can provide some carbohydrates in the form of sugar, as well as fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Quinoa is present in one of Pet Plates’ recipes, and it is a unique ingredient to be used in dog food. Quinoa is a pseudocereal, and while it is grown in a similar fashion to grains, it is more closely related to vegetables like Spinach.

This grain-like trait could make this quinoa-based recipe more appealing than others for dog owners who support the use of grains in dog food and do not want to feed their dogs grain-free food.

For a full list of ingredients used in Pet Plate recipes, check out their Meals page here.

Pet Plate Animal Testing

We have limited information on exactly what kind of testing or trials that Pet Plate participates in. However, at this time, we do not believe they take part in a laboratory or invasive testing program.

Many pet food brands, especially smaller brands, avoid disclosing detailed information to their customers about how they test and trial their products. This is because they fear customer backlash or criticism.

However, many argue that feeding trials are an important component of dog food formulation and are not carried out at the scale needed.

We strongly believe that laboratory testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will see a significant decline or elimination in the future.

Pet Plate Expertise

Pet Plate has the expertise of Dr. Renee Streeter, DVM, DACVN, Veterinary Nutritionist, at their disposal. Dr. Renee is a Cornell graduate and partners with Pet Plate to help formulate their recipes.

It is very important to carefully formulate fresh dog food to avoid potential health issues or malnutrition. Employing an experienced professional, such as Dr. Renee Streeter, is the right approach to resolving these concerns and issues.

Dr. Renee Streeter’s involvement in Pet Plate is shown here.

Many traditional dog food brands do not employ a veterinary nutritionist to help formulate their recipes and products.

This lack of professional participation and the awareness that has been brought to this has caused concern among some dog owners about if the recipes they feed their dogs are nutritionally complete or appropriate.

Pet Plate Recalls

Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), we have no information that leads us to believe that any Pet Plate products have ever been recalled, which makes them a recall-free dog food brand.

However, many in the industry consider fresh food to garner a higher risk of contamination or other health concerns in comparison to traditional dry or canned dog food.

As a consequence of this, we encourage you to be vigilant of any future recalls of Pet Plate or any other fresh dog food products to ensure your dog remains healthy and safe.

Best of Pet Plate

Tail Waggin’ Turkey Entree Review

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It was a tough choice to decide upon our favorite recipe from Pet Plate, but we settled on Tail Waggin’ Turkey Entree over the other three recipes.

The primary driver behind this decision was the fantastic nutrition that this recipe provides, which is one of the most important traits when picking a dog food recipe.

It has by far the highest proportion of protein, coming in at 9%, of which the vast majority is animal-based.

This protein is sourced from Turkey, which is the first listed ingredient. Having a meat ingredient, such as Turkey, as the first listed ingredient is a positive indicator and shows that meat is an abundant component.

However, protein isn’t the only nutrient in high concentrations; the fat proportion is also impressive, at 4.5%. Satisfactory fat levels such as this are not always common among recipes that utilize lean meats like Turkey or Chicken.

The recipe also includes some Turkey Liver, which can provide additional protein as well as being a dense source of select vitamins and minerals.

Many dog owners also find that food that contains organ meat ingredients such as liver are more palatable or appealing to their dogs.

The primary plant-based ingredient found in this recipe is Brown Rice which has been an industry favorite for decades. Brown Rice can provide a mix of carbohydrates, plant-based protein, fiber, and more.

The recipe also includes smaller portions of some other plant-based ingredients such as Carrots, Green Beans, Apples, Pumpkin, and more.

This variety of vegetables and fruits can provide a modest sum of carbohydrates and fiber, but more importantly, it will give a unique texture, appearance, and taste.

Don’t forget that Pet Plate has a 50% discount offered on your first order and a 100% money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied.

Pet Plate Featured Articles

Pet Plate Full Product Range

Dog Food

Chompin’ Chicken Entree

Barkin’ Beef Entree

Tail Waggin’ Turkey Entree

Lip Lickin’ Lamb Entree

Dog Treats

Chicken Apple Sausage Bites

Supplements

Tummy Ticklin’ Digestive Cookies

Joint Jumpin’ Mobility Cookies